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!

When I think of fan films, I cringe. In fact, sequels or remakes created by professional, authorized, official production companies cause me various levels gastric distress. (I Spy, Thunderbirds, Star Trek I, War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Invasion of the Body Snatchers just to name a few) Naturally I was skeptical when I started watching Return of the Ghostbusters online. But, instead of being a laughable (or unbearable) gushing, goofy fan mess, it's actually…(I can't believe I'm saying this) It's actually GOOD!!! And, good on just about every level.

They show superb understanding and respect for the original, while being able to pick up the pieces and make their own mark with the work. That ain't an easy task! The plot was interesting and original and included several character stories providing motivation and context for character actions and interactions. Apart from a good script and nice pacing, the cinematography is PDG—well framed and nicely lit, SFX, acting, comedy sense, characters all deserve special note.

The Plucky Girl Reporter is gorgeous and adorable. The boys are engaging and equally adorable. It's all great fun to watch.

I'm not saying it's Citizen Kane, but considering it's an amateur work, it's pretty impressive. Clearly these are not just a bunch of idiots with a VHS camera. They're a bunch of very TALENTED idiots with many skills (not unlike Ackroyd, Reitman, Ramis, Murray et al).

Great work folks! Hope you get to make more of these, or better yet…I hope you get snapped up as professional filmmakers. Thanks!

I give this a 5 for effects a 4 on script mainly for the "bad guy" and Egon's dialog that's it. The rest of the script they should have burned it. Get ready for the cheese when you watch this one. Now I fully understand the meaning of cheesy and we all know what cheese is made from old milk and that's what this is. They stole lines from the original maybe to make it better in their minds. This script is trash. I read the other reviews, I am not sure what movie they saw but they must be either geeks or the actors. This insults the great creation that is Ghost busters. This is worse then that extreme ghost buster cartoon, that also sucks monkey balls. They tried I give them that, but it is painful to watch. They had the tools but no talent with this one, except for Egon they were on the money with him and the bad guy is OK he needs work though. Watch if you must see everything that is ghost busters only, otherwise skip and watch some classic ghost buster cartoons on youtube.

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.