Face-Off: Ghostbusters vs. The Frighteners

Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) may be a parapsychologist, but he’s initially skeptical about the paranormal, he’s really in the field just to score with chicks. He’s dragged along on investigations by the gleefully enthusiastic Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and science whiz Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), and when the existence of ghosts is proven to him, dollar signs fill his eyes – now he’s in it for chicks and riches. It’s Venkman’s idea to start the ghost busting business. Although Venkman overshadows his associates, they do have excellent chemistry with each other. The trio is later joined by the working class Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), who really doesn’t get a chance to do much because the character was reduced to put more focus on Venkman.

There are some awesome creatures in this film, including floating, glowing apparitions that take on a monstrous appearance when riled up, living gargoyles, a voraciously hungry slimeball, and of course a kaiju-sized sailor made out of marshmallow. These things were always cool, but now they have a nostalgic retro charm that makes them all the more entertaining to see in action.

You may be tempted to say that dickless wonder Walter Peck of the EPA is the main villain of the film, but it’s actually an ancient god called Gozer the Destructor. The Ghostbusters first become aware of Gozer through the haunting of an apartment inhabited by cellist Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), who Venkman instantly falls for. As it turns out, the apartment building was designed as a superconductive antenna for spiritual turbulence to summon Gozer and end the world. There’s a lot of ghostbabble about this evil entity, but when Gozer shows up on the screen it’s as a superpowered “nimble little minx” played by Slavitza Jovan. Who quickly disappears to make way for Stay Puft. Gozer really doesn’t come off as being anything special.

The banter among the Ghostbusters is highly amusing, and Rick Moranis also has a fun role as a nerdy little guy who has a crush on Dana Barrett and ends up getting possessed alongside her. But when you have Bill Murray in your cast, he tends to take ownership of your film, and that’s exactly what he does with GHOSTBUSTERS, strolling through scenes with total irreverence and tossing out laugh lines left and right. Without him, this would have been a completely different movie. There’s a reason GHOSTBUSTERS 3 never happened simply because he wouldn’t sign on: he is GHOSTBUSTERS.

With the film’s humor safe in the hands of the stars, Ivan Reitman crafted a delightful comedy adventure around them, keeping things moving along at a breezy, pop music-infused pace. He showcases the special effects without going overboard and masterfully balances the tone – we feel the weight of the threat of Gozer, but at the same time things never get too dark or heavy. Reitman delivers a lot of great moments in here, my favorite being the scene where the authorities have set loose the captured spirits on New York City and Mick Smiley’s “Magic” kicks in on the soundtrack.