Per Matt
If there’s something strange, and it don’t look good… who ya gonna call? Well, it’s usually Dan Aykroyd who answers the bell.

You may recognize the Not Ready for Prime Time Player from old-school Saturday Night Live seasons. You probably remember him for bringing The Blues Brothers to live performances around the world and eventually the big screen alongside John Belushi (and later with his brother, Jim). He’s won all sorts of awards throughout his long and illustrious career within the entertainment industry, but arguably the most influential moment of the performer’s career was collaborating with Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis to write the Ghostbusters screenplay (with guidance from director Ivan Reitman). That script was inspired in part by his fascination with parapsychology.

The feature film was a smashingly spooky success and the rest, as they say, is history. But oftentimes, the truth can be stranger than fiction. Dan Aykroyd definitely knows this mantra very well.

After starring in a string of comedy projects (some successful, others that absolutely flopped) and making a variety of high-profile special appearances, Aykroyd eventually returned to the genre that has always fit the filmmaker like a glove: the paranormal!

For four seasons, he hosted the TV series, Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, later hosting Hotel Paranormal for a couple of seasons, highlighting true encounters of guests from around the world, and more recently, the actor’s appeared in The Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd, which explores the “strangest-but-true stories in human history.” Paired with William Shatner’s The UnXplained, the History Channel’s Friday night lineup packs quite the paranormal punch.

And this week, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire hits the big screen. Having attended a preview screening and been a lifelong fan of the franchise, I can safely say that after a way-too-long absence, the franchise is back and arguably better than ever.

I’ll be the first to admit that Ghostbusters II was lackluster, at best. I actually enjoyed watching The Real Ghostbusters animated series more than revisiting that sequel, but I was still stoked to see it premiere on the big screen in 1989. And then the waiting began. The video game’s release was a nice baby step forward, but I wasn’t thrilled with Paul Feig’s reboot 27 years later, although it was clear there was still public interest in the intellectual property.

I was then gutted by Harold Ramis’ passing, as Egon Spengler unofficially represented the heart of the franchise, but absolutely enjoyed revisiting the nostalgia of the series’ surviving legacy characters reuniting for Afterlife, giving an emotionally charged farewell to the filmmaker. Jason Reitman was definitely the right man for the job. Reviving the franchise was a passion project for the filmmaker that felt personal, not formulaic in the least.

Naturally, I’m ready for the next installment.

Frozen Empire brings back the Spengler family, now living within the iconic New York City firehouse, busting ghosts with some familiar faces. But little does Ray Stanz (Aykroyd) realize how much chaos an ancient copper orb can cause, awakening an ancient evil that threatens humanity with a mighty Death Freeze.

While the main storyline acts as a coming-of-age story for Phoebe Spengler (played by McKenna Grace), it also works a passing-of-the-torch storyline continuing Afterlife‘s overall arc. And leading that handover is Ray Stanz. It should come as no surprise that Aykroyd’s presence is more prominent here than all of the other legacy characters combined, much like Afterlife. I’d wanted more wisecracks from these great characters, but sadly their overall screentime is limited. They do leave a positive impression, though.

The second storyline co-written by the younger Reitman (along with his dad, Ivan, who recently passed away, whom the film is dedicated to) is directed by co-writer Gil Kenan this time around. And while it does a pretty good job of expanding the overall Ghostbusters Universe, it does focus a tad too much time on Phoebe. Plot-wise, that feels like a misstep, especially when the previous chapter was so emotionally resonate. But by the time the end credits roll, I’m already prepared for another rollercoaster ride with these characters.

Apparently, Aykroyd has been loud and proud about wanting to continue new Ghostbusters stories for as long as the surviving actors are alive and willing. That doesn’t sound so bad, but I think I’d prefer a few prequel stories to move along the future of the franchise. I’d be interested in seeing what these eccentric legacy characters have been up to since the conclusion of Part II. Give me more of Ray’s Occult Books! Many smaller stories could begin here, crossing over to Venkman’s academic life and whatever adventures Egon was getting into. And then we could get more from Winston’s story of success, culminating with new stories involving the new crew.

It’s clear that Dan Aykroyd has always been fascinated by strange, unusual and real-life events, which have crossed over into his professional career. As a sci-fi fan, it’s unsurprising that his pop-culture prominence has risen with a return to his roots. After watching Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, I’m excited to see what he gets himself into next.