Ghostbusters
“When someone asks you if you’re a god, you say YES”
Summary:
After witnessing a ghost at a library and being fired from their university Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Ray Stantz, and Dr Egon Spengler decide to take their research and create the technology to capture ghosts. Once they find an office, they establish themselves as the Ghostbusters, the only paranormal exterminating company. While at first their business is slow, they eventually begin to have customers start to call in and they begin to be quite the success story. Peter has a particular interest in their first client Dana Barrett who has a problem with what seems to be a demon spirit in her apartment complex. With business booming the team begin to try to figure out why there has been so much paranormal activity in New York at the time and what will come from all this ghostly mayhem.
Characters:
Ghostbusters features three protagonists that fight the spectral threats that haunt their world. Peter Venkmen, Ph.D., is a scientist who conducts experiments at the university. Of the trio, he is the most socially adept. He chooses to spend most of his time flirting with any woman he sees, from a young college student to an older musician, Peter has no qualms with the women he attempts to swoon with his words. Egon Spengler is the nerdiest man of the bunch. What he lacks in social settings, he makes up for in pure intelligence. He is a character that takes the two extremes to heart. Ray Stantz is the lovable goofball of the group. He brings joy and happiness when he’s on screen that the others aren’t capable of showing.
Sebastian: 9.4/10
Ghostbusters is a classic creepy comedy film that has held up since it’s release. With its original premise, great cast of characters and amazing humour it is quite a good time to watch. The stand out of this movie is the cast and the chemistry on screen, whether it is Venkman trying to hit on Dana or the great dialogue between the Ghostbusters themselves. The whole team is great but if I had to pick out the best of the bunch it would have to be Bill Murray as Peter Venkman as his deadpan delivery of his jokes and his cynical edge make him an enjoyable and hilarious character with all his jokes landing. The other two main Ghostbusters are great too whether it is Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz being the lovable goofball who is the heart of the team and his jokes come from being naïve especially when he is with Venkman or the late Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler who is the nerd of nerds with his humour coming from his social awkwardness. Dana Barrett played by Sigourney Weaver is not just damsel in distress who comes to the Ghostbusters; she has a great personality as she constantly rejects Peter and stand toe to toe with his sarcastic remarks and while Ernie Hudson who plays Winston Zeddemore does not get a lot of time on screen as the newest Ghostbuster he does have some great lines while he is there and he is a fantastic addition.
The plot is quite original with the idea of paranormal exterminators being quite intriguing with lots of unique ideas and visuals that fill the screen and you may find yourself wanting to suit up as a Ghostbuster by the end. Another great thing about the story and script of this movie is that the world and ideas may be fun for the kids, but the humour is aimed at the adults for most of the time which makes it a good time for all. This movie isn’t necessarily scary, though as someone who saw this when they were 7, I can say I was scared, but it does have creepy elements and a few creepy visuals that make it a great film for this time of year. I also love the world they create with this history about the ghosts and the spirit world that makes it feel like it could be real with its own mythology and ideas like their equipment they use to catch the ghosts, the world feels lived in . Also once you hear that fun song you might not be able to get it out of your head. This movie is really quotable too with many iconic lines that you will remember for a while after watching the movie. The special effects are mostly 50/50 with the proton pack stuff looking good while some of the ghosts don’t really but it doesn’t hurt the movie overall.
All in all, this is one of my favourites and an absolute classic. This is a great film for Halloween that can be viewed by most ages. So if you are looking for a Halloween movie that is funny, creative and appeals to both kids and adults, Who you gonna call?
Austin: 8.9/10
Ghostbuster is an absolutely classic Halloween movie. It is a super fun movie to watch, with a great mix of halloween action, ghosts, and comedy. It’s not the scariest movie in the genre, but it is still packed with many attention grabbing scenes. The acting is decent throughout, and the characters are pretty well written. The effects aren’t fantastic, but they do a good enough job based on when this was released. It doesn’t steal from the quality of the movie, but I wouldn’t say it improves it in any way either.
The plot of this movie is spotless from start to finish. It is very funny, but it doesn’t lose it edge and thus become goofy. Ghostbusters does a great job of balancing the emotional scenes with the comic relief, including more than a few jokes that would fly over the heads of a younger audience. I also enjoyed the variance between ghosts, with the different attributes, creating a deeper, unique feeling movie.
I am a really big fan of the fact that they chose to build some of the later characters off of ancient mythology. The accuracy of their information was fantastic, and I think it really adds to the quality of this movie. All 4 of the ghostbusters are entertaining, and they all have a role in the bigger picture of the movie, both plot and character development wise. With that being said, there are parts of the dialogue that fall flat or feel like that they are lacking. That doesn’t apply to the comedic parts of the movie, just certain, more tense, scenes lack a little bit of drama, dialogue wise.
It is almost Halloween and this is a fantastic movie to watch with almost any audience. It is entertaining start to finish, and it is super funny. While it is a little bit of an older movie, it still holds up as one of the better Halloween movies around. I definitely recommend you go check this one out either on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or the physical copy!
Nathanyal: 8.5/10
Ghostbusters was a good movie that was funny, intriguing, and oddly sexual. Overall, the movie was a joy to watch. Although it was filmed in the 80s, many of the jokes and the characters were still entertaining and charming to this day. The plot, although basic, provided enough intrigue and welcome into the world of ghosts that it was interesting to watch the characters grow and adapt to the new situation. I also really enjoyed the comedy in the movie. Each joke was funny, and the mature jokes were cleverly hidden except for one specific scene.
From a lore standpoint, I would have wished they explained the method of capturing and containing the ghosts. Although there might have been some scientific jargon with those explanations, it would have been interesting to learn more about the technology the three scientists were able to come up with and why others were not able to replicate it. Another aspect that was subpar for this movie were the special effects. The dog ghosts did not age well with time.
All in all, the movie was enjoyable and contained a variety of jokes. The movie was more sexual than expected, but overall, it was a great joy to watch.
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