Truth be told, I watched the original Ghostbusters only recently (30 years too late!), despite wanting to for a really long time. And growing up, I've had to contend with the slightly creepy and angsty-looking Extreme Ghostbusters cartoon series which aired on Disney Channel.

The movie kicks off by introducing three nerdy university teachers with an interest in the supernatural (well two really, since Bill Murray's Peter Venkman seems more interested in the university girls), where they get fired from their institutions and later set up a ghost capturing/extermination/busting  business in a firehouse. Written by two of the leads Dan Aykroyd (playing Raymond Stanz)and the late Harold Ramis (palying Egon Spengler), the story combines the sci-fi/paranormal elements from Aykroyd's crazy first draft (which reportedly included time travel and parallel dimensions) and Ramis' more grounded adaptation, along with the comedic directions from director Ivan Reitman to create one of the best sci-fi comedies ('You're right, no human being would stack books like this'). 

With some amazing writing and improvisations, the movie even comes packed with a host of quotable lines such as 'This man has no dick' or that classic 'Are you a God?' scene. Armed with their ghostbusting proton packs, the film oozes (or slimes out?) some brilliant special effects and set-pieces for an 80s film, including the of the hungry green ghost Slimer and those creepy-as-hell demon dogs, while the sight of the Stay Puft marshmallow man running riot in a miniature Manhattan was pretty believable too. And those proton stream effects? Very Back to the Future-esque.

The cast brings some of the funniest actors to ever grace our screens at the time, from the three leads in Murray, Aykroyd and Ramis, to the small but great supporting group with Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis. Seeing Weaver, who has made her career playing hard-boiled action heroines, play a comedy role as violist Dana Barett (who has her host of admirers in Venkman and Moranis' Louis Tully) is both surprising and hilarious, especially when she plays a her character in possessed demon form ('There is no Dana, there is only Zuul'). 

The only downside of this stellar cast is the marginalized Ernie Hudson, who plays the fourth Ghostbuster member. Originally written for Eddie Murphy and introduced only halfway through the film, his role only seems to be of the audience, dazed and confused by the scientific/made-up words by the other members such as 'total protonic reversal' and 'interdimensional cross rip'. Though criminally underused, he does get the best line in the movie - "If someone asks if you are a god, you say yes!". Adding to the fact that many of the lines in the movie were improvised on the spot, especially of those by Murray and Rick Moranis as the nerdy next-door neighbour, it demonstrates the comedic chops of every cast member in the film ('This happened to you before?').

Thirty years on, this movie has definitely stood the test of time to become of the comedic classics. I have yet to see the second installment, but word on the street is that it's mediocre at best. Meanwhile, with the third one finally in development with a planned all-female cast, it's a good time to watch the original which has made moviegoers and those money-grabbing studios clamouring for a long-awaited second sequel. Just remember... DON'T CROSS THE STREAMS!

7.0/10