Ghostbusters (1984)
I’ve got a question for all of you. It’s important. It’s also the most apparent joke I can make, considering the title of this post.
Who ya gonna call?
That’s right. Today, June 8th, is the 40th anniversary of the original Ghostbusters film. There’s a lot to say about this movie, but as is always the case, let’s take it from the top.
From this first encounter, we move on to three of our four heroes: Peter Venkman, played by Bill Murray, Ray Stanz, played by Dan Ackroyd, and Egon Spengler, played by the late Harold Ramis. The three are Parapsychology professors at Columbia University, researching the Supernatural, and when they hear about the Library ghost, they jump at the opportunity to start proving their theories once and for all. Of course, how do you capture a poltergeist once you’ve found one? Ray’s got a plan.
Ray’s plan is terrible. Just yelling “Get em” isn’t a viable option, even when you consider there’s no precedent for what they’re trying to do. But hey! They’ve met their first Ghost. It’s all uphill from here, right?
Listen. Hitting rock bottom still means you can only move up. My previous statement still stands. Anyway, our heroes now have a new plan: Get some money (sorry about your parent’s house, Ray, but the future awaits); buy a new home base, as in the legendary Firehouse.
And then go into business themselves. And thus, the Ghostbusters are born.
Now, they only need to wait for that first case. It comes eventually when their secretary Janine Melnitz(as played by Annie Pots), proudly proclaims.
That’s right. The team has its first case. A green ghost is at a hotel. What Green Ghost, you ask? That would be the one and only Slimer!
Except he’s not called that in the movie. That’s a name that would come later. Whatever the case, our boys capture him. And now that they’ve publicly caught their first Ghost and gotten some credibility, it’s time for commercials!
Hell yeah! Good times are rolling! They even hire their fourth member, Winston Zeddemore, played by Ernie Hudson
But wait, things aren’t all sunshine and roses. A young woman named Dana Barrett (played by Sigourney Weaver) approaches Venkman. Dana is haunted by an entity in her apartment known as Zuul. The team learns that Zuul is a worshipper of Gozer, the Gozerian, a shapeshifting god that wants to kick everyone’s asses.
Well, ok fine. It’s actually a shapeshifting god of destruction, but destruction usually implies ass-kicking.
Zuul eventually does possess Dana,
while another entity, Vinz Clortho, possesses her neighbour, Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), as shown here.
Wow. Nobody even called the cops. Dick move people. Anyway, Zuul is the Gatekeeper, while Vinz is the Keymaster. That…sounds like a bad combination. But all our heroes have to do is not let them meet each other and never allow any ghosts to escape.
…Enter Walter Peck, an Environmental Protection Agency Inspector, who suspects the Ghostbusters are not on the up and up. Peter dunking on him didn’t help things, so he comes back with a Police Warrant and some city workers, intending to arrest the group and shut down their containment unit, despite everyone telling him that’s not a good idea. It all works out.
Oh, and Zuul and Vinz found each other. They become Demon Dogs.
So all the ghosts are loose. Our heroes are in jail because of Peck and Gozer is about to punch reality in the face. But the good news is the team convinced the Mayor to let them handle things. They enter Dana and Louis’ apartment, which is where Gozer will enter the world, and meet the terrifying god of destruction…
….huh. Well then, our heroes…no, wait, what am I doing? I almost forgot about this.
Right. Now, we can continue. Despite the Ghostbusters’ best efforts, they do not make Gozer toast. Instead, she disappears, only for her voice to ring out, telling them to choose the form of their destruction. Peter realizes it means the very first thing they think of will become the form Gozer uses to kick all their asses, so he advises his teammates to clear their minds. Easy enough, right?
….what did you do Ray?
Dammit! What did you….?
….oh….ok then. So Gozer is now that thing, namely the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. Don’t let its silly appearance fool you. It’s still gigantic and capable of destroying everything. The only way to stop it is to close the door Gozer came through, and there’s only one way to do that.
So, I forgot that Egon said never to cross the streams. It isn’t good. It’s supposed to kill everything. But if they don’t, Gozer will also kill everything; this is a case of two wrongs, maybe hopefully making a right. Sure, they will probably die, but at least it’ll stop Gozer.
So, streams get crossed, Evil gods are stopped, and that’s the end.
Well, wait, there’s a bit more. Our heroes didn’t die; everyone in the city is alive (but covered in hot Marshmallow goop), and even Dana and Louis are human again. Ok. Now, it’s the end.
And this town loves you….at least until the sequel.
And that is the original Ghostbusters film. Filled with Alumni from Saturday Night Live and SCTV, this horror comedy is still well known today. It would be followed by an animated adaptation, “The Real Ghostbusters” (there was already an animated series called just “Ghostbusters”. That show was a sequel to a live-action show of the same name) in 1986, a live-action Sequel “Ghostbusters II” in 1989, an animated sequel to Real Ghostbusters called “Extreme Ghostbusters” in 1997, a 2016 reboot film with an all-female cast (that wasn’t well-liked, but I’m not a hater), and then finally, a follow-up of the original continuity with Ghostbusters: Afterlife in 2021, which would get its own sequel in “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” which aired in theatres this past March of this year.
Funny story: I watched more of Ghostbusters II before I ever really saw all of the first movie so that’s the Ghostbusters I was more familiar with for a while. Still, once I saw the original, I understood its popularity. I also should have mentioned the video game for the Playstation 2, Playstation Portable (PSP), Playstation 3, X-Box 360, and Wii. It’s the last time the late Harold Ramis portrayed Egon Spengler as well, so if you can find it, enjoy it.
And that is my look back on the original Ghostbusters. It is a film that is still enjoyable to this day and has a long legacy. Enjoy this, enjoy Frozen Empire if you can, and remember to not be afraid of no ghosts.
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