So, on my implied suggestion you just did a marathon viewing of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Halloween, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. You are now sitting up very late, clutching a pillow tightly to your chest, and muttering mutinous threats at me under your breath while your eyes dart about your now extremely-well-lit room. You want to know how you’re ever going to get to sleep now, and you’re seriously considering calling me up to yell the question at me (but after watching Nightmare you don’t want to go near the phone). Well, don’t worry, I’m here to help. The perfect final film to any, er, quadruple bill horror fest is none other than the best horror-comedy of all time: Ghostbusters.
The story goes that three scientists (Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, and Harold Ramis playing Drs. Venkman, Stantz, and Spengler respectively) are studying parapsychology at the New York City University…or at least they were until they were fired for their unscientific methods and theories. The ‘brilliant pioneers fired by the establishment’ is a standard plot element, of course, but done with a lot more flare and humor here (in the face of the dean’s many, many accusations, summed up in the declaration “you are a poor scientist” Dr. Venkman can only answer “but the kids love us”). Putting their heads together they decide to use their research to form a kind of paranormal extermination company to investigate and deal with psychic phenomena (better known as ‘ghosts’). After setting up shop in an abandoned fire-house (“I think this building should be condemned”), they find business to be non-existent until Sigourney Weaver’s eggs start frying themselves on her counter. This is followed by an unexpected surge of paranormal activity in Manhattan while the team slowly uncovers evidence that a very powerful evil spirit is about to make an assault on the world.
Comedy-Horror is famously one of the hardest genres to get right. Usually either the horror will overwhelm the comedy (i.e. are we really supposed to laugh at people making jokes about their friends’ horrible demises?) or comedy will overwhelm the horror (you really can’t be scared of something that’s completely ridiculous, as many ‘straight’ horror films have discovered to their cost) or they will both kill each other (see the Nightmare sequels…no, on second thought, don’t). Ghostbusters leans much more towards comedy, but it maintains a nice balance by portraying the phenomena themselves mostly straight, while the humor comes from the characters reacting to them. For instance, in one scene a character is chased out of his apartment by a huge, frightening demon dog and, while running for his life, frantically notes that there aren’t supposed to be pets in the building. Another scene has a character respond to his recently-possessed girlfriend with an uncertain “are we still going out?” Meanwhile there are a couple scenes, most notably a possession scene, that are unambiguously frightening, and the threat of the end of the world is presented completely straight-faced (though admittedly with a few related wisecracks, but the key is that they’re wisecracks we can believe someone making under the circumstances).
Murray, Ackroyd, and Ramis carry the film and their interplay provides most of the humor, while at the same time convincingly portraying intelligent, well-educated scientists. Murray is the snarking, skeptical one, Ackroyd the enthusiastic one, Ramis the monotone smart one who gets many of the best lines (“Sorry, Venkman. I’m terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought”). Later on their joined by Ernie Hudson as Winston, the fourth Ghostbuster, who serves as a new perspective for the team and gets the best line.
Weaver, meanwhile, serves largely as a ‘straight-man’ foil to Murray, with whom she has excellent chemistry (she gets a lot of mileage out of basically treating him like any normal person would: by slowly pushing him out of her apartment). Weaver, of course, is no stranger to horror and brings all her natural gravitas to the movie, helping to anchor it in the real world. The impression she gives throughout the movie is of the classy elder sister caught up in the games of a bunch of imaginative preteens. It’s as if the fact they were making a comedy was scrupulously kept from her during filming, a little like Margaret Dumont in a Marx Brothers film. Also on hand are Rick Moranis as Weaver’s accountant neighbor, Annie Potts as the Ghostbusters’ secretary (who at one point complains that “I quit better jobs than this”), and William Atherton as the slimy EPA officer who inadvisably tries to shut the team down.
The script is excellent, but a lot of the credit must be given to the actors, who improvised large swathes of dialogue (Rick Moranis probably takes the prize here, for a rapid-fire, minute-long speech that was both entirely improvised and extremely funny). Little character moments, like the way Murray suddenly pops up when Weaver arrives at the Ghostbusters’ building, are entirely the creation of the performers. This is an actor’s movie in the best sense of the term: all the other elements do their jobs, but it is the actors who sell the story and make us believe in the characters even as we’re laughing at them. I mentioned the Marx Brother earlier, and while the leads here aren’t quite in the same league there is a kinship between them. Like the Marx Brothers, this is more than just saying funny lines, this is real performing; a tour-de-force of the craft of comedy.
Effects wise, the film delivers well enough for what it is. There are a lot of effects in this film, and they’re generally quite good. There’s nothing to match the ingenuity of, say, Nightmare (which came out the same year), or the sheer artistry of Jekyll and Hyde, but the effects get the job done and don’t distract. There is some very nice compositing and animation on the ghosts and some decent stop-motion on the demon-dogs (though the processing that puts them in the scene could be a lot better). Part of the reason the effects don’t detract from the film even when they’re faulty is that they’re not trying to recreate nature, but the supernatural: we don’t care that the ghosts don’t look utterly real because they’re really shouldn’t look utterly real, but somewhat unreal. The effects aren’t perfect, but they’re part of the film’s charm and they certainly add to rather than detract from the experience.
The camera work is similarly well done, with particular emphasis placed on the architecture and statuary of New York (which actually turns out to be a plot point later in the movie). A nicely eerie effect is created simply by focusing on the enigmatic stone structures around the city, giving the impression of unseen eyes watching the characters as they go about their business. The music likewise is well done (by the great Elmer Bernstein), creating a suitably eerie, supernatural atmosphere. Of course, it’s easy to overlook Bernstein’s contribution in the face of Randy Newman’s unforgettable “Who’re you gonna call?” jingle, which bursts out triumphantly at several key points, accompanied by other, less memorable songs.
There aren’t many big ‘themes’ to this movie: it’s mostly just an exercise in spooky comedy. There is, however, an element about it that has grown more striking over time. That is how the movie, in its own way, celebrates real-life uncelebrated heroes. The Ghostbusters are like plumbers or firefighters (a connection made explicit in a scene where they ride in convoy with the police and National Guard), with their brown uniforms and clunky equipment. In the end the film shows the world being saved, not by some superhero or rouge individual, but by a team of hard-working men just doing their jobs, which, as we’ve had ample examples of in recent years, is very often what heroes are in the real world. There’s something very striking, almost moving, about the image of four men dressed in rough, service-ready jumpsuits facing down a malevolent pagan god. In its own way, the film honestly shows true heroism.
There’s not a whole lot more to say: this is simply one of those movies that is pretty much universal in its appeal, combining hilarious comedy with genuine scares, a little romance, and high excitement. It fully deserves its classic status and comes highly recommended to anyone who hasn’t seen it already…and, frankly, to those who have. And if you’ve just scared yourself into a state of being unable to sleep, this is the ideal Halloween movie to cheer you up again and remind you that if things don’t look good, there’s someone you can call.
Final Rating: 5/5. Hands down one of the most enjoyable films of all time. Highly recommended!
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