Ghostbusters: Afterlife
A single mother and her two children move to the small town of Summerville, they soon discover they have a connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.
Another day, another Ghostbusters movie, however, this is far from your average “Ghostbusters” movie, this was a heartfelt tribute to Egon Spengler played by now a deceased actor (Harold Allen Ramis) who was involved in both the original Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2.
Callie Spengler is the daughter of Egon Spengler however even though she is the daughter of one of the most beloved Ghostbusters members, she didn’t know her father much as he was constantly on the road catching ghosts and saving the world. Over the years she slowly begins to convince herself that her father didn’t love her and was too busy to think about her.
It gets so bad for her to speak about her father that even her children knew nothing about him or what he did for a living. Until one day Phoebe and Trevor both uncover the secrets left to them by their grandfather at his home in Summerville which Callie inherited after his passing. Mind you we don’t know who it is exactly that is killed by the ghost at first.
Trevor is played by (Finn Wolfhard) best known for his role in the Netflix series “Stranger Things“, his the eldest of siblings and seems to be a natural-born driver even though he failed his license three times lol, Phoebe is the youngest sibling with an incredible mind just like Egon Spengler.
However having such a great mind comes with its complications, she finds it hard to make friends and has these absurd scientific jokes that will go over most people’s heads lol…
Coming to Summerville seems to be the best move for the family as Phoebe finally makes her first friend in Podcast played by (Logan Kim) but keep in mind that this kid is just as smart as Phoebe, at the age of 12 already having his podcast and Mr. Grooberson, a seismologist played by (Paul Rudd) who’s surprised at the amount of knowledge Phoebe has. This prompts him to take her home one day after a Saturday class and that’s when he meets Callie again, the two form their grown-up bond later during the film. (wink wink)
The film is a bit slow with the pacing but makes that up with its amazing character development and storytelling. The CGI for the ghosts could have looked more realistic but let’s not discredit the improvements they have made from the first movies.
The film doesn’t disappoint in creating tension between Phoebe and Callie as the truth of her grandfather being a scientist just like her is revealed and poor Phoebe who’s felt like an outcast is overcome with anger and rage as to why her mother never told her about this and who are we to blame her for never telling her about her grandfather when he disappeared out of her life without a word.
Though when the truth is revealed to her as well in the secret lab, she uncovers that Egon had been watching her entire life from afar, he had an entire wall dedicated to her life from when she was a baby brings her to tears. All this time she had the wrong idea and been telling herself a lie. Now she can live her life with her head held up high.
This movie was a roller-coaster of emotions, I can only imagine how the die-hard fans of the original Ghostbusters must feel when seeing Egon Spengler as a spirit, this scene with him and Phoebe brought endless tears to my eyes, it’s as if the director was telling everyone that Harold Ramis will always live on in our hearts.
But one thing is clear, the future of Ghostbusters is young and fresh with Phoebe being the leader. She inherited Egon’s will more than anyone else and I can not wait to see what the new young ghostbusters will achieve.