Ghostbusters 2
by J.D. Cook
Ghostbusters 2 is like having a second plate of your favorite dinner. Sure it might fill you up a bit too much, but it’s just as good as the first helping. The sequel certainly follows close to the original’s formula but one aspect differs greatly. That is the amount of horror in the film. I would say the original was a Comedy Science Fiction film but I think you could dub Ghostbusters 2 as a straight up Horror Comedy. I mean the idea of a living painting that is the reincarnation of a sadistic mad man trying to take over the world is spooky enough without heads on spikes, disembodied voices in the NYC subway, and actor Peter MacNicol’s creepy glowing eyes. MacNicol just appeared in Marvel’s Agents of Shield recently, minus creepy eyes. The film also should get credit for taking the original’s formula and inverting it in some amusing ways. Slimer becomes a loveable helper and the Ghostbusters use the massive Statue of Liberty to save the day instead of being attacked by the equally massive Stay Puft Marshmallow Man; whose absence from the film caused me to burst into tears when I first saw the film. I obviously overcome this problem in later years of viewing the film. Dr. Venkman (Bill Murray) is perfect as a T.V. Show host early in the film, in a scene that actually foreshadows the films ending, and Egon (Harold Ramis) is a seriously cold psychologist taking away adorable puppies from little girls in humorous fashion. Ghostbusters 2 also has ‘the Courtroom scene’ which is one of my all-time favorite cinema moments. It’s so good I’m just going to embed the YouTube clip below. Give it a watch!
In addition to all of this the rest of the cast (Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudston and Rick Moranis) returns in stellar fashion with the addition of the adorable twins William and Henry Deutschendorf who play Dana Barrett’s (Sigourney Weaver) son Oscar, named after a hot dog…that poor man. Lastly Ghostbusters 2 has become something of a New Year’s tradition for me as it is one of a few films to take place on the holiday. This one isn’t quite as original as Ghostbusters but it is just as good.
