We were originally supposed to be enjoying GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE in theaters this summer, before the ‘Rona caused it to be postponed and the studio chose to put it off until next year. This left fans feeling awfully disappointed. I don’t know if that’s why the powers-that-be decided to release the original GHOSTBUSTERS to theaters—of the drive-in variety—this past weekend. I expect it was. This doesn’t make up for missing the new film this summer, but I have to admit that, had things not played out the way they did, I likely wouldn’t have gotten to see the original GHOSTBUSTERS at the drive-in, which is how it ought to be viewed, optimally. And watching it on the Fourth of July, while fireworks lit up the nighttime sky off in the distance? That was a priceless experience. And they even included the trailer for the new movie beforehand. It was sure a nice placeholder.
Jason Reitman, director of GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, promised viewers a special treat before the feature. I’m gonna assume he was talking about the extended trailer. Because if other drive-ins got something that I didn’t get to see, Ima be pissed!
Rewatching the movie, I developed a new insight as to why the movie works so well: it’s scary. Not scarier than it is funny, no, but there’s just enough gravitas, as is the case with films like SHAUN OF THE DEAD, to keep the film from becoming simply “silly”—which may be one of the reasons the all-female attempted reboot failed so miserably. They didn’t get the balance right.