Getting ready for the premiere of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, we opted to dive into the novelization of the original film by Richard Mueller. A nostalgic journey indeed, but it didn’t quite measure up to the feature film experience.
When Dr. Peter Venkman and his Columbia University colleagues get booted from their academic posts, they form a ghost-catching business. Their luck changes when Dana Barrett seeks their help for her haunted apartment in New York City. What follows is a battle against ghastly ghosts threatening the city. After saving New York from a slime invasion, the Ghostbusters face closure. But when an ancient tyrant targets Dana’s baby as his new vessel, they must rally to save the day once again!
This novel was released a year after the movie’s release, so Mueller had ample material to work with, but he missed the mark. His biggest misstep was steering clear of using any dialogue resembling that of the movie, causing many iconic lines to lose their charm.
Reading a book after watching its movie adaptation can be an enjoyable academic exercise. It allows you to analyze the differences between the film and the original novel. However, when a book is written post-movie release, it may alter elements solely for the sake of differentiation, resembling fan-fiction rather than genuine comparison. If you know the movie, stick with the movie. If you’re new to it, watch the movie instead.
While not necessarily good or bad, this book didn’t quite hit the mark for us. We decided to read the novelization of the 1984 Ghostbusters film for a fresh perspective, but in hindsight, watching the movie may have been a better choice.
The original Ghostbusters: The Supernatural Spectacular novelization is a bit hard to come by these days. However, Ghostbusters The Original Movie Novelizations Omnibus is available at bookstores everywhere and collects the novelizations of the first two movies. Check out the audiobook on Libro.fm!
