The Deceptors gets compared to Ghostbusters, and its not inappropriate. Writer/Director/Producer Johnson plays Peter Campbell, a speeded up version of Bill Murray's Peter Venkman, he and the rest of the crew are out busting ghosts and beating demons in overalls with name tags. They catch a lot of the humour and sensibility of Ghostbusters, along with the flavour of actual menace. If for no other reason than being a successful horror comedy it would recall Ghostbusters. That's a hard line to straddle.
But it also succeeds as its own movie. It's a homage rather than a rip off. The Deceptors are con artists, making their money by faking their way through... until they run into the real thing. At which they step up to the plate.
The story is a bit episodic - there are several malevolent ghosts, each with their own shtick, so the Deceptors have to beat them one after the other, as they rise in difficulty. It's something of a video game plot, rather than a narrative arc. But the cast is charming, the various malevolents are interesting, and there's enough pace that things never lag.
I think Harold Ramis would have loved this.
But it also succeeds as its own movie. It's a homage rather than a rip off. The Deceptors are con artists, making their money by faking their way through... until they run into the real thing. At which they step up to the plate.
The story is a bit episodic - there are several malevolent ghosts, each with their own shtick, so the Deceptors have to beat them one after the other, as they rise in difficulty. It's something of a video game plot, rather than a narrative arc. But the cast is charming, the various malevolents are interesting, and there's enough pace that things never lag.
I think Harold Ramis would have loved this.
