Ghostbusters: Afterlife – 4K Blu-ray Review
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure here.
Sony Pictures | 2021
PG13 | 2hrs 4 min | Fantasy | Adventure | Supernatural | Comedy
HD | 1080P | DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Native? 4K | 2160P | Dolby Vision | HDR10 | Dolby Atmos | Dolby TrueHD7.1
Aspect Ratio 2.39:1
Staring: Carrie Coon | Paul Rudd | Finn Wolfhard | Mckenna Grace | Logan Kim | Celeste O’Connor
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Ratings & Reviews
Please see here for my comments on reviewing movies.
My ratings are simple being marked out of a maximum of 5+. My reviews are biased towards the technical production aspects of the film with brief comments about the story line. Extras, sorry, that’s just not my ‘bag’.
So what did the 4K HDR10 video look like? Very good in most respects, and the 7.1 soundtrack ? Very good to, with reference rating LFE bass.
Entertainment: 5-
Video: 5-
Audio: 5-
Technical Review – Native? 4K UHD HDR10
Ghostbusters: Afterlife was was captured digitally by director of photography Eric Steelberg in the ARRIRAW codec at 4.5K using Arri Alexa LF cameras, with Panavision T-Series lenses. There seems to be conflicting reports as to whether the movie was finished as a 2K or 4K Digital Intermediate. Upscaled or native it looks very good, with the final 4K Digital Intermediate being finished at the 2.39:1 aspect ratio and graded for both Dolby Vision and HDR 10 for this theatrical release. This dual layer BD-66 disc has been well authored, shows no excessive use of noise reduction or edge sharpening and no obvious compression artifacts. The two disc package also includes the BD66 HD version together with a digital code.
While there is an occasional diffused look to some scenes, the overall resolution is very good, with clean fine detailing that’s visible in the road rubble, fields of crops, wooden buildings and skin, even Zuul’s and Clortho’s CGI skin. Clothing, like the Ghostbusters uniforms and facial close-ups provide good detail and definition with natural skin tones and accurate rendition of pores, eyelashes, hair strands and features, without any undue exaggerations. While older buildings, cars, equipment and household items show plenty of age and use related wear and tear. CGI integration being very good and going mostly unnoticed.
There are plenty of scenes that provide deep blacks that are noise free, having good low level and shadow detail as found in the shadowy night environments, the underground Shandor selenium mines and the dirt farms underground lab. All helping to provide a three-dimensional quality. Peak whites and specular highlights provided clean detail with no clipping, like the neon lighting at the hamburger joint, Gozer’s glowing body, the swirling and darting souls and especially the proton packs. Taken together providing a solid dynamic contrast range and enhancing visibility of objects in both interior and exterior shots.
The film’s color palette is not what you would call lush and wide but it is quite natural. Primaries and secondaries are well saturated having good color depth and density, hues are vibrant and accurate, like the neon signs and proton streams. Interior shots are mostly of brownish wood and brown/grayish stone walls. Many exterior shots tend to focus on the natural earth tones of dirt browns, stone grays and browns of the buildings and rocks, to the pale greens of vegetation and crops but still maintain the warm golden shades of the film’s location. Strong saturated primaries do erupt at times from the reds of the neon signs to the reds, pinks, yellows, blues and oranges of the proton streams.
This movie looks good on all fronts, providing a very enjoyable HDR10 image. All with a reference image or two thrown in.
Audio – Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Ghostbusters: Afterlife features an excellent Dolby Atmos mix that defaults to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 in my system. This movie certainly ‘ain’t afraid of no bass’ as exemplified in the opening title sequence and then throughout many action scenes.
The overall sound presentation is pleasingly dynamic, with excellent sub involvement and action from all surrounds. From flying ghosts to the kids shuffling of classroom chairs, gusts of wind through the leaves and grasses, and clawing demons. Effects placement are accurate and natural, with movement in both the rear and side surrounds with the various atmospheric effects consistently pulling you into the many locals and environments. From the silence of the mine, basement lab and the quiet dirt farm at night to the creaking floorboards, metal-biting ghost and the portal from hell, all fill the surrounds with subtle ambient effects helping to pull the listener further into the scene.
Excellent floor, wall and foundation rattling LFE sub action certainly makes itself known during many of the action sequences, with a solid and extended bottom end, having good punch and muscle plus some very solid LF rumble from earthquakes and explosions. Imaging continuously feels broad and expansive as action moves on and off-screen. Dialogue is always crystal clear and well detailed with solid front-center imaging and prioritization, even during the movies more intense sonic moments with the mid-range continually providing good clarity and detail no matter how loud and aggressive the effect.
Rob Simonsen’s score compliments the movie throughout its entire length, revisiting old themes from the original film score by Elmer Bernstein and introducing new themes, all flushing out the soundscape. Hitting a good balance between the dialogue and effects his score envelopes the whole listening environment with light spill into the surrounds and effortless integration within the soundstage.
Story Overview
Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon), mother of Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) just can’t get a break, hearing that her estranged father Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) has just passed away and that they are getting evicted from their home. Callie is left her fathers home in Summerville, Oklahoma and being broke decides to move in. Soon Phoebe, a science nerd, realizes that everything isn’t exactly what it seems in the home. Making friends with a fellow student, Podcast (Logan Kim) and her summer school teacher Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd), she gradually pieces together that her grandfather was a Ghostbuster who left his ‘tools of the trade’ hidden at the house. Driven on by unnatural happenings and earthquakes, the three piece together that a powerful and long-dormant evil exists at the old nearby Shandor selenium mines. An evil that her grandfather had been trying to destroy. Once again the old and the new Ghostbuster teams must rise to the challenge.
My 2 cents
This is a very good Ghostbusters continuation that nicely bridged the gap between the 80’s version and today. It was thoroughly enjoyable, had a few laughs and had just the right level of connection to the original film, providing for a Ghostbusters 4. I would have preferred less of an obvious ending but those cameo appearances help to keep things tied together.
Make sure to watch the closing titles all the way to the end!
Purchase from Amazon here.
