Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a 2021 American supernatural comedy film directed by Jason Reitman from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gil Kenan. It is the sequel to Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989), and the fourth film in the Ghostbusters franchise. The film stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Paul Rudd, alongside Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver reprising their characters from the earlier films. Set 32 years after the events of Ghostbusters II, it follows a single mother and her children who move to an Oklahoma farm they inherited from her estranged father Egon Spengler, a member of the original Ghostbusters.
A third Ghostbusters film was in development since the release of Ghostbusters II, but production stalled because Murray refused to return to the series. After cast member Harold Ramis died on February 24, 2014, Sony produced a female-driven reboot which was released in 2016. In 2019, Jason Reitman confirmed a sequel to the original films, the new cast was announced by July, and the original cast signed on two months later. Filming took place from July to October. This was the final film to be produced by and involve the franchise's co-creator Ivan Reitman before his death in February 2022.
Plot[]
In Summerville, Oklahoma, Egon Spengler captures an entity in occultist Ivo Shandor's mine outside the town and lures another creature to his farm. Egon activates an elaborate setup on his property, but the power fails, and he conceals the ghost trap in his home before being attacked by the creature and suffering a fatal heart attack. His estranged, financially struggling daughter, Callie, inherits the farm and moves there with her children, Trevor and Phoebe, after being evicted from their Chicago apartment. Trevor becomes infatuated with carhop Lucky Domingo, and the scientifically minded Phoebe enrolls in a summer science class taught by seismologist Gary Grooberson.
Phoebe discovers the farmhouse is haunted, and the poltergeist residing in it leads her to the ghost trap, which she shows to Gary and her new friend, Podcast. Gary, a fan of the Ghostbusters, helps Phoebe learn more about them and her grandfather. He, Phoebe, and Podcast tamper with the trap, releasing one of Gozer the Gozerian's Sentinels, which escapes to the mine. The farm ghost leads Phoebe to Egon's underground laboratory and after revealing himself as her grandfather, guides her in restoring the Ghostbusters' equipment. While testing the proton pack with Podcast, she finds a ghost they call "Muncher" that haunts Shandor's foundry and flees to the town. Having repaired the Ghostbusters' Cadillac Ecto-1's engine (with Egon's help), Trevor uses the car to chase Muncher with the pair; they capture it, but are arrested for the damage incurred, and their equipment is seized.
Using the Ghostbusters' telephone number that she had written down, Phoebe contacts Ray Stantz for help and tells him Egon has died. Ray in turn informs Phoebe of what became of the Ghostbusters after they defeated Vigo the Carpathian: After the Ghostbusters had disbanded, Egon stole their equipment and moved to Summerville to pursue an unspecified threat. Egon's ghost leads Callie to a wall of detailed notes and pictures he kept of his daughter's life, showing he cared about her more than she thought.
Phoebe, Podcast, Lucky, and Trevor find a Gozerian temple within the mine. Exploring further, they discover Shandor is alive in his casket, and automated proton cannons, installed by Egon, hinder Gozer's attempts to cross over. Zuul and Vinz Clortho possess Callie and Gary, respectively, and destroy Egon's equipment, allowing Gozer to escape. Shandor awakens and pledges his fealty to Gozer, but is killed nevertheless.
The children discover Egon's setup is an array of ghost traps buried around the dirt field. With supernatural chaos distracting the town, the neophyte Ghostbusters recover the seized equipment and travel to the mine. Phoebe distracts Gozer so Podcast can capture Zuul, freeing Callie and weakening Gozer's physical form. They lure Gozer to the trap field, but it malfunctions and Gozer frees Zuul, who possesses Lucky and fully restores Gozer's power. Ray and the other surviving original Ghostbusters, Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore, arrive to help, and Gozer, after having already killed Egon, seeks to complete its revenge against the quartet for vanquishing it. Supported by Egon's now-visible ghost, Phoebe battles Gozer with her grandfather's proton pack. The Ghostbusters help Phoebe restrain Gozer by crossing their proton streams while Trevor uses his to charge the traps' power source, allowing Callie to activate the ghost traps and capture Gozer and its minions. Lucky and Gary are freed from their possessions, and Egon reconciles with his family and friends before departing for the hereafter.
Later, Peter is revealed to be married to Dana Barrett. Winston, having become a wealthy entrepreneur and family man since leaving the Ghostbusters, returns Ecto-1 to the Ghostbusters' firehouse. In the basement, a light on the ecto-containment unit flashes red.
Cast[]
- Carrie Coon as Callie Spengler
- Finn Wolfhard as Trevor Spengler
- Mckenna Grace as Phoebe Spengler
- Bokeem Woodbine as Sherman Domingo
- Paul Rudd as Gary Grooberson
- Logan Kim as Podcast
- Celeste O'Connor as Lucky Domingo
- Bill Murray as Peter Venkman
- Dan Aykroyd as Raymond "Ray" Stantz
- Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore
- Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz
- Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett
The film's cast also includes Marlon Kazadi as Thickneck; Sydney Mae Diaz as Swayze; and Aykroyd's youngest daughter Stella as Deputy Medjuck, a nod to Joe Medjuck, who was an associate producer on Ghostbusters (1984), an executive producer on the subsequent movies, and a co-founder of production company Ghost Corps. Harold Ramis posthumously appears as Egon Spengler in archival clips and photographs taken from Ghostbusters (1984). Bob Gunton (credited as "The Ghost Farmer") and Ivan Reitman also portray living and ghostly versions of Egon, respectively, using prosthetics and digital makeup. J. K. Simmons plays Ivo Shandor, the leader of a Gozer-worshiping cult responsible for the Sumerian god Gozer's arrival in Ghostbusters. Simmons took the role as a token of friendship with the Reitmans, with whom he frequently collaborates in films like Jason's 2007 film Juno and the 2017 film Father Figures, co-produced by Ivan. Olivia Wilde, who portrayed Mesopotamian deity Inanna in Ramis's final film Year One, physically portrays Gozer, Shohreh Aghdashloo provides Gozer's voice, and Emma Portner plays Gozer's CGI spirit form. Josh Gad was one of many actors who contributed to the voice of Muncher, a metal-eating miner ghost conjured after a séance went wrong at Summerville Foundry in the 1940s. Ira Heiden, a friend of Jason Reitman's, along with Sarah Natochenny and Shelby Young, were three of the voice actors who voiced the Mini-Pufts, tiny versions and replicated forms of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
