Ghostbusters (1984) Review | 40 Years Later, Does It Still Hold Up?

In 1984, one movie burst onto the scene and asked audiences one question. If there's something strange in the neighborhood, and it don't look good, who you're going to call? Ever since the beginning of this channel in 2016, 10 years on YouTube, we have been producing Ghostbusters content. One of the very first film reviews we did on this channel was of Ghostbusters: Answer the Call in 2016. Since then, we've interviewed the IDW Ghostbusters creative team. We've done Funko Pop reviews, toy reviews, trailer reviews, and so much more involving Ghostbusters. And now we're taking it back to the beginning. Today, we are going to be reviewing each of the films in the Ghostbusters franchise as part of our 10-year anniversary. I hope you guys enjoy. How do you feel about it, Slimer? >> [screaming] >> All right. >> [music] [music] >> Welcome back to Comic Gadget TV, the only place on YouTube where all geek culture collides. I'm Shannon, and as I stated earlier, today we're going to be looking at all of the Ghostbusters films in the Ghostbusters franchise, starting with the very first Ghostbusters movie, 1984's Ghostbusters, starring Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Sigourney Weaver, and Rick Moranis. There are movies that entertain you. There are movies that become classics. And then, there are movies that become a part of who you are. For me, that movie was Ghostbusters. I've loved Ghostbusters for as long as I can remember. As a kid, Saturday mornings for me meant sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of Cookie Crisp cereal, watching The Real Ghostbusters on TV. Throughout my childhood, the only copy of Ghostbusters we had was on VHS and is recorded from ABC's Saturday Night Movies. If you grew up in the '80s or '90s, you probably know exactly what I'm talking about. And if memory serves me correctly, the copy we had, somebody had accidentally recorded over a portion of the film. And this portion was right where the street car starts to collapse in uh and the Ghostbusters fall in. And then, as you're watching, all of a sudden, it cuts. And an episode of Fraggle Rock starts to play. The first time I experienced this, it was heartbreaking. Because Ghostbusters was such an aspect of me. It was my favorite film. I'd watch it as often as I could. Fortunately, the movie picks back up right as the Ghostbusters are reaching Dana Barrett's floor. Oddly enough, having Fraggle Rock integrated into Ghostbusters became a part of the experience for me. Ghostbusters wasn't just a movie in my house. It was the movie. Today I want to talk about why more than 40 years later Ghostbusters is still one of the greatest supernatural comedies ever made. Released in 1984 by Columbia Pictures Ghostbusters was directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It starred Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, Rick Moranis, and William Atherton. Atherton would forever comment on how fans regarded him since his portrayal of Walter Peck. Um often being cited as old peckerhead and being booed. Um something that really caused a lot a negative impact for him going forward until maybe the last decade when he began to accept it and embrace it. Um which is what encouraged his return as Mayor Peck in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The film was produced for about $30 million and ended up seeing a return of $300 million at the box office. That was a very surprising return. Especially considering most of the cast wasn't originally planned to be in the film. Originally Peter Venkman was supposed to be portrayed by John Belushi who sadly passed away in 1982. And it was only going to have John and Dan as Peter and Ray traveling around time and space busting ghosts together. But, sadly, John Belushi passed away and the role went to Bill Murray. I say sadly only because John Belushi passed away. I think the role of Peter Venkman was designed, maybe unintentionally, for Bill Murray because he is such an integral aspect of the role. Now, once Peter Venkman was recast as for Bill Murray, it was decided that Dan and Harold and Ivan wanted another big-name comedian to play the part of Winston Zeddemore. And they ended up turning to fellow Saturday Night Live alum Eddie Murphy. Unfortunately, Murphy had was torn between two different roles. Either he could take the part of Winston Zeddemore, which included a lot of what eventually became Peter Venkman's lines in the film, or he could star in his own film, Beverly Hills Cop. Needless to say, history has found that Beverly Hills Cop won out. And so, he was replaced with Ernie Hudson. Now, at the time when Murphy was set to play Winston, he was going to be a much bigger part of the film from the very beginning. He was also going to be a scientist. But, when they recast, they decided turn Winston into the everyman, the outsider coming in, helping the rest of us relate. And I think it made the movie better than what it would have been. Had the cards not fallen where they did, I think the movie would have faded into time. It wouldn't have become such the blockbuster franchise that it is today. It might have spawned a Saturday morning cartoon, but very likely it would have only lasted one season. What's impressive about this is that the film as it is now has gone on to spawn animated series, comic books, video games, action figures, costumes, collectibles, haunted attractions, sequels, and reboots. Now, say what you will about the 2016 film. Anytime it gets brought up on Facebook or YouTube or TikTok or Instagram or whatever, the comments are flooded that the 2016 film is not a Ghostbusters movie, but it is regardless of what you feel. It has the spirit of the originals, even if it may not have the stylistic humor. And I'll be reviewing that film later on as well as part of the 10-year anniversary of Comic Con TV. To say the fan base for Ghostbusters is still thriving today would be an understatement. An entire documentary was made around the fan base called Ghostheads. Very few movies out there become an active part of popular culture the way Ghostbusters did. One of the reasons Ghostbusters has aged so well is because it never commits to just being one thing. It's a comedy, but it's also horror. It's science fiction, but it's also a supernatural fantasy. It's a workplace comedy and it's a blue-collar business story. Somehow all those ingredients work together. The humor never actually undercuts the stakes, unlike the 2016, which is why fans have such a problem with the 2016 film is because the humor was just so in your face, so out there, so obvious, so forced. It made fun of men in a very disparaging way, and fans didn't really connect because of that. But with the original Ghostbusters film, the humor was subtle. It was dry, sarcastic, natural. This is how people in the real world would very very likely respond to these events. A lot of people use humor as a way to deal with traumatic events. And let's face it, if any one of us would have gone through what the Ghostbusters had gone through in the film, we would very likely be traumatized for the rest of our lives. But it worked. The horror never overwhelmed the comedy. There were scary scenes. I know as a kid when the library ghost did the jump scare at the uh whenever the Ghostbusters first encountered her, I was terrified. But even young me being terrified was able to get through it. I was able to move past it because the next scene had Venkman laughing about it. Had him making a joke out of it. We could see that the Ghostbusters were okay. The science feels just believable enough to make the impossible seem possible. A lot of reality shows today focus on ghost hunting and paranormal investigating, and they've created this culture around equipment that isn't really used in the way it was designed. You know, currently you have EMF meters as the modern-day PKE. As a former paranormal investigator myself, EMF meters do not detect ghosts. I don't know how this theory began or why people continue to believe it, But, it creates a confirmation bias. You can move the EMF meter around the room, and as soon as it gets close to a wall with an electric current running through it, it's going to go off. If you got a cell phone in your pocket, it's going to go off. If you're standing under a light or near a TV, it's going to go off. But, the equipment used in Ghostbusters, that's what it was designed for. It was designed to hunt ghosts. It wasn't designed to be something else and then moved into the realm of the supernatural. No, it was designed to detect ghosts. Egon Spengler designed the PKE meter and then used the readings obtained from the library ghost as a way to contain the spirit world. And that's something that's actually been theorized here. Um even recently, the collider at CERN has been theorized to be able to open a gateway into the afterlife, into the underworld, into the dimension where our energy goes after death. One thing that always surprises me when I watch Ghostbusters is how well the special effects hold up. It's something a lot of special effects films from the '80s struggle with. But, Ghostbusters doesn't. Why is that? The films today, whether it be the 2016 Ghostbusters, Afterlife, or Frozen Empire, still utilize a lot of the same effects that that original movie did. Sure, they a lot of times they are enhanced digitally, but that was one of the ways that developers, producers, the director, the special effects crew wanted to approach Afterlife was a return to basics. The films rely heavily on practical effects. They use miniatures, optical composition, matte paintings, puppets, real lighting interacting with real environments. Nothing feels weightless. Everything has texture and even today Slimer, for instance, the library ghosts, the terror dogs, Gozer, and especially the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man still feel surprisingly convincing. Sure, you can tell the movie was made in 1984, but it never stops feeling real. Now, I want to spend a few minutes talking about my favorite Ghostbuster, Peter Venkman. I've seen a lot of people describe Peter online as the lazy Ghostbuster, the skeptic, the guy who's motivated by money and women, but I don't think that's true at all. In fact, I think Peter Venkman is probably the most misunderstood character in the franchise. Peter isn't pretending that ghosts don't exist. He's pretending that he doesn't care. There's a difference there. People often point to his sarcasm and assume he's being dismissive, but I think he's actually one of the most observant characters in the film. In all of the films, throughout the original, Peter is constantly watching people. He studies Dana. He reads Walter Peck almost immediately. He notices subtle changes in situations before anyone else. When Stay Puft explodes, Peter immediately takes cover. Now, behind the scenes this is because Bill Murray developed an allergy to the shaving cream they used to mimic the marshmallow. And so they used that as part of Venkman's character. Peter immediately took cover. No one told him to. He recognized the danger. In Ghostbusters 2, when they're sitting in the psychiatric hospital being interviewed by Brian Doyle Murray, who is Bill's brother, who plays the psychiatrist. And Ray is talking about the painting and all this other stuff. And Brian's character says, "Yes, tell me about the painting." And looks at Peter. Peter immediately raises his head and says, "Don't look at me. I think these people are completely nuts." I've always interpreted it that as Peter maintaining the image that he's built for years. The films never say this outright, but when I look at the behavior across the franchise, a pattern starts to develop. Being autistic myself, I'm a very strong observer of patterns. He's hiding in plain sight. People underestimate him because he lets them. That means expectations stay low. Nobody expects the sarcastic slacker to be paying attention, but he is. Even in Ghostbusters Frozen Empire, Peter is one of the first ones to notice how Nadeem's emotions are impacting the flame behind him. Now, a lot of people will comment back that Peter was the only one in the room. That's not true. Lucky and Lars were back behind the glass in another room, observable, near the fire, working on some equipment. They didn't notice the fire increasing till after Peter kind of did this. Looked around Nadeem and noticed it. Everyone else is watching the phenomenon. Lucky and Lars are observing the fire after, you know, stopping what they were doing. Peter begins observing the person. He does what he can to get an emotional response out of Nadeem. He throws a pen at him and he begins to notice the fire increasing as Nadeem's emotions increase. That's who Peter has always been, observant, adaptable, quietly intelligent. He just lets everyone think he's the class clown. Take the first film when the Ghostbusters are in jail and everyone's going over the blueprints. He knows what the guys are talking about. He begins to notice everyone else gathering around. He begins to notice their intrigue into what the Ghostbusters are talking about. And he asks Ray to explain it to him as if he does knows nothing about metallurgy and all these other things, knowing that these other inmates, these other prisoners, would like to better understand what the Ghostbusters are talking about. He doesn't respond whenever Ray says, "You never paid attention. You never studied." He just smirks. Peter was one that didn't have to study, similar to Patch Adams, Robin Williams' character in the film Patch Adams. We always see Patch having fun. We always see him doing what he wants and not really focusing on the books and acing every test. In fact, Philip Seymour Hoffman's character calls him out on that and reports him to the dean for it, thinking he's cheating. In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, when the whole crew is at the firehouse preparing for the final battle, there's a knock on the firehouse door and everyone's getting their proton throwers ready, pointing, waiting for the big bad to come bursting through. They cautiously open the door and they're about ready to pull the trigger. As soon as they open the door, there's no one there. And their guard drops for a minute before Peter steps around. He knew enough to stand out of the way of fire. He knew that they would likely be expecting the big bad to come and attack. And so he stepped out of the way. My canon for Peter Venkman, analyzing him from a clinical perspective, I'm a clinical mental health counselor. I majored in psychology and sociology in school. I see somebody who's not surprised by the metaphysical. I see someone who's experienced some before the film even takes place. When he encounters the library ghost for the first time, he tries [snorts] to strike up casual conversation with it. He's a little stand-offish, sure, but he's just he tries to strike up casual conversation. He's not afraid, per se. Similar with all the other experiences. When the Ghostbusters get up to the penthouse or the corner apartment, Dana's apartment, and they get ready to go up the stairs, Peter's the first in line to go up, but then he sees the lightning and he's like, "No, no, you guys go ahead." It's not because he's afraid. I mean, maybe that's a little bit of it, but his experience has shown him what it means to be the first on the scene. He's the first one to encounter Slimer and get slimed for it. He doesn't want that to happen again. So he sends the others up instead. My theory why Peter decided to major in psychology and parapsychology, and because those are the easiest courses to take far from it. As somebody who has an associates and a bachelor's in psychology and sociology and a master's degree in clinical counseling, I can tell you for sure they are not easy degrees to obtain. In fact, to earn a doctorate, you have to contribute something to the field. You have to provide education. You have to bring something new. You can't just analyze other things and write a paper on them. You have to contribute. Peter Venkman would have had to contribute something significant to the field of psychology in order to earn his doctorate. He's never really surprised by any of the things that go on in the film. The only time you see a hint of surprise is when Slimer starts charging at him because he doesn't know what's going to happen. Is he caught off guard when he encounters Slimer for the first time? Sure, but it's not horrified surprise. It's just something he wasn't expecting. And so he's cautious. He's right here, Ray. He's looking at me. He's an ugly little spud, isn't he? I think he can hear you, Ray. As soon as that line drops, Slimer starts charging. He didn't know what to expect, but he knew it wasn't going to be good. So these fan-made posters of Venkman, the first Ghostbuster, I think there is a movie there that most fans don't really understand. They aren't seeing Venkman from the psychological perspective. They're seeing him exactly how other characters in the film see him, but there's more to him than that. And that's what makes him so great because people see him the way he wants them to see him, even those of us who are watching. But it takes a certain perspective to see the person beneath the character. But, Ghostbusters doesn't work because of one character. It works because of all of them, even the lesser characters and their interactions with the core four. Dana Barrett, Louis Tully, Walter Peck, the mayor, even. Even the cameo appearances, Larry King, Cheech Marin, and so on. Hell, the guy in the background of the news report that Ghostbusters News has begun using as their part of their logo or whatever, the jean jacket guy with the long hair and beard who's just standing there and he is part of the film. People come to expect to see him, even though he has no lines and he's such a very minor character, he's still part of what makes the film great. Ray is the believer, Egon is a scientist, Peter is the communicator, and Winston is us. He's the audience's point of view. Each character fills a role that balances the others perfectly. No one overshadows anyone else, and that's incredibly rare. You can't talk about Ghostbusters without mentioning Ray Parker's incredible theme song for the film, inspired in part by Huey Lewis and the News's I Want a New Drug. It's become one of the most recognizable movie themes ever written, but it also led Ray Parker Jr. into a court battle that didn't turn out in his favor, but eventually did in the long run because somebody on Huey's side ended up commenting on it and costing Huey a ton of royalties. Even people who've never seen Ghostbusters, they know exactly how to respond to that one question, who you going to call? Ghostbusters had a much bigger impact on me than simple entertainment. As a teenager and in my 20s, it inspired me to be a paranormal investigator. Having had encountered experiences on my own with the paranormal as a child. Even today, working as a mental health counselor and researcher, I find myself quoting Peter Venkman's line, "Back off, man. I'm a scientist." It's become one of those movie quotes that is permanently wired into my brain. Ghostbusters has always been more than a movie to me. It's part of my history, part of my collection, part of this channel. If you've been watching Comic Gan TV for a while, you've probably seen Ghostbusters come up a time or two. It's because Ghostbusters helped shape the person I am. If you're a long-time fan, I highly recommend checking out the novelizations. Richard Mueller's Ghostbusters The Supernatural Spectacular, which, as you can see here, is actually part of the omnibus of Ghostbusters 1 and 2. It was the original release, but then it was halted in favor of the official licensed Ghostbusters novelization that is a more closely resembles the film. But the Supernatural Spectacular includes the original concepts that were written into the script, as well as additional scenes and details. The proton packs were exactly how they were originally designed in the original script. They were wands that came out of the wrist-mounted devices on the Ghostbusters' arms. It includes more linear path. Uh the montage scene that's included in the film is is up in this book and expanded upon. Now, Larry Milne's adaptation stays much closer to what we ultimately saw on the screen. If you're interested in exploring the Ghostbusters universe beyond the films, they're worthwhile reads. Ghostbusters is funny. It's clever. It's endlessly quotable. It has unforgettable characters, groundbreaking special effects, and an incredible soundtrack. It has one of the greatest ensemble cast ever assembled for a comedy. Over 40 years later, it still feels fresh. It still makes me laugh. And it still reminds me why I fell in love with movies in the first place. Not just the Ghostbusters movie, but every movie I've fallen in love with. Brings up a sense of nostalgia for me. It also brings up wonderment. It allows me to take myself out of the grounded clinician and into a world of the unknown. What would happen if ghosts were real and we could actually contain them and study them. Ghostbusters isn't just one of my favorite comedies. It isn't one of my favorite supernatural films. It is by far my favorite film of all time. Period. I rate Ghostbusters a 10 out of 10 and would very much love for them to do a director's cut or producer's cut where it takes out the montage and puts the scenes in chronological order and expands upon them and includes the deleted scenes. I would love to see that just once or twice. It wouldn't be my go-to, of course, on any given day as the original is my go-to. I I watch it several times a year. But, it's a film edition that I would be I would be interested in watching. If somehow you've never seen Ghostbusters and you made it this far without spoilers, do yourself a favor and give it a watch. And if you've loved it for decades like I have, I'd love to hear your memories. Did you grow up watching The Real Ghostbusters? Did you have a well-worn VHS copy like I did? Let me know in the comments below. What do you think of our review, Slimer? >> [screaming] [crying] >> Mhm. Ghostbusters is one of the greatest franchises to hit cinema in forever. It has made such a huge impact on the culture of the world. So many people now consider themselves Ghostheads. Ghostbusters fans who make Ghostbusters a central part of their lives. Before John passed away, he started developing a Decatur, Illinois branch of Ghostbusters. Now, for those of you who don't know, um when we say a branch of Ghostbusters, that means fans who come together, who have uniform flight suits, um maybe they built their own proton packs, maybe they bought one from Spirit Halloween or whatever. They come together and then share their love of Ghostbusters. And in doing so, they participate in community service. They hold fundraisers. They attend and participate in parades and celebrations. They go to children's hospitals and so much more in order to bring their love and joy for the franchise to others. Now, we don't actually mean that these individuals are actually building active proton packs, nuclear accelerators, and going out and thinking they're going to bust ghosts. No, it's more of a fandom and something that brings something to the community. It provides a community service of sorts. And I hope now that Ghost Corps, the production studio behind the Ghostbusters franchise, is starting to put out more content. Recently, we received news that the Netflix animated series is going to be entitled Ghostbusters night shift. And I hope that with that comes more and more Ghostbusters content. I think one of the biggest mistakes the Ghost Corps made though was not the 2016 Ghostbusters film. It was moving the license away from IDW and then putting it elsewhere. With IDW, the team was building a universe that connected to the films, connected to the animated series, connected to other comics, merged the original universe with the 2016 Answer the Call universe, and even had them teaming up with the Ninja Turtles. There could have been no limit to where that universe could have went in the future. I would have loved to see Phoebe and her family come into the IDW universe and interact with those characters. And in that universe, we received a look at some characters who were possibly going to be the future of the Ghostbusters franchise. Even an autistic character who, even though it wasn't actually divulged in the comic that he was autistic, it was very apparent. And Dan Schoening and the others confirmed in our interview that he was autistic. And it wasn't the standard media portrayal of autism, the way it's seen in The Good Doctor and Big Bang Theory. It was a very real characterization of autism. Dan Aykroyd himself has been diagnosed with Previously, it was Asperger's at the time of his diagnosis. Asperger's has now been merged with into the autism spectrum. And so, Dan Aykroyd is autistic. So, essentially, Dan Aykroyd is the first autistic Ghostbuster. But, I think having that displayed more prominently in the Ghostbusters franchise, in the Ghostbusters universe, can give kids and adults alike a sense of belonging. Think about what Garrett did for those with other disabilities. Maybe they were confined to wheelchairs. Maybe Maybe they were non-verbal. Maybe they didn't have the use of certain limbs, or whatever the case may be. Garrett being the first Ghostbuster, the first hero in a wheelchair without any special powers or anything like that, gave kids and adults a place to belong. Think about Rick Moranis's portrayal of Louis Tully. And in Ghostbusters 2, when Louis picked up the proton pack, put on the uniform, and became a Ghostbuster. That scene at the end of Ghostbusters 2, where he said, "I did it. I did it. I'm a Ghostbuster." That is what every child wishes they could say. And they can if they have representation within the cinematic universe, within the comic book universe, within the animated universe. They can see themselves as Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters has been very near and dear to my heart my entire life. If you enjoyed that video, make sure to check out one of these two playlists for more videos just like the one you just watched. >> [music] >> I've been Shannon. This has been Comic Front TV, the only place on YouTube where all geek culture collides. Take care, geeks.