In the cinema: Ghostbusters: The Ice Menace… Why should we see the continuation of this billionaire’s fantasy saga?

Three years after Ghostbusters: Legacy, the direct sequel to Ivan Reitman’s iconic 80s films, the Ghostbusters return to theaters and face a new and terrifying enemy. Directed by Gil Kenan, co-writer of The Legacy, Ghostbusters returns to where it all began: the iconic New York fire station.

McKenna Grace, Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Logan Kim, and Celeste O’Connor will reprise their roles and reunite with the original cast of Ghostbusters (Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd, and Annie Potts).

They’ve created a secret research lab to take ghost hunting to the next level. When the discovery of an ancient artifact given to him by Nadeem Razmad (Kumail Nanjian) unleashes an army of ghosts that spread the threat of ice across the city, two teams of Ghostbusters must join forces to protect their home and save the world. Freezing.

A film that honors the work of Ivan Reitman

The Ice Menace is a direct sequel to The Legacy and pays homage to the first opus in many ways: a fire station located in New York, the presence of Bouffe-tout (actually, hands-on and non-digital), the return of the famous. Ghost in the Library…so many references to make early movie buffs happy.

It must be said that the director is a true fan of the saga. During our interview Gil Kenan To promote the film, he told us that he discovered the first Ghostbusters right after it was released in theaters and was a fan of Ivan Reitman’s work, who could also watch the film before his death in 2022.

I’m a real geek, every time I go to New York I stop and check out the barracks.

Finding himself on the set of Ghostbusters was a real joy for the filmmaker, who admits: “I’m a real geek, every time I go to New York I stop to see the barracks. There are always tourists and movie fans in front. I think we feel very connected to this place because it reveals this power. It’s a real symbol. In this movie It was important to make sure that it was not just a building, but our family home, that there was emotional strength.”

A director who is “too much” a fan

And like all fans, the director went a little overboard, so much so that the producers had to intervene. Gil Kenan admitted that he tried to drive the famous Ecto-1 car.

“I got behind the wheel of the Ecto-1 and the manufacturers told me to walk away because it wasn’t safe. He is one of the greatest characters in these stories. The sound this car makes is indescribable. When you work with Ecto-1, you know that every time he’s on screen, it’s like that for me, and I think it’s like that for the audience, we’re smiling. It’s such a positive vehicle, so full of life, you feel like it’s an integral part of The Ghostbusters.”

Use practical effects

And always paying homage to the first opus, Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman (writer and producer of this film) wanted ghosts to appear to remind the 1984 and 1989 films. They especially chose to use practical effects for some of the icons. Ghosts rather than visual effects. As such, Gobbler, the famous gluttonous green ectoplasm of the saga, is featured in Ice Menace and is the puppet used during filming as in the first film.

In the 1984 film, Buffett’s character was a large rubber doll carried by an actor who was added to the background with the actors through a compositing device. For this film, the technical team took a similar approach. Gil Kenan explains:The Bouffe-tout scene is the first one we shot. Finn Wolfhard first discovered the snubber in the attic. It was a perfect way to begin the narrative of this film. Bouffe-tout was created at a time when visual effects already existed, but it was a start and it brought some soul to the tone of the film.

It was important to me that this film showed the same respect for traditional art that I thought was a great respect for the first Ghostbusters. There was also so much comedy, life, freedom and terror in this doll. When Kevin, the puppet, was on set with the eater puppet, it was great. This is the real magic of cinema.“

The advantage of using a real puppet also lies in the interaction with the human characters. Jon van der Pool, head of special effects, elaborates in the press kit: “In the movie, we see the buffet-tout spraying its victims with slime. He has not been seen spitting slime in the previous films. The camera stopped shooting, we sprayed the actor with slime, then I put the entire drip frame on the actor. This time we managed to develop a method for the gobbler to spit out the fin.”

Fans of the 1984 film will also be delighted to find the ghost of the famous library. In The Ice Menace, Ray (Dan Aykroyd) once again encounters the ghost of a librarian at a New York library.

The return of the original Ghostbusters

If the first part of the film focuses on the new Ghostbusters, the second half allows us to reunite with the original hunters and see Peter (Bill Murray), Winston (Ernie Hudson), Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Janine (Annie Potts) suit up and put on their proton packs for the final for confrontation.

In L’Héritage, the actors from the first films only appear briefly at the end of the film, in this second part they have a more important role. In this way, Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman managed to relaunch the franchise by bringing in new blood and reintegrating the cast that made the franchise successful.

The first in the history of Saga

But Ice Menace has a slightly darker side than its predecessors. Young Phoebe feels abandoned and befriends Melody, the first talking ghost in the saga. We discover his tragic story and what he is willing to do to get to the other side. Gil Kenan also said on our microphone: For the first time in the franchise, we have a ghost with a story to tell and a voice. I’m very proud of being the first to integrate a ghost into a saga that is not just a target, but an important character in the story.

Another difference from the other installments, the ice menacing villain is more dangerous than the previous one. “It’s an epic film and scarier than other ghosts. The threats are bigger and more dangerous. We wanted to take this film and reinvent this franchise that is so dear to so many people.

We have a new villain, Garaka, that will shake you up. It is an age-old evil force. He was stuck in the facility. In comparison, Garraka looks a bit like a new gosher from the old “Ghostbusters.” Except that Garaka is the most dangerous of all other movie ghosts. It has the power to turn our deepest fears against us and destroy us from within. It can affect a person or an entire society.” The director explained to our microphone.

Now the saga of the billionaire

And the fans have been there ever since danger of ice – released in US theaters on March 22 – has already earned $112 million at the international box office. The saga’s fifth installment (including Paul Feig’s 2016 female reboot) grossed $46 million in North American theaters in its opening weekend, making Saga a billionaire.

To date, it is the highest-grossing 1984 film at the international box office with $296 million. L’Héritage, meanwhile, earned $204 million worldwide. Ice Menace can be seen in the cinema.