Ghostbusters: Afterlife Review: Back to the Ghosts

Prairie Grown Reviews is reader-supported. When you purchase something through our links we may earn an affiliate commission.

What happens in Ghostbusters: Afterlife?

Phoebe and Trevor never knew their grandfather, but after his death they are forced to come face to face with his life. Short on money, Callie has no choice but to move her children into her estranged father’s home in a small town in the middle of nowhere. What Phoebe thought was going to be a week may last a little bit longer than that as she begins to discover who her grandfather really was.

Who are the characters in Ghostbusters: Afterlife?

Phoebe, Trevor, Podcast and Gary are the 4 most important protagonists in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Phoebe is a young girl who never really fits in with anyone at school. She loves science, but struggles to make friends. The move away from the city pushes her into a new environment where her talents are encouraged, and she makes a friend at school. That friend would be Podcast.

Podcast, who must have a real name, is a podcaster with a passion for ghosts. Although there hasn’t been a sighting in his lifetime, he is convinced they are out there. He is a quirky kid who speaks his mind. Trevor is Phoebe’s older brother, much more involved in his social life than Phoebe.

Trevor is in those awkward teenage years where he is trying to impress everyone at the same time and has a sister that doesn’t let any white lies slide. Gary is the oldest of our crew of 4, by a long shot. He is the summer school teacher, but more importantly a seismologist. He is fascinated by ghosts and why earthquakes are occurring in a region with absolutely no earthquake markers.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife Review

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a sequel and a reboot in a sense to the original Ghostbusters film from the 1980s. Now for those of you who remember, the original Ghostbusters is one of my favourite films of all time in my top 20 in fact. It is indeed, the film I watch every Halloween. Well that or Ghostbusters 2. So I was quite excited to see a continuation in this universe as I felt there was a lot of potential to expand upon the originals’ world. I can easily say I was not disappointed as I thought Ghostbusters: Afterlife was an excellent film. 

The first thing I would like to complement is the cast, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Logan Kim, Paul Rudd, and Mckenna Grace to name a few. To talk about a few standouts, Paul Rudd who of course was awesome as always as he played a really important character in the journey of the protagonist. Logan Kim as Podcast was hilarious and I really felt that he knew how to make his lines work.

Mckenna Grace who plays Phoebe has a tough task being the star of this film but she really holds her own and makes her character super likeable. Now Phoebe as a character along with her brother Trevor (Wolfhard) are the grandchildren to one of the original Ghostbusters and even though it’s pretty obvious which one if you’ve seen a trailer but I won’t give it away. I think that Phoebe’s character really does feel like her grandfather and it’s interesting to see the parallels.

The story itself was quite interesting and I enjoyed the way they built up the connections to the original films. The story does have some similarities to the original and I thought it was really clever given how that first film ends. The setting of a small town really also makes this film stand out and gives it a different vibe from the first since the rural setting does make it feel like a smaller film.

I did think this film did a good job having a bit of a creepy factor to it that helped create that atmosphere, especially around the farmhouse where a lot of the mystery unfolds. There are many references to the original film with some just being visual minor references to some being direct quotes and even more which as a Ghostbusters fan I loved every time and I think I caught everyone. If i had one problem with the film is that it could feel a bit slow at times. 

All in all, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a fantastic film, and if you’re a fan of the franchise there are so many references to enjoy but even if this is your introduction to the series I would still say check it out as it’s just a good movie. So yes I definitely recommend and would say head out to theatres to check this out.