The Flickering Myth writing team share their thoughts on the Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer…
This week saw the release of the first trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the fourth movie in the Ghostbusters franchise, and a Terminator: Dark Fate-style return to the continuity of the original two movies following the female-fronted 2016 reboot. The new film – directed by Jason Reitman, son of Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II helmer Ivan Reitman – picks up some 30 years after the events of the original films, and follows the young grandchildren of original Ghostbuster Egon Spengler as they discover their grandfather’s secret legacy. Here’s what our writing team made of this first look trailer…
EJ Moreno – If it wasn’t for the car at the end and the “it’s a ghost trap” line, I would’ve this was some indie drama about kids and ghosts. Didn’t scream Ghostbusters, but I’m also not a fan of the series so I don’t carry much weight with that. Also, poor Finn is stuck in so many similar roles between this, It, and Stranger Things.
Rod Bell – As a fan of the original, who watched both Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II on first cinema release, seeing the reveal of Spengler’s Spore, Moulds and Fungus collection has delivered me a glimmer of hope. I didn’t have high hopes for this latest Ghostbusters film, but now I’m actually quite interested in seeing what they have planned for both us (the fans) and also the new generation, for which the original Ghostbusters are little more than legend.
Gerald Jeffrey James – I’m going to need a second trailer. This doesn’t look bad but it is missing the camp and snark of the first two films. Revering the original Ghostbusters as lost gods when the original gimmick was that they were just four blue collar dudes busting ghosts also seems weird. The trailer seriously feels like cliched coming-of-age-while-saving-the-world bullshit.
Alec Frazier – I’m cautiously optimistic about this. I’m okay with leaving the campy humor of the 80s behind, so long as this film is appealing enough on its own merits. It looks suspenseful. It may even be fun! I actually like how the mood resembles a horror film a little. It DOES have some star power with Paul Rudd. Only time will tell if this film is worth it. I agree with my esteemed colleagues. We need more in order to make a better judgement.
Chris Gelderd – Looks like the team have tried to blend the winning formula of It and Stranger Things. Call me old fashioned but another nostalgia based ride where kids now save the day and become some sort of legends. Why the Ghostbusters seem like long lost forgotten Jedi is beyond me, but I don’t get the way this looks like it’s going and certainly doesn’t feel needed right now.
Scott Watson – I wasn’t expecting much from this, but the trailer has actually brought a big dumb smile to my face and hit a lot of nostalgia notes for me, especially Ecto 1 and Venkman’s voice over towards the end. It may end up hitting the whole “kids save the day” tropes but there’s enough there that shows promise, as long as they get the humour right
Eric Andersen – I’m didn’t like the 2016 film, but nor did I think a sequel to the original two films needed to be made. That being said, the more serious tone implied this trailer, and the fact that it’s being directed by the son of the original director makes me interested. It all depends on whether the new main characters are interesting and likeable enough to carry the movie (which, for me, is a one of the reasons why the Jurassic World movies failed), but this trailer is a promising tease – clearly looking to create its own identity whilst being respectful to the originals.
Ricky Church – This surprised me. I was cautiously optimistic following Jason Reitman directing and the cast he assembled, but this looks like it could be a lot of fun. I’ve always wanted to see a third Ghostbusters – third as in actually tying into the first two films – and the little nods to them are nice. It’s interesting that, from what the trailer shows us, it leans into the whole ‘new generation picking up the torch from the older heroes’ we’ve seen in resurgent franchises lately like Star Wars and Jurassic Park.
It’s not surprising given the age of the original cast, but I would’ve thought this maybe tied a bit more directly into the original, though the choice of focusing on Spengler’s granddaughter rather than a character related to Venkman is a very nice reveal. It does look a bit like It and Stranger Things meets Ghostbusters, but hopefully it will still have the classic tone and feel of the original while finding a voice of its own. I’m still a bit cautious, but feeling better about this film than I was before.
Laura Jorden -Not really fired up after that trailer, agreed the iconic car hit a nostalgia goal and I am very curious to see how the next generation handles being at the helm of this sequel but, it doesn’t feel like it’s going to deliver enough to lift my spirits. Further trailers may well change this perception, as the newbies are an interesting mix, of course one undeniable plus will be seeing the old busters back together, here’s hoping I don’t end up spending most of this film just waiting for the originals to appear and save it
So, “cautious optimism” is probably the best way to summarise the thoughts of the writers here at Flickering Myth, but what about you? What did you make of the trailer? Let us know in the comments below or on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, when a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is directed by Jason Reitman and stars Carrie Coon (The Leftovers), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), Mckenna Grace (Captain Marvel), Paul Rudd (Avengers: Endgame), Bokeem Woodbine (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Celeste O’Connor (Wetlands), Oliver Cooper (Mindhunter) and newcomer Logan Kim, along with returning Ghostbusters cast members Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz), Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore), Sigourney Weaver (Dana Barrett) and Annie Potts (Janine Melnitz). The film is set for release on July 10th 2020.
