A specter haunts the Internet’s angry men. The specter that the new Ghostbusters movie with all the ladies in it might actually be, you know, good.
Angry dudes have been throwing Internet hissy fits over the new lady-fied Ghostbusters since they first learned of its lady-fied nature early last year; indeed, the fellas at the famously lady-hating site Return of Kings started boycotting the film back in March, even though there was no film yet to boycott.
From RoK to Reddit to YouTube, the Internet’s angriest men agreed that the film was going to be the worst thing to hit men since the ladies got the right to vote, or something.
Now, with the film hitting theaters in the US this Friday, and already playing in the UK and Ireland, the first reviews are coming out.
And so far they’re not bad. The film boasts a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the moment, and some of the reviews are actually pretty enthusiastic, with more than a few critics suggesting that the Ghostbusting ladies are the best part of the film.
In the Daily Beast, Jen Yamato derided the film’s “lulls in pacing” and “choppy editing,” before hailing the gals at the film’s center:
[W]ith a crackling sense of purpose and a surplus of reverence for their predecessors, new Ghostbusters Wiig, McCarthy, McKinnon, and Jones plant their own flag on a beloved sci-fi comedy franchise.
For haters of the Lady Ghostbusters, it’s a nightmare, sweetie, as Patsy from AbFab would say, though I’m pretty sure the anti-Lady-Ghostbusters crowd wouldn’t find her funny either.
On Reddit, naturally, there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth. In Kotaku in Action, Reddit’s main hangout for GamerGate true believers, one of he highest-rated comments in the Ghostbusters 2016 Review Megathread blasts those giving the film good reviews as “cucks for Sony.” Others offered similar explanations.
One commenter accused the critics who liked the film of the apparently unpardonable sin of being … writers.
Over in the Ghostbusters subreddit — because of course there is a Ghostbusters subreddit, and of course it’s full of Lady-Ghsotbuster haters — some of the regulars are trying their best to keep the dream alive, the dream in question being the dream that Lady Ghostbusters will still turn out to really suck, positive reviews be damned!
One irate fellow, insisting he wasn’t rooting for the film to fail, attacked Sony for allegedly throwing a tantrum.
I never wanted the film to be “garbage”, I wanted to have a movie I could enjoy watching. But the moment Sony, Feig, and everyone else involved decided that personal attacks against the public was how they wanted to promote this film, then I simply can’t support it. It could literally be a better film than the original (which it’s not) and I still would not watch it because of the horrible taste left by the filmmaking team’s behavior.
I am not a simpleton who is pursuaded by “like this movie or you’re a misogynist hater”, and since that is the tact they choose, I have to opt out entirely on principle. I do not want this to become a recurring trend with future entertainment endeavors.
I will not be spending a dime on anything related to Ghostbusters 2016. No toys, no movie tickets, no Blu Rays, and no Lego or Lego Dimensions sets. I do not endorse childish tantrums by big studios.
So take that, Sony! This total non-tantrum-haver is taking his Legos (which include no Lady Ghostbusters sets) and going home.
The culture war is weird, man.
Interestingly, all of the negative reviews (that I read) on imdb for Ghostbusters (2016) focus on one aspect to harp on, that the leads are not given enough material to work with in the script, although most agree that McKinnon is able to make something out of nothing.
That jives with what I’ve seen from the trailers. The actresses all display good comedic timing and physical comedy chops, but the things they say induce cringes just as often as laughs. Especially Jones’ character who I’m really hoping shows another dimension beyond “sassy, streetwise black woman.”
Also, agree with proudfootz on both points.
I always forget that Carpenter’s The Thing is a remake. I’ve never seen the original.
I actually prefer the American version of The Ring. I think the characters are slightly more developed and I also love the music. One thing Ringu did better was the end though. Sadako creeped out of the TV and just kept coming. It was slow and it was agonizing. You knew she was going to kill the main male character but it took forever to happen. In the American version, Samara does some CGI jumping around and the kill happens faster. It’s not as effective.
That’s the only remake of a foreign horror I prefer though. The Pulse remake was a travesty. Quarantine was meh. I like the Rec movies better. Same with The Grudge and Ju-On. The Spanish short film that Mama was based on is also much scarier. That one’s on YouTube. I recommend it. Funny Games was more or less the same movie just in a different language.
I hear there’s going to be a remake of Audition and I hope it got killed because I don’t see the point at all! I’m surprised there isn’t a remake of I Saw the Devil yet.
Double post. Don’t how that happened!
I always forget that Carpenter’s The Thing is a remake. I’ve never seen the original.
I actually prefer the American version of The Ring. I think the characters are slightly more developed and I also love the music. One thing Ringu did better was the end though. Sadako creeped out of the TV and just kept coming. It was slow and it was agonizing. You knew she was going to kill the main male character but it took forever to happen. In the American version, Samara does some CGI jumping around and the kill happens faster. It’s not as effective.
That’s the only remake of a foreign horror I prefer though. The Pulse remake was a travesty. Quarantine was meh. I like the Rec movies better. Same with The Grudge and Ju-On. The Spanish short film that Mama was based on is also much scarier. That one’s on YouTube. I recommend it. Funny Games was more or less the same movie just in a different language.
I hear there’s going to be a remake of Audition and I hope it got killed because I don’t see the point at all! I’m surprised there isn’t a remake of I Saw the Devil yet.
I wouldn’t recommend seeing the original “Thing from Another World.” It’s basically a paint-by-numbers 50s style monster movie where the alien is more or less a Frankenstein’s monster wannabe. There is none of the paranoia, suspicion, ambiguity or suspense of the Carpenter version. No horrifying implications of the creature escaping as well.
The original short story “Who Goes There?” can be found on the net. It’s well worth reading.
What’s interesting is how closely the Carpenter remake follows it compared to the first adaptation.
I liked the remake of The Hills Have Eyes, but I can’t say the same for the American remakes of Hideo Nakata’s movies (Ring and Dark Water.) Nakata’s sense of pacing is sublime, and so much of it is lost in the transition.
I wonder if there is a general principle which says “don’t remake horror movies that don’t come from your own culture.”
I suspect I have the advantage over you in that I’ve actually seen it, and it doesn’t remotely suck. True, it’s not exactly a masterpiece that will resound through the ages, but I was very much in the mood for something goofy and silly, and that’s exactly what it delivered. And my daughter was thrilled that she was finally targeted by a big-budget film that wasn’t about cartoon princesses.
So let’s turn the question around: why are you “clinging so hard” to a movie that you clearly haven’t seen and presumably have no intention of seeing?
Matt,
I doubt feminism was part of the marketing plan. It became a feminist issue when misogynists threw a tantrum over it.
Or are you trying to say that men are the are the default and you must have a reason – such as feminism – to have female characters that are protagonists rather than the love interests, mothers, and sex workers orbiting the male characters?
Given the “success” of the MRA/White Supremacist boycott of the last Star Wars movie because it starred a Black Storm Trooper, Ghostbusters will be a blockbuster.
@Patricia
Don’t forget Mad “Six Oscars” Max.
My favorite reviewer has just reviewed (well, It’s that a reviewer does, right?) this movie. This quote puzzled me:
“Although it’s true that a minority of those lambasting the movie sight-unseen are offended by the gender change of the leads, most are angered for one simple reason: their Ghostbusters are nowhere to be found. The newcomers could have been all male or all marsupial and the reaction would have been as virulent. ”
How tiny is this minority in your opinion…?
http://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/ghostbusters
There’s a fundamental flaw in that argument, which is that three of the four original Ghostbusters are in the new film, and the exception, Harold Ramis, had the best/saddest possible excuse.
Granted, they’re playing different roles in mostly tiny cameos, but the mere fact that they’re in it denotes an implied seal of approval. (And it’s not just the original ghostbusting team either.)
And I seriously doubt that the reaction would have been that virulent if it had been another all-male team.
@ wetherby
I didn’t like the “A Team” remake (I thought it completely misunderstood the spirit of the TV series) and I don’t appear to have been alone in that sentiment. Didn’t notice a big campaign against it though.
Just saw it and I have the biggest crush on Holtzmann. I found the pace and humor a little off from what I really enjoyed about Spy and The Boss, but it was still fun and I enjoyed it.
I’m not gonna lie, I can pontificate for hours about the differences between American horror and Japanese horror, especially when it comes to video games (the American vs. the Japanese Silent Hills are great go-to examples, because they’re from the same series, and there’s usage of similar monsters and themes to draw parallels to).
But, if I had to parse the difference down to a sound bite, I’d say the biggest differences are subtlety and atmosphere.
Japanese horror relies on being tense the entire time, but also being very quiet and subtle. Kind of like how outside cultures view the Japanese.
They are very quiet, and not much happens, so you’re left to kind of stew in your own anticipation for as long as you can bear. You hear the quiet creaking of wood, the quiet groan of a ghost, and your body releases like a spring that’s been wound too damn tight. Once the movie’s over, you’re left with a feeling of dread, because there isn’t a happy ending. You don’t kill the monster. The monster cannot be killed.
American horror movies, on the other hand, tend to be like most people would classify Americans: Loud, graphic, and possibly filled to the brim with raspberry jam.
It’s usually a roller-coaster ride from start to finish, constantly up down up down up down, running, murder, sometimes lots of sex, and you’re always waiting for the next teenager to get turned into a special effects showcase of goo and unidentifiable parts. The monster is murdered in the end (and sometimes brought back through a mix of cheesy writing and “Magic? *shrug*”), and the survivors live another day. By the time the movie finishes, you’re left emotionally drained (and you’re most likely hoarse from yelling at the people on screen to not do obviously stupid things).
This is a topic I love dearly, in case you couldn’t tell. 0u0
I’m a big fan of both Western and Eastern horror PI, and all I can say is you pretty much hit the nail on the head. I do still glean some enjoyment from some remakes of Eastern horror but most make me very angry. Kairo/Pulse is my favourite film, not my favourite horror film, my favourite film out of all films of all time. I made the mistake of watching the remake and literally ripped the dvd out of my 360 and snapped it in half I was so incensed at what they had done to the story.
If I want to wallow in some blood n’ guts I’ll stick on a western horror, if I actually want to be scared I’ll go for Eastern horror. That said Japan has turned out some pretty fun splatter movies as well, Tokyo Gore Police is an utter hoot. And Western horror has managed to do some subtle spooky stuff like Jacob’s Ladder (my second fave movie of all time).
@varalys: That sounds like my reaction to the Silent Hill HD “collection” that was taken on by an American company.
Konami took the best two games in the series, shunted them off to a developer who had never worked with porting things to the XBox 360 or PS3 (They ported puzzle games to the DS. That’s it, that’s all they did before that.), ignored the other, more experienced developer who had already given them a widely successful and critically acclaimed HD remaster (The Metal Gear Solid Remaster), fucked over their voice actors from the original game so they re-dubbed the games with voice actors who had shit direction, and, according to the project leader, got unfinished beta codes for the games to reverse engineer.
Picture if you will: An HD remake of a game that’s over a decade old is released on the latest platforms. And it requires a day one patch.
And the XBox version is still fucked and won’t ever be fixed.
(The VA who plays this guy in the remake only has one voice. He’s done a lot of work in the English dub anime industry, but he’s got zero range, so all I can hear is that one emo ninja from Naruto whenever he speaks and it makes me feel dead inside.)
Yeah, I just pull out my PS2 which is still hooked up to the TV, and play the originals on an old CRT telly I have kicking about for just that reason. The graphics look perfectly fine still and the games actually run. I have heard too many bad things about the HD COllection, even the lure of Achievements doesn’t interest me in them.
I’m dickering about picking up Silent Hill Homecoming it’s cheap now and I thought it might be worth a play, same with downpour. If I go in with my expectations lowered, are they worth a look?
@PI:
Thanks for that! I know very little about video games (unless they’re spreadsheety strategy games) so it’s interesting to hear that the distinctions between America and Japan are the same there as they are in film.
How would you rate the Battle Royale movies in terms of your analysis? Admittedly I’ve only seen the first one, but it seemed to me that it was actually a piece of social critique which just pretended to be prurient ephebophile spatterpunk in order to draw in the viewers.
@varalys the dark:
You have good taste. Jacob’s Ladder is an amazingly good film.
Have you seen The Babadook? It’s an Australian film by a new (female) writer-director, and is the closest thing I’ve seen to Jacob’s Ladder in ages. It’s subtle, metaphorical, imagery-laden, works on many levels, and uses an unreliable narrator. It’s also scary as fuck and leaves you utterly unsure. If you liked Jacob’s Ladder and haven’t seen it yet, I would totally check it out.
Australians have been making some good films recently, come to think of it.
@ EJ (The Other One). Thanks, Jacob’s Ladder also reduces me to a helpless blubbing mess at the end as well, no matter how many times I watch it. Just a magnificent film. I haven’t seen The Babadook, it sounds fascinating. I shall pop it on my DVD buying list right away now. 🙂
Another Western horror that goes for understated scares and an atmosphere of dread with no easy answers as to what is going on, is Triangle. It’s not likely everyone’s cup of tea, but I rate it very highly.
I love Battle Royale and it is a very political film. The director was a bit of an old fart who felt the then youth of Japan had lost all respect for authority. Also I think it’s based on a book which goes more into the dystopic society that birthed The Game.
Oooh, I haven’t seen (or even heard of) Triangle. I’ll check it out.
While we’re on the subject of western horror movies, what did you think of Cube? (Ignore the sequels.) It’s quite a polarising film but I enjoyed it.
I haven’t seen Cube for a long time, but did enjoy it. It reminded me of a story by the sci-fi author Simak.
To refer back to the title of this post for a bit, one thing that really shouldn’t have surprised me but still has is the sheer number of angry internet men who are angry at Ghostbusters because they think they’re being roped into the group of misogynists.
Apparently, they think that anyone who criticizes the misogynists is automatically saying that LITERALLY EVERYONE who didn’t like the Ghostbusters trailer is a misogynist, because the internet just can’t do nuance I guess. Of course, this is still within the broader video game community, and it just seems like everywhere is stuffed to the brim with Goober-types now.
I’m so very tired of internet outrage culture.
Related the the angry internet men phenomena, have any Brit mammotheers noticed how certain elements in Momentum seem to be following the Gamergate playbook?
We were talking about this last night and we were wondering how long before an allegation that the women MPs were faking the abuse for attention came up. Didn’t have to wait long. They are now claiming that Angela Eagle is lying about having her window put through to make Momentum look bad.
Is this just a ‘convergent evolution’ thing or might it be there is actually an overlap? At first blush it seems weird that a leftish organisation would have common ground with the GG lot, but they have shown themselves quite comfortable with misogynistic and homophobic language. We were wondering if Anonymous might be the bridge but any of the politics experts on here have any insights?
What’s Momentum? I have to confess I don’t follow the news at all apart from what I stumble across here and what my family report back to me.