A sequel is a tricky proposition. Audiences who enjoy one story are keen to want more, yet the follow-ups aren’t always as strong or long-lasting as the initial outing. When you add in the complaint of feeling like nothing new is in theaters, there’s a sense that sequels are far more risky than new stories. The truth is that there are plenty of new stories releasing into theaters every week (and on streaming/VOD platforms) and sequels are really only at the mercy of the audience’s expectations that Two should be the same as One, but better, while both different and the same. But not so different or the same. This is what faces films like newly-released Bad Boys: Ride or Die (the fourth entry in the Bad Boys series) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, now available on home video. Directed by co-writer Gil Kenan (Ghostbusters: Afterlife), the new adventure seeks to continue the next generation story in the familiar NYC stomping grounds against a brand-new foe in a fourth canonical entry of a five-film series. That’s a lot of pressure. If you’re among the Ghost Corps who delight in any chance to bust a ghost, the home release of Frozen Empire comes in multiple physical formats and includes over an hour of bonus materials which invite home viewers to dig deeper into the production.
L-R: Callie (Carrie Coon), Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), Gary (Paul Rudd), Janine (Annie Potts), Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), Podcast (Logan Kim), Ray (Dan Aykroyd), Lars (James Acaster) and Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) in Columbia Pictures’ GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE. Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk. © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
After the Spengler family stopped the return of Gozer (Oliva Wilde) with the help of local seismologist/science teacher Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) and the remaining original Ghostbusters, Callie (Carrie Coon), Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), Phoebe (McKenna Grace), and Gary leave Oklahoma to take up shop in the old firehouse as the Ghostbusters of New York City. It’s a good thing as spectral activity is on the rise and someone needs to drop the threat level. But as this new generation works to handle the responsibility while dealing with an old nemesis in the form of the current mayor, former EPA agent Walter Peck (William Atherton), a new threat lurks in the background, trying to utilize the very tools of the Ghostbusters to create an army that will destroy humanity as we know it.
A new villain in Columbia Pictures’ GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE. © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Just like the home release of Afterlife, Ghostbusters fans can choose from either single-film editions or multiple-film collections. Whereas the 2022 home release included an “Ultimate Collection” of the core three Ghostbusters films in a ghost trap package, the Frozen Empire two-film collection includes both new generation 4K UHD editions with ice molds. As Sony Pictures Home Entertainment only provided a standard Blu-ray edition for review, what follows will explore that edition and the film itself.
GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE/FROZEN EMPIRE two-film collection packshots. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Co-written with Jason Reitman (Ghostbusters: Afterlife; Up in the Air), Frozen Empire is a solid follow-up and continuation of the series when it moves forward and doesn’t linger on the past. People are people, even the fictious ones, so it makes sense that Dr. Ray Stanz (actor/co-creator Dan Aykroyd) would not only still be running his occult store, but be actively elbow-deep in what’s going on. One can even understand that someone working in a bureaucratic gig like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would transition into political proper (Peck). These are reasonable leaps that make the traces of the past work with the present scenario the characters are dealing with as a combination of finding their footing as Ghostbusters, as transplants from Oklahoma, and as individuals amongst a group of weirdos (written affectionately). Heck, fans of the 1984 original and it’s 1989 sequel will delight in seeing the Aura Video-Analyzer at work and remnants of the pink emotionally-charged slime sitting on a shelf. These things make sense in the larger continuity as either tools of the trade (like a PKE meter or general trophy or science sample), but things like specters of cases past appearing for no other reason than for the audience to be all “Hey! We know that thing!” is where the film falters backward, making the more skeptical fan worry about the validity of future installments. If viewed entirely this way, yes, audiences are going to be frustrated by Frozen Empire and see it as a nostalgic cash-grab with nothing of its own to offer.
However, there’s another take, and one with some intriguing possibilities.
L-R: Mckenna Grace, Director Gil Kenna and Logan Kim on the set of Columbia Pictures’ GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE. Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk. © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The script by Kenan and Reitman borrows a great deal from the narrative style of the 1984 original. There’s an opening sequence that kicks off the mystery of the film and then the rest is spent with the characters dealing with their own issues and battling the occasional ghoul before things come to a head at the end of the film. Only the canonical II and Afterlife featured the villain early and prominently, making Frozen Empire feel a lot more like a return to form with a new central cast, including an outsider that’s tangentially connected to our central cast who ends up being a pivotal component to the main protagonists’ mission (both newcomers to the series Kumail Nanjiani’s Nadeem and Emily Alyn Lind’s Melody). This film, far more than Afterlife, really does pass the baton over with the new generation taking on the bulk of the work. There’s a delicate balance between new and old Ghostbusters and this film mostly gets it right, so audiences of all ages get just a little something for themselves. More than that, by continuing to place Phoebe at the center, we end with a story that’s not just a supernatural adventure, but a tale of growing up, broken expectations, broken hearts, and busting ghosts. The first two films are great because of the chemistry of the original cast, but also how they act and react to each other as a family. With the Spenglers, that concept is more concrete and, as a result, quite a bit of fun, making Phoebe’s choices and the reactions to those choices all the more emotionally investing.
L-R: Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) and Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) in a deleted scene from Columbia Pictures’ GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE. Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk. © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
In terms of bonus features, what’s provided is fairly comprehensive. For those who’ve seen the film already, you’ll want to jump to the six-minute “Easter Eggs Unleashed” to get information on things you may or may not have noticed. There’s referencing to Manhattan City Bank and Sigourney Weaver’s (Cabin in the Woods) Dana Barrett that you’re likely to miss on the first viewing; same with the continuity of the firehouse from the end of the original Ghostbusters to Frozen Empire. There’s only so much they can cover in that time, but it certainly provides a deep sense of the work the crew went into in order for this world to feel as lived-in as possible. From there, there’s a 21-minute featurette called “Return to the Firehouse: Making Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” exploring the firehouse itself from the perspective of the cast and crew, new and old, and making sure folks recognize its significance as a character within the series. More than that, you get to learn about how it feels for all the cast to be in the film. Unsurprisingly, folks like Nanjiani (The Eternals) were massive fans in their youth. Aykroyd even spends some time discussing the passing of the torch. Does this mean that legacy characters will be reduced in a potentially future installment? No idea, but it’s nice to hear that there’s trust in the future. For those interested in even more behind-the-scenes goodies, there’s an 11-minute featurette focused on the creatures of the film (“Busted: Capturing the Ghosts of Frozen Empire”), a nine-minute deep dive into Garraka (“Manifesting Garraka”), and a look into what Ernie Hudson’s Winston Zeddemore’s been up to (“Welcome to the Paranormal Discovery Center”). That last one feels like a perfect excuse to manifest a reason to bring Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) over as that character would go nuts in that space. Finally, there’s a seven-minute featurette exploring the new gear that appears in the film (“New York, New Gear”) and a brief look into the recording of the score (“Knowing the Score”). When you’ve exhausted all of that and watched the six deleted and extended scenes, then you watch the film with feature-length commentary from Kenan.
Of all of these materials, only “Return to the Firehouse: Making Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” and “Busted: Capturing the Ghosts of Frozen Empire” are included with the DVD.
L-R: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, and Finn Wolfhard on the set of Columbia Pictures’ GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE. Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk. © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Ultimately, Frozen Empire is fine. It’s not going to blow your house down or ruin your day, which is perfectly acceptable for a movie. But a Ghostbusters movie is never truly bad, it’s just a matter of understanding what it seeks to do and whether it does it well. Speaking as someone who loves Ghostbusters II, simply just repeating what worked doesn’t result in success. You’ve got to get creative. More than that, it’s got to inspire your imagination. Ghostbusters II does that, Afterlife does that, and Frozen Empire sets the stage to do some really cool things. Call it “middle film” syndrome, but there’s an opportunity, especially coming off the romantic storyline for Phoebe, to get all of New York on their side and to go really big … Like Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009) or The Real Ghostbusters big. Come on, who doesn’t want to see some new other-dimensional being going up against the Ghostbusters in New York and maybe, finally, prove Peck to be the dickless bureaucrat that he is (even if he’s been partially right this whole time)?
I do. I want to see that.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Special Features:
4K UHD, Blu-ray, and digital
- Commentary with Director, Co-Writer Gil Kenan (1:55:04)
- Return to the Firehouse: Making Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (21:40)
- Busted: Capturing the Ghosts of Frozen Empire (11:29)
- Deleted & Extended Scenes (9:16)
- Easter Eggs Unleashed (6:34)
- Manifesting Garraka (8:55)
- New York, New Gear (7:05)
- Welcome to the Paranormal Discovery Center (4:44)
- Knowing the Score (6:33)
DVD
- Return to the Firehouse: Making Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (21:40)
- Busted: Capturing the Ghosts of Frozen Empire (11:29)
Available on digital May 7th, 2024.
Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and two-film collection June 25th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Columbia Pictures Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire website.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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