Ghostbusters: Afterlife feels like a lot of things, an actual sequel to the 1984 original is not one of them. Throughout its two-hour runtime, the film has an identity crisis that it never resolves. Afterlife cannot decide if it’s Ghostbusters 3, a reboot that simply pays homage to the original film or an indie drama about a struggling family.

Being evicted from her city apartment, Callie (Carrie Coon) is forced to move out into the country with her two children, Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), and settle in her dead father’s farmhouse. While she tries to sort their financial situation, Phoebe and Trevor search the premises and discover some strange devices. They then learn that their grandfather was one of the legendary Ghostbusters.

The Characters

Callie, Phoebe and Trevor lead the indie drama section of Afterlife, a section that takes up the entirety of the first act and part of the second. Their story isn’t a bad one, it’s one that concerns Callie’s complex relationship with her father, Phoebe’s struggle to socialize and fit in and Trevor’s search for love.

For a period, the film plays like every indie drama we’ve ever seen with its smalltown setting and coming-of-age themes. Of the three characters, Phoebe is the most empathetic but then again, being a teenage outcast, how can she not be? Comedy wise Callie is the most well written. Her sarcastic, cynical humour is very reminiscent of the ‘84 original.

Then they find the Ghostbusting gear. This is where Afterlife becomes a soft reboot of the Ghostbusters franchise. It obviously takes place in the same world as the original but centres on a new group of characters in a totally different setting. As Phoebe experiments with the equipment, she attends a summer school where she befriends a fellow pupil (Logan Kim) and her teacher (Paul Rudd).

I liked the scenes with Phoebe coming out of her box and making connections, I felt like I was watching an actual character with their own history and desires. I cannot say the same for the rest of the cast. They have very little to do, their functions are either to guide Phoebe to certain plot points or set up a reference. This is where the film morphs into Ghostbusters 3 and everything, from the indie drama plot to the shallow characters to the abundance of references, comes together and falls apart.

The References

For me, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is up there with Terminator: Dark Fate and The Predator as one of the worst reboots I’ve ever seen. Like many recent reboots, the film prioritizes mere mentions of recognizable characters, devices and creatures over a strong, concise narrative. In the first and second acts, the referencing, while nauseating at times, is tolerable.

For example, the scenes where Phoebe toys with her grandfather’s equipment while researching the original Ghostbusters’ exploits online aren’t there for nostalgia’s sake. They’re a part of Phoebe’s arc and contribute to the film’s world-building. The reveals of the proton packs and Ecto-1 are a bit schmaltzy but it could be argued that the presentations are justified as it’s technically been nearly 40 years since we’ve seen them. The use of the first film’s score feels out of place. I feel the music is more suited to the original’s 80s’ New York setting hence it’s quite awkward hearing it over shots of modern South-Central America.

The third act is where it all crashes and burns. It’s essentially the third act of the original but minus the self-awareness and deadpan humour. The screenwriters appear to be under the impression that because people have sentimental feelings for the first two Ghostbusters, the sequel to them should itself be sentimental. However, if you watch those films, you’ll realise that their lack of tenderness and affection is one of the things that made them so great. Hence the Spielbergian climax of Afterlife is nothing short of visceral and cringe-inducing.

At its best, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is an average indie drama mixed with a soft reboot that occasionally overindulges in references. As a whole however Afterlife is the former, the latter and the worst thing to happen to the Ghostbusters’ name since the 2016 reboot. I don’t recommend it.

I give Ghostbusters: Afterlife a poor 4 out of 10.