Ghostbusters II Review

By: Michael Lee

Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis
Year: 1989

So, technically, Ghostbusters isn't a horror movie per se, but it does have horror themes to it. Slime, inanimate objects brought to life, and the return of the long dead are all prominent features of this movie, though if that were the complete case, "Flubber", "Toy Story", and Dwayne "The Rock"Johnson's career would all fall under the horror category. I suppose the best term to use to describe "Ghostbusters II" is horror-comedy (this also applies to Dwayne "The Rock"Johnson's career). I maybe one of the few people who likes this movie more than the original (for reasons I'll describe in a moment), and it's definitely one of the better sequels, especially most of the horror genre's. Let's take a look at what makes it so awesome.

The first thing that comes to mind is the slime. While many horror movies have tried to use ooze as their central plot point (the blob, for one) "Ghostbusters II" brings something new to it. Namely, they make toasters dance with it. Maybe I'm biased toward this scene as the toaster is my favorite household kitchen appliance, but can any movie that has dancing toasters in it be that bad? Of course not! But that's not all the slime does. Throughout the movie, slime makes almost-indestructible barriers, invades bath tubs, and forms a river under New York. "The Blob" just ate people. Tsk tsk.

So how about that finale involving the Ghostbusters hijacking the Statue of Liberty using a whole bunch of slime and a NES Advantage controller? Yeah, I thought it was awesome too. As a kid, this inspired me to try and hook up my PlayStation controllers to objects lying around my house. Of course this did absolutely nothing, but I was determined to find something that I could control with that controller besides Spyro or Sonic, cause hey, why would you want to play a Purple Dragon or a Speedy Hedgehog when you could move around an armchair or vacuum cleaner? Logic said this wouldn't work, but "Ghostbusters II" said it would and that was good enough for 4-year old me. In the end I chalked up this failure to my lack of an actual NES Advantage controller and some ghastly slime, but one day I will be remote controlling my toaster towards world domination. One day...

Last but not least I have to point out the scene where Cheech of "Cheech & Chong" fame witnesses the return of the Titanic and all it's passengers as my favorite. "Better late than never" as everybody says.

Overall, as "Ghostbusters II" isn't as "good" as the first one, I do find it more entertaining on a broader scale. I'd give it an 8. "And until next time (puts fingers to temple and squints eyes)... Goodnight everybody."

 

8 out of 10 Super Scary Serial Killer's Hockey Mask.