Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a another exciting entry in the long-running franchise.
Plot/Story
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family: Callie (Carrie Coon), Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), move to New York alongside Gary (Paul Rudd) to continue the legacy of the Ghostbusters. But, when a new villain threatens the Big Apple with a global ice age, the Spengler and their allies – old (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts, Ernie Hudson) and new (Logan Kim, Celeste O’Conner) – must band together to save the city.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Goes Horror!
With Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, director Gil Kenan and company crafts a another solid entry in the horror-comedy franchise. This time around, Kenan and co-writer Jason Reitman (who directed the previous film Afterlife) lean into the horror side of the franchise. This is mainly through the new villain Garraka. A tall and terrifying figure, whose main ability includes the Death Chill. Which can freeze people in fright. As a result, the villain is displayed as a Lovecraftian menace. This makes Phoebe and the Spenglers to join forces with the remaining original Ghostbusters as well as their allies from Ohio – Podcast (Kim) and Lucky (O’Connor).
This allows for Kenan and Reitman to utilize the new and the old together. Thus, allowing for some great moments together between old and new, Along with this, Eric Steelberg’s cinematography gets an upgrade. One where the camera shows off Eve Stewart’s production design. Which makes the various sets feel real and lived in. Furthermore, it showed off what a modern-day New York in the Ghostbusters universe, is like.
Likewise, there is a nice blend of digital and visual effects. Headed by VFX Supervisor Geoff Baumann & Nicole Rawley and Special Effects supervisor John Van Der Pool, the design of the ghosts feels creative and unique. They manage to feel a part of this world as opposed to something inconsistent with the world. Then, there’s the editing, in which editors Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid pace the film gradually. Which makes for a third act climax that is the equivalent to a siege film.
PERFORMANCES IN GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE
Now, as for the cast – new and old, for the most part, all of them deliver solid performances. Starting off with the Spenglers – Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, and Finn Wolfhard all continue playing their traditional archetypes from Afterlife. This leads into Rudd developing some nice comedic banter with Coon. On top of that, the supporting cast – which includes actors such as Patton Oswalt and Kumail Nanjiani – deliver some nice performances as well.
However, if there was a standout, it’s easily McKenna Grace. Grace continues to shine as Phoebe as she balances naiveté with being headstrong. Both of these combination allows Phoebe to become a much more layered and dynamic character. This is most evident with her chemistry between Dan Aykroyd and Emily Alyd Lind.
CONCLUSION
Nevertheless, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is another solid entry in the long-running, horror-comedy franchise. Kenan and company this time around lean more into the horror side of the franchise. Which allows for the film to play around with its central antagonist. As well as the design of the ghosts in general. Additionally, the cast – new and old – deliver some good performances. All the while, McKenna Grace continue to shine as the standout. Overall, Frozen Empire continues to show that “Bustin makes ya feel good.”
