RIOTUS

There’s something strange in the neighborhood… again.

In GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE, the Spengler family has relocated to New York City and reoccupied the old firehouse. More, they’re working as Ghostbusters once again, under the patronage of original ‘buster Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) and the mentoring of Ray Stantz (Dan Ackroyd). Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) is excited about the job, mom Kelly (Carrie Coons) is supportive but worried about her kids Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (McKenna Grace).

When chasing a ghost through lower Manhattan ends in serious property damage, the Mayor (who I won’t reveal, but has a history with the organization) cracks down and demands that Phoebe–as a minor–no longer participate in their activities… while he looks for ways to shut them down permanently.

Meanwhile, a mysterious object is sold to Ray by a sketchy dude named Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani). A sphere covered in ancient symbols, it appears to contain something powerful and extremely dangerous. Winston’s new ghost-research lab is a perfect place to study the sphere, which resists efforts to figure it out. At the same time, Phoebe, angry and bitter at being left out, finds companionship with Melody (Emily Alyn Lind), who needs a friend as well.

One thing leads to another and the sphere is opened, releasing an ancient god bent on freezing the world. Unless the Spenglers and the original Ghostbusters, including Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) and Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts), can figure out how to stop him, it’s going to be one cold summer in the city.

Much like GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, this movie builds skillfully on all that came before, even calling back to the less-beloved GHOSTBUSTERS 2 in a news flash. The family is going through some challenges, not the least being Gary’s status among them: is he a dad, an ex-science teacher, the mom’s live-in boyfriend…? The uncertainty puts a burden on the family at a time when unity is needed and they don’t have it. Rudd and Coons are terrific as a couple trying to navigate these choppy waters while running a highly unusual business out of a firehouse.

Grace is wonderful as Phoebe, conveying teenage rebellion and hurt when she’s put aside. She has an endearing relationship with Stantz in particular, with Ackroyd fitting perfectly into the that place in her life. Wolfhard once again is the exasperated older brother, but he does get to shine several times, especially in one scene where he has to chase down something haunting the attic.

Celeste O’Connor and Lucky Kim return from AFTERLIFE as Lucky and Podcast, rounding out a very large cast that nevertheless has story arcs for pretty much all of the characters. Patton Oswalt has a great scene in the New York Public Library, with a fun callback to the first movie included.

Fans of GHOSTBUSTERS will love this installment, while others new to the franchise might wonder who all these people are and what busting ghosts is all about. Even with plenty of exposition and context, it’s best to see at least the previous movie before diving in.

With jokes and scares alike, we give this one a solid B+.