Ghostbusters (1984 franchise)

Ghostbusters (1984 franchise)...

Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991) AKA Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters (2016 reboot)

Summary

A band of supernatural pest exterminators are the only ones who can deal with reports of increasing paranormal activity in New York City, but must deal with obstructive bureaucrats, skeptical politicians, and weird cultists in addition to ghosts, spooks, specters, a strange Gozerian demon-god, and the reincarnation of Vigo the Carpathian sorcerer-tyrant....

Details

• Release Date: 1984-present
• Country/Language: US, English
• Genres/Technical: Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure
• Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis (original films); Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth (reboot)
• Director: Ivan Reitman (original films); Paul Feig (reboot)
• Writer: Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis (original films); Michael Reeves, J. Michael Straczynski, et.al. (animated series); Katie Dippold, Paul Feig (reboot)
• Producer/Production Co: Black Rhino Productions, Columbia Pictures Corporation, Delphi Films
• View Trailer: (link), (link), (link), (link)

Ratings

MPAA Ratings

• Rated: PG (generally PG with mild Profanity and Adult Content, mild slap-stick Violence)

Generally PG, with the cartoon series rated TV-Y7 and the reboot film rated PG-13.

Tentacle Ratings

A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:

• Ss___ (One and a Half Tentacles: Barely Lovecraftian)

Aside from the spirit-busting team essentially being a party of Call of Cthulhu investigators, the films involve weird gods, cultists, a lock-and-key metaphor suggestive of a parody of Yog-Sothoth, the bizarre architecture of a Gothic/Art-Deco skyscraper/temple, and other Lovecraftian tropes, while the animated series included some more overt nods to Lovecraft's influence (such as the episode "The Collect Call of Cthulhu").

Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.

Reviews

Review Links:

• (review needed)

Synopsis

 Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)

• GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) - After the members of a team of scientists lose their cushy positions at a university in New York City, they decide to become "ghostbusters" to wage a high-tech battle with the supernatural for money. They stumble upon a gateway to another dimension, a doorway that will release evil upon the city. The Ghostbusters must now save New York from complete destruction.
• GHOSTBUSTERS 2 (1989) - After saving New York City from a ghost attack, the Ghostbusters -- a team of spirit exterminators -- is disbanded for demolishing parts of the city during the battle. But when Ghostbuster Peter Venkman learns that spirits have taken an interest in his son, the men launch a rogue ghost-chasing mission. The quest quickly goes awry, landing them in court. But when the ghosts turn on the judge, he issues an order allowing the Ghostbusters to get back to work.
• THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS (1986-1991) - The animated continuing adventures of the staff of the ghost removal service.
• GHOSTBUSTERS (2016) - Following a ghost invasion of Manhattan, paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann, and subway worker Patty Tolan band together to stop the otherworldly threat.

Notes

Comments, Trivia, Dedication

• For a far more detailed description of this franchise, see the Ghostbusters wiki at: (link)

Associated Mythos Elements

• film: compare to Beetlejuice (1988 franchise) and The Frighteners (1996 film)
• The Real Ghostbusters episodes:
  • "The Collect Call of Cathulhu" (sic) - when the Necronomicon is stolen from the public library, the Ghostbusters find themselves fighting creatures in the sewers, chasing down cults, and researching comic books to help them in their mission.
    • characters include "Cathulhu", "Spawn of Cathulhu", a "Shuggoth", "Alice Derleth", "Mr. Howard", "Clark Ashton, "Ted Klein", Wagner from Wagner's Occult Shop
    • tome: Necronomicon
    • tome: Weird Tales
    • location: Miskatonic University
    • location: Wagner's Occult Shop
  • "Russian About" - When the Ghostbusters visit Russia to lecture about ghostbusting, they are made scapegoats for the theft of the precious Nameless Book, a link to awakening a great evil.
    • characters: The Old One, Guardians of the Old One (Mi-Go, Shoggoth, Ghast, Dimensional Shambler), Old One Cult
    • tome: The Nameless Book
• Original Films:
  • characters: Vigo Von Homburg Deutschendorf (Sorrow of Moldavia, Scourge of Carpathia, the Cruel, the Torturer, the Despised, the Unholy), Vinz Clortho (Keymaster of Zuul), Zuul (Gatekeeper of Gozer)
  • deity: Gozer, the Gozerian, the Destructor, the Traveler, Volguus Zildrohar, and Lord of the Sebouillia
  • race: Terror Dogs
  • race: various ghosts, phantoms, specters, poltergeists, etc.