10 Reasons Ghostbusters II Is Ridiculously Underrated
4. The Practical Effects Rock
The eighties were the last decade for great practical effects, and Ghostbusters II pioneered just about every kind of non-CGI effect you can imagine. In fact, one of the reasons Bill Murray wasn’t so keen on the movie was because he felt the effects took over slightly. He has a point, but that doesn’t stop them being impressive.
The ghosts themselves are often beautifully scalped puppets – including Slimer and the Scoleri Brothers – and they’re a marvel. There’s also a couple of neat stop motion monsters who terrorise New York, and the river of slime that causes so much trouble is a seamless combination of set and matte paintings.
The Statue Of Liberty walking through the city combines nearly everything; miniatures, a guy in a suit, compositing and a full-scale head for close-ups. Effects like this are taken for granted now, but it’s nice to look back and see how much craftsmanship went into them before computers took over.