"Don't cross the streams."

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2014)

I once saw the part of this film where the Ghostbusters hit the headlines while Ray Parker Jr's theme song is played but what made me want to watch this film in full the most was the "Don't cross the streams" part of the dialogue being used as the sound clip for the 11 Second Club's March 2014 competition, so I decided to rent the DVD. On my first full viewing, I was so tired that I fell asleep for part of it, thus making it harder for me to follow the story, so I paused it and came back to it later. I initially gave this film a 6/10 but after having found the film easier to follow second time around due to being more awake, I upgraded my rating to a 7 because most of the film is engaging with a few minor flaws.
First off, I found the acting from Rick Moranis overdone for his character Louis Tully. Secondly, the pacing was uneven with the part between the headline-hitting sequence and the climax with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man being the slowest despite some effective scenes such as Louis and Dana becoming possessed (the view of Central Park as they embrace is beautiful as is the accompanying orchestral piece) and several ghosts taking over New York. Thirdly, the animation on the horned demons was jerky and a bit slow.
Moving onto the positives, the theme song, despite being played three times throughout the film, is catchy and memorable while Elmer Bernstein's musical score is at its best when it is chilling and powerful. The animation on the ghosts, especially Slimer, was better than that on the horned demons and the Marshmallow Man was generally well done and the scanimation used for the proton streams to capture the ghosts was adequate. Moranis's overacting aside, the acting from the rest of the cast was subtly done, especially from Bill Murray and the late Harold Ramis. Annie Potts (who later went on to voice Bo Peep in the first two 'Toy Story' films) as the Ghostbusters receptionist Janine and Sigourney Weaver as Dana were surprising additions to the cast. A lot of the dialogue is memorable, especially the "Don't cross the streams" part and while the Ghostbusters base is run-down, the hotel dining room when the Ghostbusters catch Slimer is elaborate and the scenery of Central Park is stunning. I also liked the ghostly drone-sounding siren on the Ghostbusters' car, the haunting beginning at the library and the well-paced ending where Slimer surprisingly flies towards the screen.
Overall, 'Ghostbusters' is a mostly entertaining horror film with its music, dialogue and the majority of special effects being its best features.