‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ Review: A Chilling Good Time

After spending Ghostbusters: Afterlife in the rural town of Summerville, Oklahoma, the Ghostbusters are finally back in the Big Apple to do what they do best – catch some ghosts. Afterlife was mostly a trip down memory lane with the return of Zuul in a plot that pretty closely followed that of 1984’s Ghostbusters, just with a new cast of characters. By all accounts and purposes, it was a fine legacyquel that connected to the original story while passing the torch to a new generation, in this case Egon Spengler’s granddaughter. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire takes the training proton packs off and allows the cast to embrace more of an original story this time around, although there are still plenty of nostalgic references abound. It’s a fun sequel that follows the same comedic horror formula the franchise is familiar with and offers up a chilling good time for fans from all ghostbusting generations.

The Spengler family have left the small town of Summerville to return back to New York City, moving into the iconic NYC firehouse that was home to the original Ghostbusters back in the 80s. While they themselves have been mostly out of the business, Winston (Ernie Hudson) has created a whole new age ghostbusting facility where he and his team extract spirits from possessed objects using advanced technology. One such object that comes into their possession is an ancient orb that was used to trap evil spirits millennia ago. So of course the orb is going to be opened, and a new Ice Age will be unleashed upon New York City. It’s just another day for the Ghostbusters.

It’s wonderful to see the Ghostbusters franchise return to New York City and the firehouse. Frozen Empire handles its nostalgia much better than Afterlife did. The references are all still there, they’re just not as force-fed as before. The OG Ghostbuster team is back in a more meaning manner too. Ray (Dan Aykroyd) still own his little oddities shop and now has a YouTube channel with the help of Podcast (Logan Kim). He’s the one who is originally approached by Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani) who comes to his shop with the orb and is trying to sell it for a couple of buck, triggering the whole end of the world scenario. Winston has done well for himself as a businessman and actually owns the old firehouse. And Venkman (Bill Murray) continues to be Venkman. They all play a bigger role than just showing up to bust some ghosts this time around, although there is still plenty of that left in them despite their old age.

Still, the main focus of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is on Phoebe Spangler, Egon’s granddaughter. Once again, Mckenna Grace absolutely nails the role as she did in the previous film. Her likeness and personality compared to Egon is uncanny. Following some costly ghostbusting mishaps around the city, Phoebe gets sidelined from the family business because she is still a minor, despite her gifted nature. As if that’s going to truly stop her from capturing ghosts, though. Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, and Finn Wolfhard all return as well, and while Rudd works well as the comedic relief of the group, Coon and Wolfhard aren’t given too much to do. Coon is relegated to being a mom, and not a very great one at that, while Wolfhard has is own side quest trying to chase down Slimer who lives in their attic. That’s the biggest issue with Frozen Empire. With all the new characters coupled with the returning legacy characters, it can be difficult to give everyone a meaningful role. The film is fun, but like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, a little overstuffed.

Fans will be pleased to know that Frozen Empire does a good job at keeping a balance between humor and horror, despite what the trailers may make it seem. Paul Rudd is always hilarious and mostly reacts to the situation just as any fan would. Kumail Nanjiani is a heartwarming addition to the film. His character is from an ancient line of protectors and that leads to some pretty great scenes with him and the ghostbusting crew. There are some pretty grim moments involving the new big bad, an ancient horned demon who wants to cover the world in ice and unleash an army of ghosts against humanity. Whether your laughing or screaming, you’re mostly still having fun with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

The Ghostbusters franchise has always garnered a sense of community, whether it’s the bond between its members or the admiration they draw from the public. There is something special about simply being a Ghostbuster. Frozen Empire does a good job at capturing that feeling. For Phoebe, it’s literally about being a part of a family. For others, its about finding a purpose. Frozen Empire might not reach the same levels as the original Ghostbusters, but there’s no doubt that bustin’ still makes me feel good.