Ghostbusters (1984)

Film: Ghostbusters

Director: Ivan Reitman

Country: USA

Released: June 1984

Runtime: 105 minutes

Genre: Comedy

Studio: Black Rhino / Columbia

Influenced: Edgar Wright, Adam McKay, Guillermo del Toro, Paul Feig, James Gunn

It's hard to recall if any experience during my young moviegoing days in the 80s and early 90s managed to blow my mind like watching Ghostbusters for the first time. The scene that follows the release of the ghosts in containment at Ghostbusters HQ, when Mick Smiley's song I Believe It's Magic kicks in and pandemonium erupts across New York, is such pure cinematic gold. The idea for Ghostbusters resulted from Dan Aykroyd's fascination with the paranormal and his interest in weird science and ghost stories. He envisioned a film about a group of eccentric scientists who start a business capturing ghosts and paranormal entities. The initial concept was more futuristic and had a broader scope, involving time-travelling ghost catchers. However, it was later streamlined into a contemporary story set in New York focusing on a team of paranormal investigators.

The initial three eccentric and unemployed parapsychologists are Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), who together set up the Ghostbusters business after being fired from their academic positions due to their unorthodox methods and beliefs in the supernatural. As paranormal activity begins to surge in NYC, they encounter their first ghost in a public library and capture it, proving the existence of ghosts to the public. Soon, they become a popular ghost-catching service, and their fame spreads. They hire a fourth member, Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), to help deal with the increasing number of cases. In later promotional materials, such as DVD covers and re-releases, Ernie Hudson was rightfully included alongside the other main cast members.

Ghostbusters also features star turns from Sigourney Weaver (as Dana Barrett), a musician who experiences bizarre occurrences in her apartment – including an encounter with Zuul, the demonic entity that possesses her – and Rick Moranis (as Louis Tully), who together become the Gatekeeper and the Keymaster after discovering a gateway to another dimension in their apartment block. Through this portal an ancient demigod called Gozer the Gozerian is trying to enter the world of humans, taking the shape of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in order to bring destruction and chaos upon the citizens of New York. On paper, it all sounds highly ridiculous but somehow the director and actors pull it off.

Ghostbusters blended comedy with supernatural elements and created a unique genre of its own, boasting impressive special effects for its time, particularly the creation of the ghosts and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The soundtrack, including the iconic theme song Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr., also contributed to the film's popularity. The film was a massive box office success and quickly became a cultural phenomenon, spawning an animated TV series, video games, comics and merchandise. The franchise continued with a sequel, Ghostbusters II (1989), and in recent years, it has been revived with a dreadful reboot in 2016 and a direct sequel, Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).