GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

It's been over three decades since its release in 1984 and it's still one of the most popular comedies today. It's not hard to understand why. The three main protagonists, Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Dr. Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), are all likable. The film is worth watching for each actors' performance and the fight against the ghosts.
 The film opens with a librarian finding a ghost which leads to Dr Venkman, Dr Stantz and Dr Spengler coming together to become the 'Ghostbusters'. However, things take a drastic turn when Venkman's love interest, Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) discovers a portal to another dimension in her refrigerator and the Ghostbusters soon realise that there's more than just ghosts in this world.

The film moves at a fast pace and doesn't dwell too much on the premise because we, as an audience, already understand what's going on. 

All three characters have great chemistry which is important in a film that focuses on a group of friends. The majority of the dialogue is witty or sarcastic comments from Dr Venkman, as portrayed by Murray who improvised most of his lines. The supporting cast includes Weaver as Dr. Venkman's love interest, Dana, who is completely different to Weaver's iconic role as Ellen Ripley in Alien. She's an ordinary woman who ends up being possessed by an evil demon known as the 'Gatekeeper'. It's understandable why Weaver took this role as she wanted to diverge from her famous Alien character (she did, however, end up returning to the role in the sequel, Aliens, two years later). 

In the 1980s, the special affects were very limited and, reviewing this in 2016, they do look low-rent. This isn't a bad thing though, to be honest, that's what makes this film so enjoyable to watch. It's interesting to compare how much the special effects have improved over the past 30 years. I think the ghost themselves were really good but I think the stand out would have to be the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Unfortunately, he doesn't make his appearance until the film's climax but, in my opinion, I think it's one of the best things about this film.

The film also features one of the most iconic songs, 'Ghostbusters' by Ray Parker Jr, that topped the US Billboard Hot 100 shortly after its release and remained at the top spot for three weeks. The reason why it's iconic is because of its catchy lyrics.

It's no surprise that over 30 years after its release, Ghostbusters is still one of the most popular comedies. 

7/10