Ghostbusters Afterlife

Directed by Jason Reitman, Ghostbusters Afterlife is a sequel to the original films of 1984 & 1989, directed by his father Ivan. We pick up the story of Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) a single mum to Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and daughter of Egon, one of the original Ghostbusters. Struggling to make her rent, she finds out her father has died and left her a farm in Summerville a small US town. Deciding to pack up and leave their New York troubles behind, they head to the farm and discover it’s in less than good condition. Condition aside they find the farm, the town and the later life of Egon are not what everyone assumed. Trevor, Phoebe and local kids Podcast (Logan Kim) and Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) find themselves thrust into an adventure with the fate of the world In their hands.

For me Afterlife feels like and to a great extent is, a loving warm hearted tribute to the original films. It is far from perfect, but is fun and pushes some nice, if predictable, nods to the original buttons. But while those links are there it feels that it borrows far more from something like The Goonies.

It’s at its best in the first half as it does a good job of building the tension as the kids discover the secrets of the town. It’s less successful in the second half as the story doesn’t really hold together, with plot holes so big you could easily drive Ecto-1 through the middle.

The young central cast are enjoyable, McKenna Grace and Logan Kim particularly who have a nice on screen chemistry, with wit and adventure well balanced. Around them Wolfhard and O’Connor are solid and the adult cast, while peripheral, are fine.

Where it’s not as successful is its story, in all honesty after its promising start its a little dull and plodding and makes some huge plot jumps, which stretches credibility even for Ghostbusters. The ending is very predictable and while it’s more Ghost less busters, I thought it was a nice touch.

Ghostbusters Afterlife is not perfect, but is a nice tribute to the originals. There is enjoyment to be had, especially in the performances of McKenna Grace and Logan Kim. But a promising first half is let down by a lacklustre second. It’s touted as giving “fans” what they wanted but not sure if it’s good enough to fully please.