Return of the Ghostbusters

I actually watch both pieces by BraxtranFILM but this in particular movie was pretty good coming from an independent film, and yeah I mean with the no 3rd G.B. ever ever ever ever, you'd have to expect it to come from a huge fan. However I felt this wasn't just a fan made movie, I felt this was someone that wanted to really keep true to the Ghostbusters and what it was about. I do have to say that some of it was a bit cheesy and could of done with a bit less, or maybe it might of been some of the actors doing what they did. But I feel for the kinda budget they probably had, they did a marvelous job bring back to life one great classic.

I have been in the special effects business for over twenty years working as an entertainment designer within the movie industry. Yes, I am a huge fan of the whole Ghostbusters franchise and I'm known within this community as Paranorman, the dude that builds proton packs and related props for Ghostbusters collectors and ghostheads throughout the world. When Hank Braxtan asked me to create the new design and to fabricate the production's Neutrino Pack for 'Return of the Ghostbusters' I said to him "well, I'll need time to think about it...HECK YEAH!"

First I was greeted with wonderful visual effects with the title sequence and shortly after, I was immediately drawn into the plot. 'Return of the Ghostbusters' computer-generated imagery were well executed and were not overpowering and the old school physical effects were well placed as well. This is one of my favorite fan films!

First of all, a bit about myself as the reviewer: I have a huge respect for Ghostbusters as a brand, and as a phenomenon. I am a HUGE fan of both Ghostbusters movies with Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Sigourney Weaver in leading roles, and have a huge respect for them as actors and performers. The first movie being my favorite. I am also a fan of "The real ghostbusters" which was a cartoon, with great music, atmosphere, and good stories to help feed my Ghostbusters hunger. But of course it is the movies that I love the most. I am 29 years old. The last movie came out in 1989, and I want more..

Return of the Ghostbusters is a movie made by a group of fans of the original Ghostbusters movies (1 and 2). It is made by a group of fans, with a budget of a little under 10000 dollars or something like that.

Dan Aykroyd, "the man with the plan" has stated many times that there will not be a third Ghostbusters movie. Never ever. So a group of fans took it upon themselves to make a third one. This movie tells the story of a completely different ghostbusters unit located in Denver. I am not going to say anymore than that.

So why should you see it you say? You don't believe in fan movies, or you just don't think that this movie is up to par with the actual original ghostbuster movies? Well, for those of you who really believe that, don't see this movie. But Dan Aykroyd could have said like "maybe in the future", or "hmm would be cool to do a third one" instead of "NO" all the time. Fans tend to get a little crazy. We don't want to hear "no." We are like kids in a sense, in that we have a craving for something. Let's call it sugar. To me, Ghostbusters is sugar, and I want more. I guess that is why this movie exists. So it is any good? Well the acting is not top notch, as it is played by fans, not actors. But the acting is far from bad, and for some reason gets better as the movie progresses. Nonetheless Neil Anderson delivers a brilliant performance throughout as the "bad guy." I got a tear or three in my eye on one occasion in this movie, and I actually couldn't believe myself. This movie has managed to keep very strong to the original material, and added some new twists into the formula to honour the new decade. The soundtrack, which mixes a lot of music from the first movie, with a completely new written score which is absolutely amazing, helps that good old Ghostbusters feeling return, which has been gone a while. And last but not least, the script, and the story are very well written. The famous Dan Aykroyd did say on one occasion that there never was a third movie because the scripts were all bad.. . Well there you have it.

I recommend this movie not only to fans, but for all who are interested in movies in general. If you tell yourself that this is made by fans, and does not come from Hollywood BEFORE you see the movie, I can 100% guarantee you that you will have a good time. It only goes to show that people in general love movies, and good movies even better. I'll burn this out on a DVD, and put it on the shelf with Ghostbuster 1 and 2, and write a big 3 on this one. Thank you very much, BraxtanFILM, I had a great time:D Rock on!

As a die hard fan of the ghostbusters I was blown away when I saw Freddy VS Ghostbusters. I told my friends and family about it and showed the film to everybody who would watch. When I heard a follow up film was being produced my expectations were pretty high. I was absolutely floored when I watched the Return of the Ghostbusters. This film is Hank Braxton's Rocky Balboa to the film industry's Apollo Creed begging for just one chance, one opportunity to shine. While lacking the fanfare and budgets of a major movie production, what this movie does bring to the table is tons of heart and an obvious love for both the craft of film making as well as a love for the source material. Return of the Ghostbusters improves upon Braxton Films' earlier Ghostbuster fan film in every category: Cinematography, Acting, Scenery, Pacing, Casting, Effects, Audio, Script -- the list goes on. If you have ever even been so much as a casual fan of Ghostbusters, consider yourself a connoisseur of pop culture or are simply a fan of independent artists you owe it to yourself to watch this film. Rarely will a major motion picture capture the heart, dedication and love for the craft that this picture has produced in spades.

Having watched the film dozens of times (for studying purposes), it becomes clear that one should not expect a $144M budget type of movie. Instead, for $3,000, all the heart and fun that stretched dollars can afford are put on screen.

The film sure has its cheesy moments and it has to be expected instead of hoping for a miracle. And in some ways, this fan film is sort of a miracle in itself. You have quirky characters, a clichéd villain, the reporter (who reminded me a lot of TMNT's April O'Neil for some reason) and a few great action scenes for the tight budget they had.

The camera work is interesting and is much more determined to shoot a cool looking scene than most fan films I've seen lying around. Not that they're any bad, but it's nice to dissect them and try and see where there are a few problems, where scenes could be trimmed, etc.

This film could have used a bit of trimming or a few extra takes instead of keeping a scene where the same word can be heard two or three times. Not to be picky, it just creates a redundancy that slowly can cripple the narrative when repeated too many times. Although I'm sure these were most unintentional and they do not hinder my fun of watching it.

Knowing that this is a low budget production, I was pleasantly surprised to see the amount of accuracy, the fun, the efforts to try and tell an original story, to have a few references to the original Ghostbusters while also covering its own grounds. The film does mention some of the original characters, but that's where the movie gets some of its best fun: talking about other fictional characters, thus making them seem more real, as well as the Ghostbusters name and the overall story at the same time.

It's not a Stanley Kubrick film, and it's not a Rolland Emmerich film either. It's a Hank Braxtan film. The man wrote and directed it and before that, he did the same with "Freddy VS. Ghostbusters", another fun short film featuring some of the characters seen in "Return".

For doing all this by himself, and for the fun results I still enjoy to this day, I'd say he's more than earned my eternal respect.