Hindsight Edition: Ghostbusters Answer The Call

 

This past week marked 10 years since Sony rebooted GhostBusters with an all-female cast. Later given the subtitle of Answer The Call, this version had some mid 2010's heavy hitters. The ensemble cast starred Kristen Wiig and Melissa Mccarthy, who honestly both were still riding the wave from 2011's Bridesmaids. Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon both who were on SNL at the time. And Chris Hemsworth Thor himself branching out into other franchises, during Marvels peak cinema era.

While there was initial excitement and enthusiasm surrounding this reboot. Things quickly took a turn for the worst when Twitter trolls started spewing misogynistic and racist rhetoric at the cast. And that pretty much derailed the film, as it was lauded as unoriginal, not funny. You name it.

Well 10 years later when hindsight is always 20/20. We were wrong about the film, is it better than the original? No. Could it be debated its better than Ghostbusters 2? Ehhhh depend on who you talk to.

While it 100% takes much of the character tropes and story beats from the original Ghostbusters. This version works to build its own mythology while acknowledging the past.

 As well as paying homage by including cameos from the OG's. Each of the female ghostbusters also have DNA from the original characters sprinkled in, but they all are their own people within the films universe. Chris Hemsworth as their secretary is a funny play on gender expectations and roles. And some of the jokes are genuinely funny.

Watching it now I feel like Paul Feig who co-wrote and directed the film, and directed Bridesmaid and other early 2010's comedies. Tried to use that same formula and border on risky content, and Sony pulled back to build a franchise. Making the film a bit uneven in tone.

In 2026 I think this movie was unfairly mangled by audience and critics alike. It had good moments and tried to put a new spin on the franchise. Sometimes it takes years to go by for some things to be appreciated, and Ghostbusters Answer The Call is one of those projects. 

If you havent seen it, give it a chance and you won't be disappointed.

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Extreme Ghostbusters: A Hidden Gem

 

While I anticipate seeing the new Ghostbusters movie Frozen Empire this weekend, I went down a Ghostbusters content rabbit hole. Which led me to revisit the 90's cartoon Extreme Ghostbusters, which honestly is a underrated and worthy addition to the Ghostbusters mythos.

Released in the fall of 1997, the cartoon followed original Ghostbuster Egon Spengler who recruits a new generation to defend the city against new paranormal threats. The new recruits were a very diverse crew, far different than the original crew. There was a female member Kylie, a Hispanic member Eduardo, a Black member Roland, and a paraplegic member Garrett (which I believe was the first depiction of a paraplegic in a cartoon). With Janine and Slimer by their side they set out to make their own legacy while saving the city.

Being the late 90's the cartoon took a bit more of a edge. The classic theme song had a rock inspired version. The series creators also worked on the Men In Black  and Godzilla cartoons. The styling of Extreme Ghostbusters matched those cartoons and  the tone was slightly darker with the creatures looking a bit more terrifying. And there seemed to be real life stakes in play throughout the series.

But what really makes the cartoon a hidden gem was the character development. All four members of the team were fleshed out and had their own reasons for joining the team. They were relatable and provided reasons for the audience to care about them.

The cartoon also gave fans a very satisfying moment years before Ghostbusters Afterlife did. The original Ghostbusters teamed up with the new Ghostbusters to take down the villain in the series Finale. A true Holy Shit moment back when that wasn't common in media.

The cartoon deserves another look as it truly may have just been ahead of its time. It's not available to stream anywhere, but YouTube will satisfy your appetite. If you don't remember the gem or never seen it, do yourself a favor and check it out.

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Halloween Horror Nights Experience

Last weekend I visited Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights, in my 33 years of living this was the first haunted house I’ve attended and I had a blast. Being Universal Studios most of the themes and haunted houses were pop culture themed which I love. The themed haunted houses were Ghostbusters, Stranger Things, Us, House of a 1000 Corpses, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Universal Monsters, Yeti, Depths of fear, graveyard games, and Nightingales Blood Pit

                                                          

I did the top six haunted houses wish I had more time and energy to do Universal Monsters but I was beat by 1:00 at night, can't hang like I use to. Here are a few things I noticed and appreciated about Halloween Horror Nights.

• The Atmosphere

In addition to the haunted houses there are several “Scare Zones” throughout the park with different themes Vikings, zombies, a undead runway, but my personal favorite was an arcade full of neon, darkness, edm music, women on stilts with nunchucks and of course folks walking around ready to scare you. When you walk into the scare zones it truly feels like you are walking into another era, world or straight out of a Hollywood movie. It adds to that “creepy” factor that is synonymous with Halloween.

• Attention To Detail

I am a movie geek and am a sucker for experiences that make me feel like I’m a part of the movies and shows I’ve watched on TV. The Haunted Houses do just that, walking through the haunted houses feels like you are on the set of these shows and movies, from the replicas of buildings, characters portrayed throughout the haunted house, scenes recreated that you don’t get to appreciate cause you just want to get the hell out of there. You either pretty much walk through a entire movie or a entire season all within a couple of minutes. It all does a great job of immersing a visitor into that world.

                                                        

• Pay Attention

               You should always be aware of your surroundings but at Halloween Horror Nights you need to keep your head on a swivel at ALL times. You never know when your gonna get spooked and get the shit scared out of you. Going through the haunted houses or scare zones, hell anywhere in the park be prepared and on alert.

 I had a great time and am glad I got to experience it. My favorite haunted house was the Ghostbusters simply because I am a big fan of that franchise. As far as what haunted houses scared me the most while I thought it was the Us haunted house, the award goes to House of a 1,000 Corpses I legit jumped quite a few times and moved quickly to get the hell out in that haunted house. 

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