A case of too many ghosts in the firehouse, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire constantly loses focus with its cluttered assemblage of characters new and old jockeying for screen time in a film driven by franchise greed.

The scariest moment in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire occurs during the opening credits when the logo for Ghost Corps – the production company established in 2016 to oversee the Ghostbusters media franchise - appears. Immediately a vision of MCU/Star Wars style spin-offs and streaming series evokes the kind of shudders once shuddered for the 2016 all-female reboot, which was the first film under the Ghost Corps title.  

The 2021 legacy sequel Ghostbusters: Afterlife worked with its blend of old and new; but mostly because it was a celebration of the type of 1980s filmmaking that blended genre with heart and adventure. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire zaps us to the nauseating stench of modern Hollywood conglomerate excess and all the nonsense that comes with it.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire begins with new recruits the Spengler family – moody teen Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), frustrated young man Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), mother Callie (Carrie Coon), and stepdad Gary (Paul Rudd) – chasing down a ghost through the streets of New York City in an Ecto-1 that has seen better days. When the ensuing property damage evokes the wrath of vendetta driven Mayor Walter Peck (James Atherton), Phoebe finds herself on the outs and striking up a relationship with flaming-hot spectre Melody (Emily Alyn Lind). Meanwhile, the unearthing of an ancient artifact that holds the presence of an evil entity determined to “destroy the world!” results in all hands-on deck in the newly established Ghostbusters Incorporated.

Director Gil Kenan (Poltergeist) – who co-wrote Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire with Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) – crams two films’ worth of material into this fifth entry in the Ghostbusters franchise that will make you wish they stopped at four. Numerous new characters and scenarios are introduced for Sony Pictures to pick and spin into other franchise “content”, most notably a new Ghostbusters research/invention hub that practically begs to be the centre of a streaming series.

Sacrificed to the altar of franchise building is the strong family dynamic established in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and with it an emotional core to strengthen stakes worth investing in. While the core theme of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (presumably) is that of family and teamwork, too many characters, too many sub-plots, and too little focus results in a scattershot of a movie.

And speaking of scattershot, the decision to change the lead character of Phoebe from lovable level-headed egghead to annoying self-centred brat is as befuddling as they come, as is the characters’ foray into young adult territory in her meet-dead romance with a pouty lipped ghost who Lind plays with seductive ease.

Released 40 years after the original Ghostbusters movie came, saw, and kicked ass, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire provides a chilling reminder of just how creatively corrupt the blockbuster film has become. Maybe it’s time to let go of the ghost.