August 22, 2015

Director: Ivan Reitman

Writer: Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis (Screenplay)

Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Ernie Hudson, David Margulies

Plot: Three unemployed parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service.

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Classic Just a Classic

Story: Ghost Busters starts with a librarian being haunted by a ghost in the depths of the library archive. We move to Doctors Peter Venkman (Murray), Raymond Stantz (Aykroyd) and Spengler (Ramis) three paranormal investigators who see this haunting as the chance to get the creditability they believe they deserve. When the three come face to face with the ghost they couldn’t get out of the library quick enough.

The three lose their funding at the university and go into business together, they find themselves a building to set up as their own from an abandoned fire station but it does need work done to it. The Ghost Busters are open and ready for business and they have their first customer Dana (Weaver) who has a haunting in her apartment.

As the number of ghost sightings increase in New York the Ghost Busters start to gain a reputation for solving problems which leading to them hiring a fourth member Winston Zeddmore (Hudson). When the research shows that something big is coming we are left to wonder if the Ghost Busters will be able to stop from taking over the city after the a spirit of Zuul takes over Dana ready to bring a Gozer a God back from the dead.

Ghost Busters is will always go down as a classic that will still be talked about for years to come. I think it would have been a great experience to watch for the first time upon release and has sadly been stolen from since its release. The cast make this even better because you get to see the clash of personalities as they look to make an impact on the city. The idea of being able to stop ghost brings an interesting concept to the story as the idea of being haunted is real but no film had ever tackled the idea into a comical sense. Ghost Buster will always go down as one of the many iconic films from the 1980s that can’t be beaten. (8/10)

Actor Review

Bill Murray: Dr Peter Venkman is the womaniser who is very sceptical about the whole investigations to start with, but when the Ghost Busters take off he becomes the face of the team because he has the best ability to spin to the press. Peter has an undoubted dry wit filled with sarcasm through every conversation he has with his team. Bill gives the performance that is perfect from him, you knew this was his style of comedy that really works. (9/10)

Dan Aykroyd: Dr Raymond Stantz is the over excited member of the group who is always first through the doors because he wants to see what is happening. He is the ones whose enthusiasm is driving the team. Dan shows that he was perfectly cast in the role here. (9/10)

Sigourney Weaver: Dana Barrett is the first customer of the Ghost Busters who catches the eye of Peter but after he finds nothing in the apartment they dismiss the case. When Dana gets possessed by Zuul who wants to bring Gozer a Sumerian God back from the dead. Sigourney gives a performance that was different to what we would know from her as she is often considered the hero rather than damsel in distress. (8/10)

Harold Ramis: Dr Egon Spengler is the member of the Ghost Busters who easily is the brains behind everything, he conducts the research and doesn’t flow with the charisma that Peter and Raymond have. He warns that something big might be happening but isn’t ready to guess what it might be. Harold gives a good performance that is really good for the film as he is the important character with the serious side of the conversation. (8/10)

Rick Moranis: Louis Tully is the neighbour of Dana, he is slightly creepy as he constantly knows when Dana is walking past, he becomes possessed by the connection that could unlock the end of the world. Rick gives a good performance in the supporting role. (7/10)

Support Cast: Ghost Busters has a supporting cast which includes the rest of the team, the villainous character is slightly generic with him being a city official.

Director Review: Ivan Reitman – Ivan gives us one of the all time classics that will always go down in history as one of the best comedies of all time. (9/10)

Comedy: Ghost Busters has plenty of laughs throughout as the film never takes itself fully serious. (9/10)

Settings: Ghost Busters uses New York City as its setting which works perfectly because it shows how the city would react to a ghost outbreak. (9/10)
Special Effects: Ghost Busters has great special effects for the time that have slightly dated but now work to its advantage now. (9/10)