RECENT WATCHES: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

The release of 2021's "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" did not seem to generate much enthusiasm. The noxious backlash to the 2016, women-led reboot seemed to have sullied the entire brand in many people's minds. "Afterlife," in general, took a weirdly reverent approach to the legacy of a movie where Dan Aykroyd got a blowie from a sexy lady ghost. However, "Afterlife" made enough at the box office for Sony – still determined to turn this series into a profitable franchise – to justify making another one. The idea of a sequel to "Afterlife" seemed to excite few people. Even Jason Reitman, who pushed through the legacy sequel as a homage to his late father, passed on directing the follow-up. Instead, Gil Kenan, previously of "Monster House" and the instantly forgotten "Poltergeist" remake, would take the helm of what is technically the fourth addition to this storyline. Eventually entitled "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire," the film hasn't inspired much praise, even among fanboys of the series. Maybe the low expectations worked in the sequel's favor, as I found myself surprisingly enjoying it. 

Two years after the events of "Afterlife," the newest additions to the ghostbusting legacy have moved to New York City. Callie Spengler – along with her kids, Phoebe and Trevor, and boyfriend Gary – have taken over her dad's old business. Yet busting ghosts still proves to be a perilous exercise, with the teenage Phoebe soon being benched from participating, much to her frustration. When a stranger named Nadeem brings an ancient artifact into Ray Stantz' shop, it unwittingly begins a chain reaction that unleashes an ancient god of ice and ghosts named Garraka. As Garraka turns Manhattan into a frozen wasteland, the latest generation of Spenglers must team up with friends new and old to fight the evil entity. 

Despite giving it the softest of recommendations, I can't say I remembered much about "Ghostbusters: Afterlife." My main issue with that follow-up, from what I can recall, was that it was far too beholden to the first movie. "Frozen Empire" certainly contains its fair share of callbacks to the franchise's history. Slimer, the baby Stay Puft Marshmallow Men, and some mood slime all make brief appearances. William Atherton is back as Walter Peck, now the mayor of New York and just as antagonistic as ever. Composer Dario Mariabelli extensively quotes Elmer Bernstein's original score. Another set piece takes place in the city library, with the shrieking ghost librarian getting a cameo. The sequel even canonizes the Ray Parker Jr. music video, the toys, and the breakfast cereal as things that exist in-universe. Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Bill Murray all have much increased roles from the previous installment. In general, the firehouse, the containment unit, the Proton Packs, ghost traps, and the Ecto-1 are all prominently placed in the story. "Frozen Empire" is absolutely cashing in on any nostalgia people may have for "Ghostbusters" as a cultural phenomenon. 

Despite all this, "Frozen Empire" doesn't do a whole-sale regurgitation of the original's plot, like "Afterlife" did. It actually expands on the ghostbusting premise in some interesting ways. In-between the events in of the various sequels, Winston Zeddemore has set up a whole institute for ghostbusting technology. This leads to some new gadgets, like a wrist-mounted proton blaster and a machine that can extract ghostly spirits from possessed objects. This laboratory is set up in an old aquarium, acting like a zoo/prison for a whole group of different ghosts. This allows for an ensemble of oddball spirits, such as a mischievous poltergeist that can leap from object to object or a weird little guy that sprays goo everywhere. "Frozen Empire" is invested in the idea that there's many different types of spirits and entities, governed by different rules, existing on different dimensional planes, and requiring different methods to confront them. This is more-or-less what I've always wanted to see from the "Ghostbusters," proving the idea that we saw in the two eighties movies were just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what spirits exist and the technology used to capture and study them. 

In fact, that's exactly the approach that "The Real Ghostbusters" animated series, and it's underrated sequel "Extreme Ghostbusters," took. Those cartoons seem to have been a big source of inspiration for "Frozen Empire." Like the episodes of those shows often did, the film introduces a new threat with its own surrounding lore. In this case, that would be Garraka, a smoky evil god who can commands any other ghost and brings with him a freezing storm. Garraka is depicted as a threatening presence, towering and demonically horned lich that is always taken seriously. The design seems like it could fit in with the cartoon's character designs while also working within the film's reality. The backstory surrounding the villain, linking him with ancient societies and dead languages, is properly mythic. As is the idea that modern ghostbusting techniques are just the latest version of a practice that goes back centuries. The gear has changed but encircling ghosts with rays of fire and trapping them within sacred containers is nothing new. 

"Frozen Empire" is definitely an ensemble piece. The film's cast is quite large, juggling the original generation of Ghostbusters, with the Spengler family and friends introduced in "Afterlife," and a new set of supporting characters introduced here. It can be a tall order at times and some actors really just put in token appearances. Finn Wolfhard's Trevor doesn't really have much to do, while Carrie Coons' Callie is reduced to a supportive mom and not much more. Meanwhile, the friends from last time, with names like Podcast and Lucky, float around the margins the whole time. Even more roles are filled with familiar, colorful personalities, like Patton Oswalt as a typically nerdy folklorist, Kumail Nanjiani as Nadeen, and James Acaster as a very dry, supernatural engineer. Honestly, when paired with Paul Rudd as the lovably warm Gary, you get the feeling that these are the sort of guys that might've started in a "Ghostbusters" installment ten or so years ago. In comparison to their extended cameos last time, Murray, Aykroyd, Hudson, Annie Potts have bigger roles here as well, acting more as mentors to the two new generations of comedians and heroes. This makes "Frozen Empire" feel like more of a proper legacy sequel, the old guys showing up, getting one more chance at glory, and passing the baton to the next era. And it doesn't hurt that Venkman, Ray, Winston, and Janine are just as funny and eccentric as they were back in the eighties. These performances clearly still have it. 

Even though "Frozen Empire" is clearly an ensemble picture, at the center of the film is what might be a star-making performance. McKenna Grace was likable as Phoebe Spengler in "Afterlife." The character is going through a lot more here though. In its best moments, "Frozen Empire" is a coming-of-age story about a teenage girl at a pivotal moment in her life. Phoebe is trying to define herself, to stand up to her parents, to become her own person. She a forges a friendship with a female ghost – played nicely by Emily Alyn Lind with a Rachel haircut, subtly cluing us into when the character died – that quickly turns into a lot more, causing her to take some big risk that end up costing her. Grace says so much with just a glare, telling the viewer everything without saying a word. The biggest improvement "Frozen Empire" could've made, as much as I could've enjoyed it as a hang-out movie, if more focus has been given to Grace, it would've been even stronger. She absolutely controls the screen, playing a riveting young woman blooming into maturity. 

Oh yeah, another improvement that could've been made is that subtitle. "Frozen Empire" really only refers to New York getting iced over, when something speaking to the themes of growing up, family, or history would've been preferable. Or they could've just called it "Ecto Cooler." I would've liked that. Anyway, most people seem to be dismissing the sequel. Even hardcore fans have responded pretty softly. I guess I'm the odd-one-out here because I actually had a really good time with "Frozen Empire." It's overstuffed, yeah. It skates by a lot on a build-in love for the franchise. Yet it's also an imaginative creature feature, with excellent effects work, a really fantastic central performance, some fun supporting takes, and a willingness to expand the premise in interesting ways. Maybe trying to continue the "Ghostbusters" franchise is like trying to recapture lightning in a bottle. Yet, ya know, I have to say, this one made me feel pretty good. [7/10]