Ghostbusters (1984) Review (Favourite Films Series)

Tagline: They're here to save the world.

Ghostbusters (1984) Review (Favourite Films Series)

 

One of the biggest lessons I learned as a film fan in the decade of the 2010s is this: nostalgia is both potent and capricious. I lost count of how many film franchises were resurrected just because fans remembered the original fondly. Things that didn’t need to be brought back were, and sometimes, when you actually look back on a movie you enjoyed as a kid, it doesn’t hold up to your more sophisticated adult brain. It might still hold a special place in your heart, but in your head, you know it isn’t what it used to be. Of course, there are loads of exceptions, and there’s one movie in particular I can’t help but feel survived the nostalgia factor for an entire generation who grew up with it: the original Ghostbusters.

Obviously when Ghostbusters first came out in the mid-1980s, it was beloved by all the parents and other adults who saw it. The movie was a huge hit, it spawned a sequel, a cartoon series, tons of toys and merchandise, but for kids in the 80’s, it was one of the greatest things to ever exist. It blended accessible humor with the stuff of horror films: ghosts and monsters and city-wide destruction. Kids went as the Ghostbusters for Halloween. When those kids grew up and started having kids of their own, Hollywood preyed upon their nostalgia and gave them a remake in 2016, then a sequel/reboot in 2021. It’s still a mainstay of pop culture. The theme song plays over the radio every Halloween. Even the logo is instantly recognizable. If someone on the street walked up to you and asked you without context and with just the right inflection: “Who you gonna call?” I bet I know what your answer would be.

Ghostbusters was a favourite film of mine as a kid, and unlike so many other favourites that faded in my memory or lost their charm as I matured, it just kept getting better and funnier. There were so many jokes that used to go over my head, but the premise is accessible for all ages: these guys are like a supernatural pest control agency. That’s really all you need to know, but for those who might not be familiar, let’s dig into the story a little further. The Ghostbusters are trying to be taken seriously, but the university doesn’t believe their extensive knowledge of the paranormal. All of New York will believe it soon, though, because an interdimensional portal has been opened, revealing the ancient god of destruction Gozer and its two demigod demon dog disciples, Zuul and Vinz Clortho, in the refrigerator of Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver). If it sounds a little out there, that’s because it is. Throw in a whole bunch of other ghosts, a mammoth Marshmallow monster, and unlicensed nuclear-powered particle accelerators, and you have one of the most original movies of the 1980’s.  

The number one reason Ghostbusters works as well as it does is because of the characters and the actors portraying them. I can’t imagine any other actors as these characters, and not just because of how iconic they’ve become as an ensemble. Bill Murray’s dry wit makes Peter Venkman an absolute standout, and the pairing of him with Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz is what first grabs your attention at the start of the film. I love it when a movie can start out in a place of relative simplicity and escalate so much that when you stop to think about it after it’s over or when you re-watch it, you’re taken aback by how far the story progresses. Ray and Venkman, along with Harold Ramis’ Egon Spengler, look for a ghost in a library, but before that, we first meet Venkman doing an ESP fake-out on a college student. It’s a simple intro to the character, but we instantly get who he is. By the end, all of them are saving the whole city from total destruction, but the progression to that point is rock solid.

I’ve never been a fan of ghosts as a concept. I always liked monsters and creatures and aliens more—tangible evil is my jam, but ghosts are abstract. The ghosts in Ghostbusters are different, though. They aren’t just misty spirits or white sheets draped over a person, these ghosts have character, variety, and impact. The first one is a terrifying eyeless old woman that literally jumps out at Ray, Egon, and Venkman (and at the audience), setting the tone of the film: it’s a fun kind of scary. Then of course there’s the now-iconic Slimer, a completely original concept for a ghost: a green goo monster with an insatiable appetite. Slimer went on to become arguably the most recognizable of all the ghost designs from Ghostbusters, but it’s easy to forget his actual screen time in the original film is quite short. But then there’s more than just the ghosts. The hellhounds Zuul and Vinz Clortho are genuinely frightening, and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is one of the best giant monsters to ever feature in any film.

The thing about these ghosts and monsters, though, is the special effects used to create them have that uniquely 80’s charm that would not have happened had this movie been made a decade earlier or a decade later. The soft glow of the ghosts, the animatronic heads of Zuul and Vinz Clortho (or the stop motion shots of their full bodies moving), and the miniature effects for Stay Puft all add up to numerous memorable visuals that don’t really feel dated, or ever will. Even beyond the ghosts, little in-camera effects like when things go haywire in Dana’s apartment are so much more fun because they feel authentic, and it makes you believe some pretty outrageous things more easily.   

I could go on and on about how great Ghostbusters is, but I think I’ve highlighted the main aspects that have made it one of my enduring favourite films. It’s the kind of movie I could watch anytime, but it’s especially fun to watch in the month of October. While it does have a few genuinely tense and spooky moments, it’s a comedy first and foremost, and it’s just a fun ride all the way through. Though the franchise continues, it will never get better than where it first started.