• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

Movie Score Review – Ghostbusters (2016)

July 20, 2016 by Tony Black

Tony Black reviews the Ghostbusters score…

Music has always been synonymous with Ghostbusters, part of its intrinsic place in pop culture thanks to Ray Parker Jr’s iconic theme tune which helped cement the original movie as one of the key films of the 80’s. The score often gets lost in the shadow of that, so without another barnstorming chart topping hit to dominate, does Theodore Shapiro’s score for Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters remake strike a chord and linger in the memory? To my surprise, it does, given Shapiro previously has been best known for a string of unremarkable, largely comedy movie scores, though he did decent work last year for Feig on his fun comedy Spy.

Here, Shapiro crafts a score which may end up lingering in the memory longer than the movie, delivering a mixture of not just traditional orchestral action beats but also a reworked, chugged up Ghostbusters theme woven within the piece without too much intrusion, not to mention an otherworldly sense of Gothic spectral apparition. It’s surprisingly effective.

Shapiro throws us right in with ‘The Aldridge Mansion’, set to the opening ghostly set piece, which introduces the operatic choir alongside heavy strings and hints of an organ signalling spectral doom. ‘Distinct Human Form’ then even dares to channel some Avengers-era Alan Silvestri, suggesting an heroic theme among the theme park, Gothic strings. It’s ‘Subway Ghost Attack’ where Shapiro reaches a level of orchestral complexity which belies his history of scoring largely throwaway comedies; he engages a variety of instruments to complement a major opening action sequence, repeated later in ‘Behemoth’ and the concluding tracks as the eponymous busters of ghosts protect New York City in force. Shapiro even manages to drip feed a rousing orchestral version of the classic Parker. Jr theme (covered in the movie end credits by Fall Out Boy & Missy Elliott, but let’s not talk about that). At times it jars a tough but it caps off tracks like ‘Ley Lines’ very nicely – you can see Shapiro having fun with the material and it further engages you with the music.

It doesn’t perhaps equal Elmer Bernstein’s original score for the 80’s Ghostbusters, but this is possibly Theodore Shapiro’s finest work so far. A fun, sometimes thrilling, occasionally creepy score which elevates the comedy stylistics on screen nicely, and while you may still always remember Ghostbusters for the theme tune, don’t write off this orchestral piece too quickly.

Rating: 8/10

Love film music? Check out The Composers, a weekly film music podcast, from Tony Black on Facebook and Twitter. 

. url=”.” . width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /]

https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng

Originally published July 20, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.

Filed Under: Movies, Reviews, Tony Black Tagged With: Ghostbusters, Theodore Shapiro

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Overhated 2000s Horror Movies That Deserve Another Look

10 Movie Franchises That Need To End

Can Edgar Wright conquer America with The Running Man?

Great Korean Animated Movies You Need To See

The Contemporary Queens of Action Cinema

Peeping Tom: A Voyeuristic Masterpiece of the Slasher Subgenre

Ten Controversial Movies and the Drama Around Them

10 Great Movies from the Once-Dominant Carolco Pictures

10 Essential Ninja Movies

The Bonkers Comedies of Andrew McCarthy

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

Top Stories:

Movie Review – Frankenstein (2025)

Slow Horses Season 5 Episode 4 Review – ‘Missiles’

Movie Review – Good Fortune (2025)

Movie Review – Black Phone 2 (2025)

2025 BFI London Film Festival Review – Is This Thing On?

Comic Book Review – Star Trek: Picard Omnibus

Movie Review – Ballad of a Small Player (2025)

10 Must-See Horror Movies Guaranteed to Make You Squirm

Movie Review – Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025)

The Top 10 Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

Underrated Movies from the Masters of Action Cinema

The Essential Horror Movie Threequels

8 Essential Feel-Good British Underdog Movies

Ranking Video Game Movie Sequels From Worst to Best

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles and Opinions
  • Write for Flickering Myth
  • About Flickering Myth
  • The Baby in the Basket