Ghostbusters: Afterlife – Ivan Reitman is proud of son’s funny, scary sequel

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

We should have been able to watch Ghostbusters: Afterlife – director Jason Reitman's sequel to his father Ivan's films Ghostbusters (watch it HERE) and Ghostbusters II (watch that one HERE) – in theatres six months ago. That was the original plan. Due to the pandemic, we won't be seeing this one until June 11, 2021… but Ivan Reitman didn't have to wait to see it.

Speaking with Empire Magazine, Jason Reitman revealed that he was able to show the film to his father last month, and the screening went over quite well.

My father hasn’t been leaving the house much because of Covid. But he took a test, put on a mask and drove down to the Sony lot to watch the movie with the studio. And after, he cried, and he said, ‘I’m so proud to be your father.’ And it was one of the great moments of my life."

Music to our ears here at Arrow in the Head is the fact that the younger Reitman aimed to make this new film not only funny, but also "as scary as the (original Ghostbusters) felt".

The feeling that I’ve kind of held onto is that while it is very funny, it really scared me. It was really my first experience with a horror film. I was at a Directors Guild meeting and I happened to be sitting next to Steven Spielberg – when I told him I was working on Ghostbusters, he out of nowhere said, ‘Library Ghost – top ten scares of all time.’ And it’s true."

Written by Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan, Ghostbusters: Afterlife stars Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, and Carrie Coon as a family that 

moves back home to a small town. While there, they begin to learn more about who they are and the secrets of the town itself.

Paul Rudd, Bokeem Woodbine, Tracy Letts, Celeste O'Connor, Logan Kim, and Oliver Cooper are also in the cast, with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts reprising their roles from the original films.

An article on Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be included in the "Greatest Cinema Moments Ever" issue of Empire, which goes on sale January 21st. Copies can be pre-ordered at THIS LINK.

Empire got their hands on a new image from the film, and you can see that right here: