“Who are you gonna call?” the battle cry of The Ghostbusters one of the greatest paranormal investigative and capturing squadron in history. After two very successful films and a myriad of spin-offs, fans have been clamouring for a third.  Internal struggles and unsustainable build-up of hype rendered the sequel, less and less likely. When Harold Ramis tragically passed in 2014, talk quickly turned from a sequel, to reboot. Despite this the film would have to compete with almost three decades of speculation for this reboot, they would have to think big and answer the call and in 2016, answer is what they did.

Academic Erin Gilbert, who is up for tenure, feels her chances are in jeopardy after her previous research into the paranormal has gained transaction from her former partner, Abby Yates and new assistant, Jillian Holtzmann. After their reunion, Erin gradually gets involved in her research after losing her job. The trio then investigates some of New York’s famous haunts as their experiment grows into a commercial venture. But as it becomes more apparent there is a human influence behind these ghastly reanimations, the team must work to save New York.

The film is a reboot plain and simple, and it does what a good reboot does well, it captures the essence while going into a totally new direction, plot-wise. Certain beats and cameos appear to fondly remind you about the comedy classic, but it’s to the film’s testament that it manages to appear similar, yet utterly divergent from the original. Speaking of cameos, there is a wide variety of returning actors. From John Belushi Slimer, Murray, Aykroyd, and Hudson to the Ecto-1 and classic fire house are back. The ghosts also retain their spooky high contrast-neon glows that have become a visual trademark with the franchise. The film is also a fitting love letter to the city of New York and all its colourful residents.

This plays out as a film that has been years in the making, after countless failed attempts to get off the ground, the studio took a gamble on a totally novel direction. A film that literary sets out to answer the call. It’s keen to show off the progress that has been made since the mid-eighties. Ghostbusters answer the call relies heavily on improvisational humour, some lines aren’t as quotable as from the original, but the scenes themselves still have a lot of comedic value. The main cast is all comedy veterans and knows what works well for their audiences. However, a newcomer to comedy Chris Hemsworth is surprisingly adept as the secretary, Kevin, with most of the best lines.

Ghostbusters: Answer The Call is the start of something promising and provides opportunities to the ersatz world of paranormal happenings to grow and inspire new audiences. It’s different enough to provide die-hard fans something new to explore, Answer The Call fills the space for big-budget paranormal comedy. It’s a jumpy, gross-out, and most importantly well-executed attempt to bring the franchise back to life… ironically.

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