I remember when the trailer for Ghostbuster Afterlife came and was excited like the 7-year old I was when the first Ghostbusters came out in 1984. Ghostbusters has been such an iconic cultural phenomenon for everyone world over and is one of the most definitive movies of the 80s.

I can tell you that throughout the movie, I felt like I was sitting back in my childhood era in the 80s. That’s pure nostalgia for me. And that is what this movie is essentially all about: a trip down that fond memory lane, to relive the glory days of the 80s, to re-experience those feel good and fuzzy feeling all over again.

This movie will also serve as a way to introduce Ghostbusters to a whole new generation of kids today. However, I feel the older generation people like me, or those who connect with the 80s, will drive this movie to the top of the charts.

Oh, do stay till the end. There are several post credits scenes that are a must see!

So, what do we have in this new movie?

A mother (some of you may recognise Carrie Coon from Gone Girl who played Ben Affleck’s sister) and her two kids move to a small town Summerville, where the kids’ grandfather has passed away. The kids Trevor (a very familiar if not now-older-looking Finn Wolfhard from Stranger Things) and Phoebe (a very fresh-faced McKenna Grace) are finding it hard to adjust to this dead, boring town that experiences periodical earthquakes. Trevor takes up a job at the local diner while Phoebe struggles to fit in school. Another student, Podcast (hilarious!) befriends Phoebe and they are the first to discover a ghost- who looks like the Slime from the original movie. Trevor meanwhiles strikes up a friendship with a girl from the diner.

At the same time, we are also seeing how the mother is holding a huge grudge against her father, Dr. Egon Spengler, who was one of the four Ghostbusters in 1984. Phoebe discovers her grandfather’s ghost busting gun while Trevor discovers the original Ghost mobile. We also get to see the Trap which fascinates the local school teacher played enduringly by Paul Rudd. These scenes made for a lot of fun as I also felt like I was rediscovering these hidden gems. Yes, you do see the familiar ghosts, the Gate Keeper, the Marshmallow men and others. There is also a very cheeky moment when one characters says the ever so familiar line: Who ya gonna call? I immediately said Ghostbusters! Such an iconic moment.

The rest of the movie dives into how the four kids then make their way to the Shandor mountains from where the ghosts have been released and get into the ghost-busting mood!

SPOILER ALERT!

Don’t read on if you haven’t seen the movie.

Like seriously, don’t.

I don’t wan’t you to hold me responsible for spoiling your mood.

You can still turn away if you want to.

Ok.

Here we go.

At this point of the movie, we all come back to the house where Ray shows up (a very oldDan Ackroyd) along with Peter and Winston (a much more older looking Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson). This was the point that got me all excited to see the original three ghostbusters show up and drive the movie towards the conclusion.

Mind you, there is also an emotional reunion with the mother and the daughter with their grandfather, Egon Spengler (the late Harold Ramis – they used footage from the original movie), the fourth ghost buster. It was such a special moment to see the original cast and served as a perfect point of connection from the original movie to this one.

The movie is dedicated to Harold Ramis.

I left the movie with such a warm fuzzy feeling as soon as the familiar soundtrack began. Before I could bring myself back to 2021, there was…wait, what’s that? A post credit scene. Oh man, there was another surprise return of an actor from the original, Sigourney Weaver. Back to the classic 80s moment! What a moment of sheer joy!

Director: Jason Reitman (who is the son of Ivan Reitman, the director of the original movie)

Cast: Finn Wolfhard, McKenna Grace, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd

Running Time: 125 mins

Seen at: Cue Cinemas, Lahore.