Ghostbusters Afterlife Knows How to Call an Audience

Everything old is new again. Ghostbusters is no exception. I don’t know about you, but the quality, or lack thereof, hasn’t always been top-notch for some reboots and continuations. My childhood is under assault from every angle, and we’re stuck in a pandemic. A Nerd Girl can take only so much. So it was with a heavy dose of skepticism that I took my seat in a theater to watch Ghostbusters Afterlife.

Movie scores aren’t a hot topic when discussing movies, but they play a big part in the impact on viewers. Why else would Universal Studios pipe the instrumental tracks for Harry Potter into their Wizarding World? Hearing the slightly off-key tinkle of a couple of piano keys right at the start of Afterlife told me that everything was going to be alright.

Afterlife, while shifting focus away from the OG Ghostbusters, still managed to capture humor and adventure and roll it in with the action. What can I say? I’m a sucker for heroes who can inject laughter into a serious situation.

The Afterlife writers opted not to go the route of 2016’s Ghostbusters and 2018’s Ocean’s Eight. The world doesn’t need to see a female carbon copy of Danny Ocean, James Bond, Indian Jones, or Peter Venkman. Through the characters of Callie and Phoebe, Afterlife shows us what happens when women are left out of the equation.

In the original films, Janine and Dana were present and active characters. As far as supporting characters go, I wouldn’t call them outright stereotypes, but they certainly are in very close orbit.

Callie and Phoebe are different. As Egon opted to isolate himself from this family and friends, Callie being the youngest, is the one to feel the rejection the hardest. Her total rejection of science and logic directly impacts her life certainly and those of her kids.

What could her life have been if she hadn’t been excluded? One thing she probably wouldn’t have done was gatekeep her own daughter’s interests. I don’t think I need to go further down that rabbit hole. Who reading this hasn’t felt the effects of gatekeeping?

Two? Three months after release is hardly breaking, cutting edge timing. Better late than never, I suppose. Regardless, Afterlife didn’t get the attention it deserves. So check it out if you haven’t already.