Blu-ray review
Directed by Ivan Reitman
Starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis
Release date Out now

The classic 1984 comedy makes its spooktacular debut on Blu–ray…

Both funny and scary, yet based around an idea that is so simple it’s a wonder nobody did it before, Ghostbusters has lost none of its appeal nearly 25 years on from its original release.

The central premise - what if there was a company that removed ghosts in the same way that other companies remove cockroaches? - shifts from being laugh out loud funny to hair-raisingly spooky, but neither element ever feels forced.

The cast are uniformly terrific. The droll, world-weary Venkman (Murray) is super-cool, dealing with the spooks with a casual sense of disdain. The other Ghostbusters range from ubergeeks (Ramis: deadpan, Aykroyd: puppy-like enthusiasm) and dependable (Ernie Hudson in a somewhat underwritten role).

By rights, this shouldn’t look good on Blu-ray. The effects are very much of their time, with the stop-motion dogs’ rampage through Louis Tully’s apartment and out into the streets showing that the ideas occasionally exceeded the technical grasp. But in fact this doesn’t matter at all: Ghostbusters is a film that has earned such goodwill that audiences will happily overlook this.

The special features are largely the same as the previous release, though there is a nice look at the forthcoming (or brand new if you are in the U.S.) video game. Jonathan Wilkins

VERDICT: 9/10
A film which continues to delight just as much as it did 25 years ago.