Ghostbusters II

Synopsis
“Suck in the guts guys, we're the Ghostbusters.”

When a 16th-century tyrant and a river of angry pink ooze threaten New York City, who ya gonna call? (It’s a rhetorical question.) Ghostbusters II brought back Drs. Venkman, Stantz, Spengler and the rest, but life hadn’t been kind in the five years—both in real time and movie time—since the original Ghostbusters film.

At the start of Ghostbusters II, the Ghostbusters have been banned from all spirit chasing by a court order. Ray and Winston are working kids’ birthday parties, Egon is conducting experiments on the human psyche and the environment, and Peter is hosting “The World of the Psychic” on local cable. Cool beauty Dana broke up with Peter, married another man, had a baby named Oscar, got divorced and is now working as a museum art restorer.

That’s where things first start to get nasty, as Dana begins restoring a portrait of the malevolent Vigo the Carpathian. Vigo wants to return to this world to reign in terror, but he needs a host form to make the jump. He finds one in little baby Oscar, and with the help of Dana’s boss Janosz Poha, the Carpathian begins making his move.

Peter and the boys reunite to help Dana out, but they’re soon placed under arrest for violating their court order, and hapless Louis Tully is their only legal representation. Together again, the Ghostbusters realize that New York is on course for another supernatural meltdown, courtesy of a river of oozing pink ectoplasm beneath the city streets. The slimy goo is fueled by the collective rage of New York’s notoriously hard-nosed citizens, and unless Peter and the gang can harness a little love power, Vigo and his minions will usher in a global apocalypse.

All the elements that made the original Ghostbusters such a success were back—Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudon, Annie Potts and other supporting players acting in another Aykroyd/Ramis script directed by Ivan Reitman. The soundtrack was another R&B-influenced hit, with Bobby Brown’s single “On Our Own” hitting #2 on the U.S. charts.

The mix worked again, as Ghostbusters II scored another blockbuster hit in a crowded summer that included Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Batman, Back to the Future Part II, Lethal Weapon 2 and fellow Rick Moranis film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Plans for a third film have yet to materialize, but the GB team kept going strong on Saturday morning’s The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters on through the 1990’s.

Release History 1984 - Ghostbusters
1989 - Ghostbusters II

Sub Categories live-action
sci-fi/fantasy
comedy
horror

Studio Columbia

Cast

Doctor Peter Venkman		Bill Murray
Doctor Raymond Stantz		Dan Aykroyd
Dana Barrett		Sigourney Weaver
Doctor Egon Spengler		Harold Ramis
Louis Tully		Rick Moranis
Winston Zeddemore		Ernie Hudson
Janine Melnitz		Annie Potts
Janosz Poha		Peter MacNicol
The Judge		Harris Yulin
Mayor		David Margulies
Hardemeyer		Kurt Fuller
The Prosecutor		Janet Margolin
Vigo		Wilhelm von Homburg
Baby Oscar		Will Deutschendorf
Baby Oscar		Hank Deutschendorf
Frank the Doorman		Michael P. Moran
Meter Maid		Olivia Ward
Man with a Ticket		Mordecai Lawner
Young Woman on Crutches		Susan Boehm
Brownstone Mother		Mary Ellen Trainor
Brownstone Boy #1		Christopher Villaseñor
Brownstone Boy #2		Jason Reitman
Norman the Producer		Aaron Lustig
Spengler's Assistant		Page Leong
Arguing Couple		Mark Schneider
Arguing Couple		Valery Pappas
Girl with Puppy		Catherine Reitman
First Cop		Dave Florek
Con Ed Supervisor		Richard Foronjy
Bailiff		George Wilbur
Stenographer		Sharon Kramer
Rudy the Museum Guard		Walter Flanagan
Mayor's Doorman		Bobby Baresford Brown
Maitre d'		Christopher Neame
Slimed Restaurant Patron		Judy Ovitz
Store Manager		Robert Alan Beuth
Police Sergeant		Ralph Monaco
Police Lieutenant		Ron Cummins
Dock Supervisor		Cheech Marin
Maria		Yvette Cruise
Detective #1		John Hammil
Detective #2		Ray Glanzmann
Detective #3		Alex Zimmerman
Psychiatrist		Brian Doyle-Murray
Woman with Fur Coat		Louise Troy
Plaza Hotel Man		Douglas Seale
Public Works Official		Ben Stein
Fire Commissioner		Erik Holland
Police Commissioner		Philip Baker Hall