Of course, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” the direct cinematic sequel to the 1984 original, is haunted. However, not in a positive way.
The sequel, directed and co-written by Jason Reitman, is so faithful to his father’s original that it sometimes feels like a checklist of the megahit’s hallmarks, from the Ecto-1’s blinged-out Cadillac to Stay-Puft marshmallows, cameos from the surviving Ghostbusters, and even the same Ray Parker Jr. theme song.
It has taken Ivan Reitman’s original too seriously, which had the feel of an anarchic “Saturday Night Live” skit stretched to the limit. It fetishes the ghost-catching gear and limps along until the original performers — one of whom has been cruelly revived — arrive to wring some feeling it hasn’t earned.
The film takes place several decades after the events of “Ghostbusters,” with the urban replaced by the rural and no other sequels. It centers on a struggling single mother, Callie (Carrie Coon, treading water), and her two children, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), a bright science wiz, and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace, who is also featured on the soundtrack with the suitably titled “Haunted House”).
After Callie’s estranged father passes away, the family relocates to his rundown farm in Summerville, Oklahoma, where the kids learn that their grandfather was legendary Ghostbuster Egon Spengler (the late Harold Ramis), who abandoned their mother for unclear reasons and hasn’t been forgiven. “Take a piece of wisdom from mom,” she says to the kids, “and don’t go chasing ghosts.”
For the first hour, strange things happen, and it’s fitting that Wolfhard, star of “Stranger Things,” is here, combining the show’s tone with an early Steven Spielberg suburban-stressed-out-parents-and-their-quirky-kids-movie feel. (“Don’t be yourself!” is the family slogan.) Chess pieces move on their own, flashlights are frequently employed, and proton packs are frequently used.
From a Slimer-esque animal dubbed Muncher “voiced” by Josh Gad (bravo, eating noises!) and Logan Kim playing an insanely strange podcaster, to acting greats J.K. Simmons and Tracey Letts (Coon’s real-life playwright-acting spouse), the quantity of acting talent wasted in this picture is astounding. Paul Rudd as a studly instructor provides a maternal love interest, but due to the excessive slime, 2021’s Sexiest Man Alive fails to generate comic sparks.
“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” plods along like an after-school special — youngsters, did you know science can be fun? — until it reaches its inevitable conclusion: In the final ten minutes, original stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson return to save the day (curiously also appearing, but sidelined, are OGs Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver). Then, thanks to miraculous computer work, Ramis heroically emerges, a moment that might be seen as either immensely vulgar or honorifically rude.
“What the hell is going on?” says the narrator. One character inquires, and she is correct. The film’s musical cues are often forced to convey to the spectator what they should be feeling due to poor editing. The plot is poorly stated, relying on the audience’s prior knowledge of the first film, particularly the same adversaries – Gozer, the Gatekeeper, and the Keymaster. Please, at the very least, update the baddies.
After realizing that this is only a best hits collection, viewers may relax and look forward to hearing phrases like “Are you a god?” and “Who you going to call?” After all, this isn’t a movie that can be watched on its own. Standing in the shadow of its father, it’s more like a half-movie. It’s a film designed to get us to buy more lunchboxes.
The film “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” from Sony Pictures, is rated PG-13 for “supernatural action and some suggestive themes,” and will be released exclusively in theaters on Friday. The film has a running time of 124 minutes. One out of four stars.