In a bit of news that we nearly missed, last week, Sony Pictures UK quietly released a new trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife that reimagines the film in a slightly more festive tone, casting it as perfect holiday viewing.
The short, thirty-second, almost fever-dream-like spot feels like a mashup between Ghostbusters and A Christmas Carol, even mentioning the timeless Charles Dickens tale, seemingly casting a Terror Dog, Muncher, and Gozer the Gozerian within the roles of the Ghosts of Christmas, asking the question, “When Christmas needs saving… Who you gonna call?”
Trading in Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” for the timeless “Carole of the Bells,” the shoehorned advertisement, released mere days before Christmas, is simple but effective, going heavy on audio clips of both Finn Wolfhard and Paul Rudd. There’s also some heavy-handed nostalgia with a quick clip of Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson returning to their iconic roles.
Often associated with Halloween, over the past several years, Ghostbusters has been shown some additional love during the holiday season, with AMC considering Ghostbusters II a Christmas movie. In fact, this year, the first two Ghostbusters managed to be included within some somewhat questionable holiday-themed marathons, one centered around Bill Murray and another called “Merry 80’s,” sandwiching both films between the likes of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and The Great Outdoors.
As I’ve written in previous articles, if considering Ghostbusters II, or in this case, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, as a Christmas movie means we can watch either one in between opening gifts and dinner, that’s an idea we can get behind! After all, there are only so many times you can watch A Christmas Story.
