One Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Change All But Guarantees It Will Solve One Afterlife Problem

While Ghostbusters: Afterlife was a fine followup to the franchise’s earlier films, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s new director promises a big improvement in one vital sector. 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife was a strong reboot for a franchise that struggled with follow-ups for decades. 1989’s Ghostbusters II was mostly written off as a belated cash-in despite some strong scenes, while 2016’s divisive reboot Ghostbusters: Answer the Call failed to reinvent the franchise for a new generation. Although Ghostbusters: Afterlife relied a little too heavily on nostalgia, the reboot introduced likable new characters and offered a sweet reunion for the original heroes.

However, there are many elements of the reboot that the upcoming Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire can improve upon. For one thing, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire no longer needs to establish both its new characters and the original gang, meaning the sequel’s pacing doesn’t need to be as slow as its predecessor. For another, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is set to bring a bevy of exciting new faces to the franchise. From James Acaster to Emily Alyn Lind, the sequel’s cast list is packed with impressive new additions. However, there is another, bigger improvement that this sequel makes to its 2021 predecessor.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s Gil Kenan Makes Scary Horror For Kids

Monster House proves Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s director has horror bonafides

Unlike 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire seems like it will prioritize scares. The movie is directed by Ghostbusters: Afterlife co-writer Gil Kenan, best known for 2015’s Poltergeist remake and 2006’s Monster House. Numerous critics noted that Monster House could easily have been PG-13 thanks to its surprisingly effective scares, which never overwhelmed the animated movie’s sweet coming-of-age comedy. Kenan bringing this balance to the sequel is one of many reasons Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire looks more exciting than Ghostbusters: Afterlife, as the series badly needs to bring back its dark side.

Not only did Ghostbusters: Afterlife feature almost no scary scenes, but the earlier attempts to continue the franchise were similarly reticent about creeping out younger viewers. Ghostbusters II featured fewer scenes of peril than its predecessor while Ghostbusters: Answer the Call was entirely devoid of scary moments, with a less unsettling vision of the original movie’s library ghost signaling its lighter tone early on. This meant that the comedy of these follow-ups wasn’t as successful, since there was no tension for the comic relief to alleviate. Despite Kenan’s co-writing credit, Ghostbusters: Afterlife suffered a similar issue.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife Lacked Any Significant Scares

The warm reboot was more interested in comedy than horror

Possibly because director Jason Reitman was more accustomed to character comedy than horror, Ghostbusters: Afterlife was short on scares. Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s ending brought back Gozer, but the villain was nowhere near as threatening this time around and her appearance was mostly an excuse to reunite the original Ghostbusters. This lighter tone allowed Reitman’s movie to focus on establishing the franchise’s new lead characters, with McKenna Grace’s Phoebe and Finn Wolfhard’s Trevor getting plenty of screen time to win over viewers. However, the movie’s sequel won’t require the same approach, meaning scares can once again return to the forefront.

Kenan’s sequel doesn’t need to spend much screen time setting up its heroes, meaning this could be the first movie in the series to prioritize scares since 1984’s original Ghostbusters. Admittedly, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will have cast problems of its own as the movie splits its screen time between the original heroes of the series and their replacements. However, the fact that all of the characters know supernatural beings exist and paranormal phenomena are real means that the sequel can hit the ground running. The slow-burn setup can be replaced with more substantial horror elements.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s Villain Promises More Scares

The trailer’s new villain literally kills characters via fear alone

According to the movie’s trailer, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire‘s new villain can scare its victims to death. This detail implies a pointed focus on horror, as does the return of the Library Ghost. During the trailer, Dan Akroyd’s Ray encounters the ghoulish library ghost that was first seen in the original movie, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s ghost return could be a hint that this new villain could take the form of a given character’s greatest fear. This would make Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire significantly darker than Ghostbusters: Afterlife, whose villains were familiar figures from the original movie.

If Kenan’s movie does utilize this twist, the villain could function like IT’s Pennywise, terrorizing characters with numerous new, creepy guises. However, even if the villain doesn’t have this power, the sequel has already set up a scarier premise than its predecessor. Images of New York City coated in ice and taxi cabs skewered by giant icicles prove that the tone of this sequel will be markedly darker, meaning Kenan’s movie can bring back some of the original movie’s genuinely creepy elements. After the anodyne antics of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, this is the best choice Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s reliable director could make.