[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ghostbusters_film_710.jpg]]

->'''Ray:''' You know, it just occurred to me that we really haven't had a successful test of this equipment.\\
'''Egon:''' I blame myself.\\
'''Peter:''' So do I.\\
'''Ray:''' Well, no sense in worrying about it now.\\
'''Peter:''' [[SarcasmMode Why worry]]? [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong Each of us is carrying an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back]].

MadScience takes on occult terror, and wins, hilariously, in this, the greatest [[Creator/HPLovecraft Lovecraftian]] comedy of the 1980's, which went on to spawn [[Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} a popular franchise]].

'''''Ghostbusters''''' (1984)

Three parapsychology professors (earnest, forthright, and curious Dr. Raymond Stantz, sarcastic schemer Dr. Peter Venkman, and detached academic Dr. Egon Spengler) are fired from their positions at Columbia University in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. Facing dire prospects in finding new collegiate employment, Venkman has a brainstorm: go professional. In their last investigation they devised a method of actually capturing and containing ghosts. They set up Ghostbusters, a company providing scientific exorcisms. At first business is slow, but then the number of ghosts in New York City starts increasing exponentially.

The Ghostbusters soon become household names, and become so busy they recruit a fourth team member, NaiveNewcomer and [[TokenMinority token black guy]] Winston Zeddemore, but they realize that the surge in ghosts is portentous. Investigations show that phenomena are centered on the apartment of Peter's love interest Dana Barrett, which was designed by a cult from the early 20th century to attract spirits.

Before they can act, [[ObstructiveBureaucrat petty bureaucrat]] Walter Peck shuts down the Ghostbusters' containment unit, releasing all the ghosts they had trapped and inadvertently unleashing Armageddon in the form of [[BigBad Gozer]], an ancient Sumerian deity.

'''''Ghostbusters II''''' (1989)

Less than five years later, the City of New York somehow decided the events of the first film were all just a publicity stunt and sued the heroes, who went bankrupt and have gone on to more mundane jobs: Ray and Winston are performing as Ghostbusters in uniform for birthday parties, Peter is a cable TV host discussing the paranormal, and Egon is doing sociology research. But then the ghosts start returning, and soon the Ghostbusters are back in business. Top of their list is investigating a strange river of slime in an abandoned subway tunnel that seems to thrive on negative emotions and produce new ghost hauntings.

Meanwhile, at the museum where Dana works, her boss becomes a [[TheRenfield Renfield]] for the ghost of [[BigBad Vigo the Carpathian]], an ancient tyrant [[SealedEvilInACan trapped in a painting]]. Vigo has Dana's infant son Oscar kidnapped, intending to [[GrandTheftMe take over the child's body]]. [[note]]As a side note, TheRenfield in question actually went on to play Renfield for real in Creator/MelBrooks' spoof ''DraculaDeadAndLovingIt''.[[/note]]

When the Ghostbusters finally figure things out and arrive on scene, the museum is cocooned by the slime they were investigating and maintained as a physical manifestation of the negative emotions of New Yorkers. To counter this, the Ghostbusters animate the Statue of Liberty. Cue final confrontation.

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One of the defining elements of the movies (and the rest of the franchise as a whole) is that the characters examine the paranormal with the scientific method and combat it with technology, rather than other similar stories where the characters have to combat the supernatural with magic or more arbitrary urban legends. DanAykroyd and Harold Ramis (who play Ray and Egon, respectively) were responsible for the premise and original script, Aykroyd himself being an avid believer in the paranormal while Ramis has admitted to being a skeptic. As such, in addition to the excellent comedy and memorable characters ''Ghostbusters'' has been found to appeal to skeptics.

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ExpandedUniverse

The films produced a popular AnimatedAdaptation ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' in 1986, which had its own SpinOff, ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeGhostbusters'' in 1997. In 2009, a [[VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame video game adaptation]] was released, written and performed by the original casts, that acts as a third story. Go to the pages on the individual works, or the page on [[Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} the entire franchise]], for more information on these and other ''Ghostbusters'' projects.

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Ray Parker Jr., who performed the film's iconic ThemeTune, was sued by Huey Lewis over the similarity of the melody to that of "I Want a New Drug".

A third movie has been [[DevelopmentHell rumored for some time]] and (according to DanAykroyd) a script has been written by ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' writers, Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, with his and Harold Ramis' oversight. According to Ivan Reitman, this script has been sent to Murray and they are waiting for him to read it, since the studio won't let the film go ahead unless Murray is in it -- [[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=81518 or not]], as it was announced that production on the third film was to start in Spring 2012, with or without Murray's involvement. It was officially announced later that year that Murray is in fact ''not'' going to return, and … ugh, just see [[DevelopmentHell/LiveActionFilm this page]] for more information.

But for now…
'''WHO YOU GONNA CALL?'''
----
!!These films provide examples of:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Ghostbusters General]]
* AmbiguouslyJewish: Egon, Janine and Louis.
* AmmunitionBackpack: The Proton Packs probably count, since all the particle accelerating takes place in the Pack.
* AwesomeBackpack: The proton packs.
* AuthorAppeal: Aykroyd's fascination with ghosts and the supernatural is well known. Thus leading to the dream sequence …
* AutobotsRockOut!: Their theme music alone is good enough for this trope.
* BadassBoast: "Who you gonna call?"
** In the first movie, when they confront Gozer: "Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown!"
** The franchise's motto is used for this in the second movie during the courtroom scene: "Sometimes, [[PrecisionFStrike shit]] happen, who you gonna call?"
* BadassCrew: A crew of {{Badass Bookworm}}s.
* BigBad: Gozer in 1, Vigo the Carpathian in 2 and [[spoiler: Ivo Shandor]] in the video game.
* BigDamnHeroes: Invoked in the first film; as part of their deal with the Mayor to stop what's happening, Venkman manages to wrangle a ''huge'' police/National Guard escort for Ecto-1 as if it was the presidential limo or something, thus making the Ghostbusters look like TheCavalry to the assembled hordes waiting on for Judgment Day on the streets. Venkman himself milks the moment (and the crowd) for all it's worth.
** In the second movie, the Ghostbusters arriving via skylight to stop Oscar being turned into a new host body for Vigo the Carpathian.
* ButtMonkey: Louis Tully, also Ray Stantz to a lesser extent.
** First movie only: the boy involved in Peter's "negative reinforcement on ESP" test.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Ray and especially Peter, who both have [=Ph.D=]s, in Physics and Parapsychology/Psychology respectively. Both are extremely childish and, especially in Peter's case, fairly unprofessional.
* CasualDangerDialog: Egon is a master of this, usually as a way of flatly commenting that he's scared out of his mind ''despite'' being overly calm and talking plainly.
--> '''Venkman''': Okay, Ray's gone bye-bye. Egon, what've you got left?\\
'''Spengler''': Sorry, Venkman, but I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought.
** He manages Casual Danger ''Laughter'' in 2. Ray and Peter laugh nervously while waiting for the Scolari Brothers to strike, and Egon chimes in with a monotone "[[FlatJoy Ha. Ha ha.]]"
* CompleteImmortality: Almost all ghosts that are not at least a Class 7 are this, which is why they get trapped and sent into the containment unit.
* CoolCar: The Ecto-1, a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor ambulance, refurbished and tricked out with Science!
** And based on Ray's mention of it needed new brake pads, it has a front disk brake conversion, too.
* DestructiveSaviour: The Ghostbusters are very effective at capturing ghosts, but their primary weapons, the proton packs, are terribly inaccurate and burn through whatever they hit when they miss (which is often). That's not even getting into the larger threats, which tend to end up leveling city blocks before the Ghostbusters stop them. Gozer blew up the top few floors of a high rise building as a consequence of stopping her.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: Why yes, yes they do…right before arming the proton packs.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Oh yes. Gozer the Gozerian gets beaten by [[ForbiddenChekhovsGun crossing the streams]]. They also fight what are expressly described as "Deity" ghosts in the game.
* DivideByZero: According to Egon, crossing the streams of the proton packs would cause and effect like this, resulting in "all life as you know it stopping instantaneously" and would cause "every molecule in your body to explode at the speed of light." However, to destroy Gozer in the first movie, they are forced to risk this by doing it on purpose. Fortunately, it pays off.
* FanFilm: Has inspired a whole slew of fan films based on the idea of Ghostbusters becoming a franchise business and organized in other cities. This includes ''[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy]] [[XMeetsY Vs. Ghostbusters]]'', ''The Denver Ghostbusters'' and ''GhostbustersSLC''.
* FantasticScience: Two of the three original characters, Ray and Egon, are legitimate paranormal researchers that channel their knowledge into the business of "paranormal investigations and eliminations." Peter for his part is both a psychologist and parapsychologist, so he contributes the human relations and OnlySaneMan elements.
* FiveManBand: Being scientists, all of the Ghostbusters (save Winston) can double as TheSmartGuy.
** Peter (TheLeader) He is the CEO, so to speak, of their company and takes charge during the in-the-field busting.
** Ray (TheLancer): He is a kind optimist and true believer to contrast the cynical ladies man.
** Egon (TheSmartGuy) more so, he is much more socially aloof than the others
** Winston (TheBigGuy) He was hired to be extra muscle for the growing company although smarter than his teammates in the common sense area. The game mentions [[GeniusBruiser that he has since earned a [=PhD=].]])
*** [[WhatMightHaveBeen The original idea was ]] that Winston would be TheSmartGuy and the OnlySaneMan. This was dropped when the writers decided they needed a more "everyman" character to ground the three very, very eccentric principals.
** Janine (TheChick as the only female of the group. Usually she's TheFace and stays at the station finding clients and doing paperwork. On the occasions where Janine is forced to help directly, she's just as good as the guys).
* ForbiddenChekhovsGun: Crossing the streams. They are warned never to do it, and it becomes their FinishingMove.
* ForScience: Generally the reason why Egon runs oddball experiments.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Ray is sanguine, Peter is choleric, Egon is melancholic, Winston is phlegmatic.
* FreudianTrio: Before Winston joined.
** TheKirk: Peter.
** TheSpock: Egon.
** TheMcCoy: Ray.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: After blowing up the poor housemaid's cart, while they stand around talking, you can see her trying to ''spritz'' out the fires they started with a bottle of cleaner.
** During the cutscenes in the video game, The Rookie can be seen reacting to the situations in humorous ways, especially when Mr. Stay Puft first appears.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: An awful lot of swearing and sexual innuendo for a family comedy. Not to mention DemonicPossession, heads on pikes, and all the other horror.
** Not to mention the fairly obvious symbolism of the key and the gate.
* GhostlyGoals: Usually of the highly destructive variety.
* AHalfDozenGuysInABasement
* HarmlessVillain: Vigo becomes this in the ''Ghostbusters'' video game. The best he can do is insult you and try and make you feel uncomfortable.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: ''Venkman''.
-->'''Venkman''': "Type somethin', will ya? We're payin' ya for this stuff. And don't stare at me, ya got the bug-eyes. …" (pauses) "Janine, sorry about the bug-eyes thing, I'll be in my office."
* LovableCoward: For all his charm and bravado, Peter Venkman is not the bravest of men. With a few exceptions any acts of heroism on his part will usually be very very reluctant ones. That said, he will step up to the plate if necessary; he just won't be very happy about it.
* MadScientist: Mostly Egon, but a little bit in Ray as well. Capitalism and a general sense of the good of mankind steers this towards positive and constructive directions.
-->'''Peter''': Egon, this reminds me of [[NoodleIncident the time you tried to drill a hole through your head]]. Do you remember that?
-->'''Egon''': [[ThrowItIn That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me]].
* MagicVersusScience: Ghosts and gods vs scientists with nuclear accelerators; the scientists win.
* TheMerch: In-universe examples. In the first film's credits, there are kids waving Ghostbuster logo t-shirts. ''Ghostbusters II'' has the gang offer branded thermal mugs and balloons in their commercial.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Ray gets this a lot.
** He chooses Gozer's destructive form as Stay Puft.
---> '''Peter''': Did you choose anything?!\\
'''Egon:''': No.\\
'''Peter''': Did you?!\\
'''Winston''': My mind's a total blank.\\
'''Peter''': ''I'' didn't choose anything! ''[{{Beat}}, then everybody looks at Ray]''
** Knocking out all the lights in New York in the sequel. Ray is quite the klutz.
** Later, when they're about to call the final battle a victory, he looks into the painting and [[spoiler:gets possessed by Vigo.]]
* NightVisionGoggles: A slightly modified set of ''actual'' night vision goggles is made to be the "ecto goggles" and part of the Ghostbusting gear, supposedly allowing them to see ghosts who have turned themselves invisible. It's seen on everyone in the first movie, used memorably by Ray in the hotel and seen briefly a few times in the second movie. The game makes it into a major gameplay mechanic in tracking down ghosts.
* NonActionGuy: Rick Moranis' character, Louis. Though he does [[TookALevelInBadass take a level in badass]] in the second movie.
* NoodleIncident
** Mentioned in the first film is that time Egon tried to drill a hole in his head. This is an actual procedure, called 'trepanation', which is sometimes claimed to confer psychic powers. "That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me." (Which was allegedly a ThrowItIn from Harold Ramis.)
* NotQuiteDead: Justified since this is a franchise about '''ghosts'''. Also notable in the account of Vigo's death.
--> '''Ray Stantz:''' He didn't die of old age, either. [[RasputinianDeath He was poisoned, stabbed, shot, hung, stretched, disemboweled, drawn and quartered.]]\\
'''Peter:''' [[MajorInjuryUnderreaction Ouch.]]\\
'''Ray: '''There was a prophecy. Just before his ''head'' died, his last words were "Death is but a door. Time is but a window. I'll be back."
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: The worst kind of nonbelievers.
** Walter Peck from the first movie ignores the very real paranormal phenomenon around him in favor of his insistence that it's all a scam. His actions in service of this belief directly trigger Gozer's arrival. Then he blames everyone but himself and has them arrested.
** Hardemeyer takes this role in the sequel. He has the Ghostbusters ''committed'' to avoid bad press for the mayor.
** Peck is back as the city official appointed as a liaison between the Ghostbusters and the mayor in the video game.
* OccultDetective: This is essentially what the Ghostbusters are.
* OneWingedAngel: Ghosts who take human form as a disguise are usually provoked into doing this.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: In the series, "ghost" seems to be a catch-all term for incorporeal creatures, including both the spirits of the dead and extraplanar creatures that were never alive to begin with.
* ParanormalInvestigation: A comedic version of this genre.
* PhotoprotoneutronTorpedo: Proton packs, which are "positron colliders" (or sometimes "unlicensed nuclear accelerators") that shoot particles from "neutrona wands".
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Ghostbusters themselves; a cynical scientist, a mad scientist, a goof scientist, and someone looking for a steady paycheck.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Lenny the Mayor fills this role to some extent in the first two movies. He's a rather cynical politician whose public image and chances of re-election / further political office are never far from mind, and is as reasonably skeptical of the claims of apocalyptic supernatural phenomena as any reasonable person probably would be, but when suitably convinced of their claims ultimately proves to be a fairly staunch ally. However, it is suggested that between the first and second movies, he either had them publicly thrown under the bus, or didn't do much to stop it from happening.
--> '''Ray:''' First of all, Mr. Mayor, it's a great pleasure to see you again. And we'd like to say that [[FalseReassurance almost 50% of us voted for you in the last election.]]\\
'''Mayor:''' I appreciate that.
** By the time of the game, he seems to have been replaced with a more straightforward example of this trope; the current mayor got elected on a pro-Ghostbuster platform, and now has the city [[HeroInsurance covering their collateral damage]].
* RedAlert: Of the "Emergency Squad Scramble" variety, the first time a call comes in.
* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Played with. On one hand the Ghostbusters ''do'' use their tech to make money for themselves, the game has established them as contractors to New York on the verge of franchising, and they obviously help people out with it, but the potential other uses for their tech goes ignored.
* RentAZilla: The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man by the villains, and The Statue of Liberty by the heroes.
* SassySecretary: Janine "I've quit better jobs than this!" Melnitz.
* {{Science Hero}}es
* ScienceIsBad: Inverted; the Ghostbusters' scientific methods always prove to be the only effective way of dealing with the supernatural, and the only use for other schools of thought is to provide info on what they're dealing with.
* ScienceIsWrong: See above.
* SealedEvilInACan: The Ghostbusters' containment grid in the first film and Vigo's portrait in the second.
* ShownTheirWork: The films are very, ''very'' thoroughly researched as side-effect of Aykroyd's own interest in the paranormal. For instance, Peter's treatment of the Zuul-possessed Dana is based on advice from exorcists and psychiatrists for dealing with cases of [[DemonicPossession possession]] and [[SplitPersonality DID]], respectively (i.e. you are ''never'' supposed to let the other personality remain in control; this is why he keeps insisting on talking to "Dana", and tries to ignore Zuul). In addition, ''all' of the books Ego and Ray mention actually exist.
* SignsOfTheEndTimes:
** Part I
--->'''Winston Zeddmore:''' Do you remember something in the Bible about the last days, when the dead would rise from the grave?
--->'''Ray Stantz:''' I remember Revelations 7:12. "And I looked as he opened the 6th seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake. And the sun became as black as sack cloth, and the moon became as blood."
--->'''Winston Zeddmore:''' And the seas boiled and the skies fell.
--->'''Ray Stantz:''' Judgment Day.
--->'''Winston Zeddmore:''' Judgment Day.
--->'''Ray Stantz:''' Every religion has its myth about the end of the world.
--->'''Winston Zeddmore:''' Myth? Ray, has it ever occurred to you that maybe the reason we've been so busy lately is 'cause the dead ''have'' been rising from the grave?
** Part II
--->'''Peter Venkman:''' Or you could accept the fact that this city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
--->'''Mayor:''' What do you mean, biblical?
--->'''Ray Stantz:''' What he means is Old Testament biblical, Mr. Mayor. Real wrath-of-God-type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling!
--->'''Egon Spengler:''' Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes! Volcanoes!
--->'''Winston Zeddmore:''' The dead rising from the grave!
--->'''Peter Venkman:''' Human sacrifice, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking dogs and cats living together]], mass hysteria!
** PlayedForLaughs after the firehouse blows up:
--->'''Vinz Clortho:''' This is it! This is the sign!
--->'''Janine:''' Yeah, it's a sign alright: "Going out of business".
* SlidingScaleOfComedyAndHorror: Straddles the line; the funniest moments and the scariest are often one and the same.
* SmarterThanYouLook: Although Venkman comes off as a cynical slacker who doesn't seem to get the gist of things as times, it's obvious that he has just as much knowledge of the supernatural as Ray and Egon.
* SoulJar: To a certain extent, the containment grid could be considered a very sciency version of one of these.
* SpiritualSuccessor: Dan Akyroyd tries to have ''Ghostbusters III'' produced, but couldn't get his co-stars to join. Hence, ''{{Evolution}}'' was born.
* TechnoBabble: Brought to the point of art form: PKE valence. Focused, non-terminal repeating phantasm. Total protonic reversal. And etc.
* ThatCameOutWrong: While Peter is checking her apartment, he goes to the bedroom. Dana, without considering the implications, says "Nothing ever happened in there." Peter quips, "What a crime." Dana realizes her mistake, but instead chooses to focus on Peter's atypical attitude for a scientist.
* ThemeTune: When there's something strange in the neighborhood … WhoYouGonnaCall? Ghostbusters!
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: In both films:
** I-- When Walter Peck is about to shut off the containment system, the 'busters deliberately place themselves near the stairs so they can easily flee when all hell breaks loose.
** II-- In the courtroom, when the mood slime is about to explode, they slowly take cover under their table.
* ThrowItIn: There are varying accounts of how much of the final films were improvised, from a few select lines to a good majority of the films.
** A definite example is the majority of Louis' party in the first film, which was not only one continuous take, but almost entirely improvised.
* TokenMinority: Winston. He shows up midway through the first film and joins the Ghostbusters. He then adds nothing to the plot for the rest of the first movie or the second one. He is the only black character in either film.
* VanityLicensePlate: The Ectomobile has ECTO 1 on its tags.
* WeaponsThatSuck:
** Technically speaking, the real weapon the Busters use against the ghosts are their traps, which suck the ghosts in and hold them until deposited in the protection grid. All the proton packs are intended for is to snare ghosts in the proton stream and position them above the trap. That's also why Busters didn't need the proton packs to capture the jogging ghost; all they had to do is place the trap in his path and open it when he stepped over it.
** The one exception to this are the final villains at the end of both movies. This may be explained by the fact that unlike the vast majority of ghosts Vigo and Gozer are at least semi-corporeal and, as we saw with the maid cart while they where initially catching slimer, a tightly focused stream from a proton pack can be highly destructive. Other non-corporeal ghosts can be restrained by it or in the case of relatively weak ghosts scattered into ambient PKE (psycho kinetic energy) but it would be possible to destroy a corporeal entity assuming it isn't a god or superpowered with PKE.
* WeirdnessCensor: Despite the rampant evidence to the contrary, Peck insists the Ghostbusters are frauds deluding people with chemicals and "a cheap, electronic light show." Indeed, Peck has zero evidence to back up his claims, having arbitrarily decided that they ''must'' be frauds. Had the case gone to court normally, the Ghostbusters would have won the case hands-down. In the second movie, several characters continue this attitude, which makes one wonder what they thought of the very public attack involving the very gigantic and very real Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and the very gooey remains he left behind.
* WhatTheHellHero: "What did you ''do'', Ray?"
* WhoYouGonnaCall: [[TropeNamers Trope NAMER!!]]
* TheWorfBarrage: The proton packs never work against the BigBad, or at best are a mild annoyance, which force the team to resort to different strategies to beat them.
** Gozer dodged the first shot and just vanished the second time. Upon transforming into the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, getting shot did little more than knock him down and [[ManOnFire set him on fire]], arguably making him even more dangerous.
** Vigo is briefly annoyed by the packs, brushing away the beams and paralyzing the team in the process. He has to be weakened by a CareBearStare[=/=]CombinedEnergyAttack in the form of happy, singing New Yorkers, which was the only way they were able to enter the building anyway. The final barrage of mood slime and proton packs also seems to hing largely on the former, though the packs do provide the final push that wins the day.
** The games introduce three major modifications (complete with a secondary fire mode) to the classic backpack and most of the ghosts have a weakness to one of them: basic particle stream, dark matter generator, slime blower and meson collider. The idea is if one ghost is shrugging off any one of your attacks you can switch them up.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ghostbusters]]

* AboveTheInfluence: In the first Ghostbusters, Venkman comes to visit Dana and finds she is possessed by Zuul, which makes her want to sleep with the Keymaster. He refuses, since she isn't in her right mind.
-->'''Zuul/Dana:''' ''Do you want this body?'''
-->'''Venkman:''' Is this a trick question?
--> --
-->'''Zuul/Dana:''' ''I want you inside me.''
-->'''Venkman:''' *laughs* Go ahead -- no, I can't. Sounds like you got at least two people in there already. Might be a little crowded.
* AdorableAbomination: Gozer, in his/her/its Stay-Puft form.
* AmbiguousGender: Gozer appeared female when "she" first appeared, despite being referred to by male pronouns in texts used for research. The Keymaster ''did'' claim that Gozer could - and has - taken numerous forms in the past, so he/she could probably have looked like anything, male or female.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: Played with. While Peter is certainly a believer in the paranormal, he has a bit more practical sense than Ray and Egon, who are willing to believe ''anything'' is supernatural related. "Right, [[SarcasmMode no human being would]] ''[[SarcasmMode ever]]'' [[SarcasmMode stack books like this]]."
* TheAllegedCar: Ecto-1 is an ancient ambulance/hearse that we're introduced to with Ray listing off the numerous things they'll have to fix. Remarkably, they do.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:
-->'''Dr Ray Stantz''': Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
-->'''Dr. Egon Spengler''': Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes …
-->'''Winston Zeddemore''': The dead rising from the grave!
-->'''Dr. Peter Venkman''': Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together … mass hysteria!
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: "Get ready … get ready … GET HER!!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!"
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: "It's the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!" [[spoiler: Ironically, Stay Puft was described as a '100 foot marshmallow man'.]]
* AudienceSurrogate: Winston is not PH.D scientist guy; he's an average joe looking for a steady paycheck.
* {{Bathos}}: Evoked at the end of the first movie. The city is being destroyed by an evil god, yes, but it's in the form of a giant, smiling, sailor hat-wearing guy made of marshmallows.
* BeautifulCondemnedBuilding: Despite its numerous flaws, Ray falls in love with the old firehouse.
* BlasphemousBoast: Averted (and lampshaded).
--> '''Winston Zeddemore:''' When someone asks you if you're a god, YOU SAY YES!
* BrandX: Stay-Puft Marshmallows.
* BrickJoke: Ray has a rather underwhelming {{plan}} to catch the first ghost seen in the movie.
-->'''Ray:''' Ready … GET HER!
** This is brought back near the end of the movie when the protagonists come face to face with the film's BigBad.
--->'''Peter:''' Whatever it is, it has to get by us!
--->'''Ray:''' Right.
--->'''Peter:''' GO GET HER, RAY!
* CaptainObvious:
-->'''Ray Stantz:''' Hey, where do these stairs go?
-->'''Peter Venkman:''' They go up.
* ConvergingStreamWeapon: What you get when you cross the streams (besides a massive life-threatening explosion).
* [[CosmicHorrorStory Cosmic Horror Comedy]]: This is a story about a doomsday cult deliberately building an EldritchLocation in order to perform bizarre rituals in order to summon an EldritchAbomination, which was worshiped as a god in ancient Sumer, from another dimension to destroy the world. A team of paranormal investigators stumble onto the plot, and, well, you know the rest.
* CrazyPrepared: Venkman proves to have fast access to 300 cc's of Thorazine, which implies that he carries it around with him or can find it offscreen in less than a few minutes. 300 cc's is a ''lot''. The novel clarifies this by implying that he found it in Dana's apartment. Which only raises the question of what Dana, a professional musician, is doing with more than half a pint of a prescription anti-psychotic normally not available in individual containers larger than an ounce or two.
* CreatorCameo: Director Ivan Reitman provides the voices for Slimer and Zuul.
* TheDanza: Two throwaway examples in the first ten minutes: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Drummond Alice Drummond]] has an opening-scene cameo as Alice the frightened librarian, and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Runyon Jennifer Runyon]] as Jennifer, the test subject for whom Peter compromises the scientific method.
* DeadpanSnarker:
** Venkman gets to play this along with OnlySaneMan, in that he's continually snarking on his fellows' more outlandish ideas.
** Dana Barrett shows shades of this when Peter compliments her on her cello playing:
---> '''Peter Venkman:''' You're the best one in your row.
---> '''Dana Barrett:''' Thank you. ''[beat]'' You're good; most people can't hear me with the ''whole orchestra playing.''
** Janine, upon seeing a police officer at the door:
---> "Dropping off or picking up?"
* DeanBitterman: Dean Yeager inadvertently starts the Ghostbusters by firing them from their cushy academic jobs.
* DemonicPossession: Dana Barrett and Louis Tully by the Keymaster and the Gate Keeper. They turn into demon dogs.
* DopeSlap: Peter Venkmann to Ray Stanz, and vice versa.
* DummiedOut: Elmer Bernstein wrote a complete score for the film, parts of which in the final version got replaced by the songs from the soundtrack instead. Thus, several [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7fah_Z9maE up-beat versions of the Ghostbusters Theme]] slipped into obscurity.
* EldritchAbomination: This is what Gozer was implied to be. Parodied with the final form Gozer takes, which is the cuddly and cute Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
---> '''Peter Venkman:''' Well there's something you don't see everyday.
* EldritchLocation: Gozer's dimension, as glimpsed through the fridge portal.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Venkman is first shown giving an ESP test to two students in which a wrong answer is followed by an electric shock. Because one of his test subjects is an attractive female student, Venkman keeps zapping the other (male) subject regardless of who gets the right answer. This reveals Venkman as a JerkAss and a man who thinks with his groin. The sharp-eyed will note that the male test subject seems to be getting the answers right after complaining of the shock. Note the look on Venkman's face as he gets it right, and the look of horror on the subject's face as Venkman reaches for the button…
* EverybodySmokes: Perhaps not everybody, but the amount of smoking in this movie (especially from the lead characters) would ''never'' happen in a modern Hollywood film unless it's a period piece.
* EvilMakeover[=/=]EvilIsSexy: [[spoiler:When Dana gets possessed by Zuul]] she dresses in a more provacative manner.
* FogFeet: The library ghost.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the scene where the eggs in Dana's groceries start cooking themselves while still in the box, a bag of Stay-Puft marshmallows can be seen right next to them. An advert for the marshmallows also shows up on the side of a nearby building during the scene in which the ghosts are released from the containment unit.
** "Don't cross the streams."
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Played with when Gozer offers the Ghostbusters to choose the form of the Destructor.
* FridgeHorror: InUniverse example. Winston and Ray are driving back from their latest job, when the former asks: "Hey Ray? Do you remember something in the bible about how, in the last days, the dead would rise from the grave?"
--> '''Ray''': Well, every civilization has it's own myth about the end of the world.
--> '''Winston''': Myth? Ray, has it ever occurred to you that the reason we've been so busy lately is that the dead ''have'' been rising from the grave?
--> {{Beat}}
--> '''Ray''': Let's turn on some music.
** Also a literal example of Fridge Horror, when Dana first encounters Zuul.
%%* GladIThoughtOfIt: Peter Venkmann and Dana Barrett.
* GodzillaThreshold: It is incredibly important not to cross the streams but by the time Gozer is about to reincarnate and bring about the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt they figure "what the heck?"
* HaveAGayOldTime: An unusual example: "Somebody brought a cougar to a party and it went berserk."
* {{Hellhound}}: The Terror Dogs, Zuul and Vinzclortho.
* HeroicBSOD:
-->'''Peter:''' Ray has gone bye-bye, Egon. What have you got left?\\
'''Egon:''' Sorry, Venkman. [[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought]].
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The Ghostbusters had only just figured out the significance of Zuul, Gozer, Ivo Shandor, and Dana Barret's apartment building by the time of the final confrontation. Dana, their first customer, only came to them when she did because she saw their commercial on TV, and she only saw them on TV because it was on when she got home. It is implied that it was on when she got home because of paranormal activity in her apartment (along with the eggs and the doomfridge). If Zuul coulda just dialed it back on the poltergeisting, Gozer would have been triumphant. (To make it even more ironic, it is doubtful that ''anyone'', Zuul, Gozer, or the heroes, even realized this.)
* HopeSpot: For a moment, it looks like they've vaporized Gozer and all's good with the world. Then Egon chimes in with "Ray, this looks extraordinarily ''bad''." Cue Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
* IAmNotSpock: According to the DVD commentary, the first movie ruined William Atherton's life, what with random people yelling "Hey, dickless!" at him on the streets and all…
* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: Averted in the first film, as Venkman was utterly foiled in his attempt to reach Dana.
-->'''Zuul (in Dana's body):''' There is no Dana, only Zuul!
-->'''Peter:''' What a lovely singing voice you must have.
* ILoveThisTown: Winston Zeddmore, covered in molten marshmallow, triumphantly shouts this line as a summation of the good time the audience had watching this kick-ass movie.
* IronicEcho: Near the end of the movie Venkman tells Ray to ''Get her!''
* ItHasBeenAnHonor: In conjunction with using the ForbiddenChekhovsGun.
-->'''Peter:''' See you on the other side, Ray.\\
'''Ray:''' Nice working with you, Dr. Venkman.
* ItIsBeyondSaving: In the BackStory told by Egon, Ivo Shandor believed society was "too sick to survive" after he experienced WorldWarOne, which is why he wanted to cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
* ItWasHereISwear: Dana sees a temple and terror dogs in her fridge. Later, she brings Peter to investigate:
--> '''Peter''': (peeking inside) Oh, my God … Look at all the junk food!
--> '''Dana''': Oh, dammit! Look, this wasn't here…
--> '''Peter''': (holding a piece of bologna) You actually eat this?
--> '''Dana''': Look, this wasn't here! There was ''nothing'' here! There was this … space! And there was a building or something with flames coming out of it, and there were creatures writhing around, and they were growling and snarling. And there were flames, and I heard a voice say "Zuul"! It was right here!
--> '''Peter''': Well, I'm sorry, I'm just not getting any reading.
** There's also a bit of a TakeThat in that scene, against Coca-Cola (there's a Coke can very visible in the fridge because they owned Creator/{{Columbia|Pictures}} at the time (although movies never showed it, the TV logo had a Coca-Cola byline), which is lampshaded on the DVD commentary).
* {{Jerkass}}: Walter Peck.
* JerkassGenie: Gozer. He puts it to those nearby to choose the form of the destroyer. It's [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever size]], however, is at his discretion.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Walter Peck had a point being concerned about the environmental safety of the Ghostbusters' facility, considering Egon had parallel concerns of his own. However, Peck barging in with a court order, ordering the containment grid turned off despite the warnings of the Busters and the reticence of a Con Ed technician and arresting the Busters for the resulting explosion on spurious charges puts him beyond the pale.
* KitschyLocalCommercial: The commercial the Ghostbusters put out. It has no music, the characters are wooden and it looks like it was shot for about 5 bucks.
* LampShadedDoubleEntendre:
-->'''Dana:''' That's the bedroom … but nothing ever happened in there.
--> '''Peter:''' What a crime.
* LetsSplitUpGang
--> '''Peter Venkman:''' Yeah, we can do more damage that way.
* LongList: Ray's list of repairs the Cadillac needed and Egon's similar list of problems with their building.
** Also, Peck's injunctions against the 'Busters.
** And the list of paranormal beliefs during Winston's job interview.
---> '''Winston''': ''If there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say.''
* MagneticPlotDevice: The reason New York is practically swimming in ghosts is because Dana Barret's high-rise apartment building is essentially a supernatural magnet. Ivo Shandor, the leader of a cult of Gozer worshipers, designed it specifically to give Gozer a doorway into our world. It also neatly explains just where the vast majority of the unleashed ghosts went, since the building used them as a power source.
* MathematiciansAnswer: When asked where the stairs go, Venkman says, "They go up."
* MsFanservice: Now we already know Dana Barret is physically attractive, but once she gets possessed by one of the Terror Dogs she becomes EVEN MORE smoking hot than she was.
* MugglesDoItBetter: See MagicVersusScience. Ancient god, meet [[MadScience unlicensed nuclear accelerator.]]
-->'''Peter:''' Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown!
* NaiveNewcomer: Subverted by Winston, who adjusts to his new job very quickly.
* NeverMyFault: Walter Peck condemns the Ghostbusters for causing the explosion he himself had caused, in spite of their warnings.
* NeverRecycleABuilding: Even though it's a major deathtrap in the middle of New York City, the abandoned firehouse remains conveniently available until Venkman ''et al'' need a place of business.
* TheNotSoHarmlessPunishment: When Gozer demands that the Earth choose the shape of its destroyer, Ray immediately thinks of The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, being the one thing that he believes could not possibly ever hurt us. Unfortunately, that's not quite so.
* OhCrap: The look on Mr. Stay Puft's face when the Ghostbusters cross the streams.
** Alternatively, the Ghostbusters's reaction to Stay-Puft
---> '''Ray''': [[BigNo No!]] It can't be!
---> '''Winston''': What is it?!
---> '''Ray''': [[DepartmentOfRedundancydepartment It can't be!]]
---> '''Winston''': [[WhatTheHellHero What did you]] ''[[WhatTheHellHero do]]''[[WhatTheHellHero , Ray?!]] [[OhCrap Aw, Shit!]]
*** And again when Stay-Puft turns to face them with its maniacal grin …
----> '''Winston:''' Oh, no.
----> '''Peter:''' [[UnusualEuphemism Mother pus bucket…]]
** When Walter Peck turns the containment grid off, the result is an OhCrap combined with a ThisIsGonnaSuck.
* PillarOfLight: Rises over the city when the ecto containment unit explodes.
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Venkman gets two of these in rapid succession
---> '''Venkman:''' ''(after having nearly been flung off a building by Gozer's [[AgonyBeam Electrofingers-of-Death]])'' "All right … this chick is '''toast'''!"
---> '''Venkman:''' "… let's show this [[EldritchAbomination prehistoric]] [[PrecisionFStrike bitch]] how we do things [[BigApplesauce downtown]]."
* PrecisionFStrike: The containment grid's shut down, and ghosts are streaming into the atmosphere in a pillar of blinding light. What drives home how bad the situation isn't the ensuing montage, or that a possessed man escapes in the crowd. It's that what's happening is enough to tip Egon over into angrily insulting Peck's mother.
-->'''Peck:''' I want this man arrested! These men are in violation of the Environmental Protection Act, [[BlatantLies and this explosion is a direct result of it!]]
-->'''Egon:''' ''[[YourMom Your mother!]]''
** Winston gets a good one in on the Mayor:
-->'''Winston:''' Mr. Mayor, I was a lot like you, but since I joined up with these men I have seen ''shit'' that will turn you ''white!''
* RedEyesTakeWarning: The terror-dogs have glowing red eyes, as does Louis when he's possessed by one of them.
* SharedMassHallucination / ScoobyDooHoax: {{Invoked}} by Peck, who accuses the Ghostbusters of being frauds that use nerve gas to make people believe they're seeing ghosts, and then "put on a light show" to get rid of them.
* SignatureTeamTransport: Ecto-1.
* SissyVillain. Gozer was originally going to appear in the form of Ivo Shandor as a slender, unremarkable man in a suit played by Paul Reubens; but the role was played by Yugoslav model Slavitza Jovan.
-->"It's a girl."
-->"It's Gozer."
-->"I thought Gozer was a man."
-->"It's whatever it wants to be."
* SnubByOmission: When Peter Venkman introduces his team at the library:
--> '''Roger Delacorte:''' I'm Roger Delacorte. Are you the men from the university?
--> '''Dr. Peter Venkman:''' Yes, I'm Dr. Venkman, Dr. Stantz, Egon…
* SoundtrackDissonance: The "monster movie"-style music that plays during Stay Puft Marshmallow Man's entrance is (intentionally?) PlayedForLaughs when juxtaposed with Mr. Stay Puft's smiling face. However, he does turn to face the Ghostbusters a few minutes later...
* StyrofoamRocks: At the end, when debris is falling from the top of the skyscraper, in one shot you can see a rock, which had supposedly tumbled from several hundred feet in the air, fall straight down and bounce off of a wooden police barrier.
* TailorMadePrison: All of the ghosts who get captured get placed into the nuclear-powered Containment Unit. Instant Catastrophe? [[SealedEvilInACan Turn off the Unit.]]
* TheStinger: There's a post-credits scene set some time after the events of the movie, where Slimer is back in the same hotel we saw him in earlier in the movie, chowing down on trays of food. He stops, suddenly noticing the audience, then proceeds [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou to charge at the audience, emitting a horrible wail.]]
* ThisCannotBe: Ray's reaction at seeing the Stay-Puft monster.
* ThroatLight: Zuul's throat (in terror-dog form) emits a bright light when Dana sees it in her refrigerator.
* TrustMeImAnX: "Back off, man, I'm a scientist."
* TheTunguskaEvent: A throw-away line near the end has Ray telling Louis that he was part of the biggest crossover event since this, implying that it was a ghost thing.
* UncomfortableElevatorMoment: The scene wherein the Ghostbusters are heading up to the floor of their first real assignment. "Why worry? Each of us is wearing an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back." Cue the other two shuffling comedically away in the tight space.
* UnusualEuphemism: "Mother pus bucket!"
** "I am the Keymaster!" "I am the Gatekeeper."
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Zuul, when Venkman gets it angry,
* WeaponsThatSuck
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Venkman's test subjects.
* WidescreenShot: Ramis joked that he got cut out of most of the standard screen broadcast.
** Particularly in the 4-shot where the Ghostbusters are walking and talking with the hotel manager. Cropping Ramis out of the shot leaves the manager neatly flanked by the other two, and since Ramis doesn't speak during the shot …
* WorkingTitle: ''Ghost Smashers''.
* WrittenByCastMember: Creator/DanAykroyd and Harold Ramis, specifically.
* XRaySparks: Shown when the lightning strikes Dana and Louis atop Gozer's temple.
* YouHaveToBelieveMe: Inverted; when they finally get to see the Mayor, despite the apparent lunacy of the things they're suggesting the Ghostbusters -- while still stressing the urgency of the situation to him -- nevertheless present their case in a fairly calm, reasonable and level-headed manner (even if they do succumb to the dramatic at one point: "Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!"). On the other hand Peck, who on the surface has the more rational case (that these people are conmen), nevertheless comes across as twitchy, touchy, a bit irrational and clearly nursing a grudge, prone to exploding into violence (albeit after being provoked by Venkman) and on the whole rather shifty and unreliable.
* YourMom: Egon's response to Walter Peck's blockheadedness.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ghostbusters II]]
* AssholeVictim: The Judge who launches into an extremely unprofessional and sadistic rant against the Ghostbusters after he initially finds them guilty -- the bad karma this creates within the vicinity of the "mood slime" results in bringing back the Scolari Brothers, sibling criminals he tried and sentenced to death for murder. He is then forced to rescind the order to get the Ghostbusters to help him.
** The Prosecutor (played by the late Janet Margolin) could also be considered this given her rude treatment of the main characters during the trial, which results in her getting hauled out upside down by the Scolari Brothers.
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: The Statue of Liberty
* BabyCarriage: In the opening scene of the second film, with a more ghostly version used in a later scene.
* BadassBoast:
-->'''Venkman''': We're the best … we're the beautiful … we're the only … ''Ghostbusters!''
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: The Ghostbusters are able to charge the slime with ''positive'' energy, making it an effective weapon against Vigo. And as a bonus, [[spoiler:bring the Statue of Liberty to life to rally the New Yorkers.]]
* BigApplesauce: Mocked at the end by Venkman, who asks why any being would want to return in 1980s New York, rather than sunny Southern California.
* BigBad: Vigo
* BigBlackout: Ray accidentally causes one in the second film.
* BodySurf: Vigo's goal. He attempts to take over Oscar's body, but [[spoiler: once foiled, he decides Ray works just as well. Cue sliming.]]
* BottomlessMagazines: The slime blowers appear to have infinite ammunition. Possibly justified by the slime cultures being self-regenerating; this is even vaguely hinted at during the courtroom scene.
* BrooklynRage: The source of the BigBad's power.
** And what is the best way to overcome Brooklyn Rage? [[spoiler: The spirit of goodwill brought on by New Years Eve and the spirit of patriotism as symbolized by the Statue of Liberty.]]
* CardCarryingVillain: Vigo the Carpathian: "Now is the dawning of the season of evil" and etc.
* CareBearStare: The ''good'' slime is charged with positive feelings. It's harmful to evil ghosts and if turned on humans it turns them into {{love freak}}s.
* TheCassandra: Milton Angland, the author who appears on Peter's show at the beginning of the second movie and predicted the world would end on New Year's Eve that year. That almost comes true, though nobody ever sees or speaks of him again.
* [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's]] [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Music]]: "Higher and Higher" in the second movie. Ray and Egon show us that the slime happens to really like Jackie Wilson's version of the song early on in the movie. A cover version is used later on in the movie to empower the slime, thus mobilizing Libby.
* ChekhovsGun: Egon is first seen in the movie conducting an experiment on whether negative emotions could have an impact on the surrounding environment. Enter "mood slime"… And then see the mood slime itself take control of a major landmark.
** The psychic Venkman was interviewing [[CassandraTruth predicting the world would end on New Year's Eve.]]
** The evil stare that Vigo gives Ray plants the seed for Vigo to temporarily possess Ray towards the end of the film.
* CombinedEnergyAttack: When the 'busters use the collective goodwill of New York to break through the slime shield on the museum.
* DarkerAndEdgier[=/=]SequelEscalation: The horror got ramped up, compared to the first one. It wasn't enough that [[AdultFear Oscar was stolen away]], for example - it had to be on a building ''ledge'', at Venkman's apartment after they were attacked in their own home.
** The spirits themselves were genuinely terrifying (the Ghost Train in particular), and then imagine what prolonged exposure to the Mood Slime does...
* DemonicPossession: Janosz Poha, Ray Stantz, and (almost) Oscar.
* TheDreaded: Vigo's titles when he were alive included "Vigo the Cruel", "Vigo the Despised", "Vigo the Torturer", and "Vigo the Unholy".
** Wasn't he also "Vigo the Butch"?
* DudeWheresMyRespect: The Ghostbusters saved the world, but five years later, they're thought of as "two-bit frauds and publicity hounds." They also apparently got shafted when it was time to clean up Gozer's mess. Ray and later Peter comment on this.
* EmotionEater: Vigo feeds on anger in order to stregthen himself. The Ghostbusters counter this by [[spoiler:bringing the Statue of Liberty to life to inspire the spirit of patriotism in the New Yorkers.]]
* ExtraStrengthMasquerade: The giant demonic marshmallow man and plague of ghosts from five years ago everyone remembers and even had physical evidence of was all the world's most elaborate hoax. Obviously.
* ExpospeakGag: This exchange:
-->'''Dr. Peter Venkman:''' Hey Egon, how's school? I bet those science chicks really dig that large cranium of yours?
-->'''Dr. Egon Spengler:''' I think they're more interested in my [[GagPenis Epididymis]]…
* FlatEarthAtheist: The number of people in the movie who claim not to believe in the supernatural a mere five years after a prehistoric deity marched through downtown Manhattan is staggering.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The psychic predicting the end of the world at the beginning of the movie.
** When Vigo is brainwashing Janosz, his portrait changes to shows the old subway tunnel with mood slime flowing down the support pillars.
* FunnyForeigner: Janosz Poha.
-->'''Dr. Peter Venkman:''' When in the hell are you from anyway, Johnny?
-->'''Dr. Janosz Poha:''' (with Slavic accent) The Upper Vest side …?
* FurAndLoathing: A woman is attacked by her haunted coat.
* GigglingVillain: The [[PsychoElectro Scoleri brothers]].
* HangingJudge: Stephen "The Hammer" Wexler.
* HistoricalInJoke:
** [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Not exactly celebrities, and not that anyone would mind seeing them harmed]], but Vigo the Carpathian is a pastiche of Grigori Rasputin and Vlad III Tepes (aka [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Vlad the Impaler"]] aka [[{{Dracula}} "Draculea"]]) by way of [[Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray Dorian Gray]].
** A couple when the ghosts swarm New York in the movie. The ''Titanic'' finally reaches New York, and the mayor is visited (and berated by) the late Mayor [=LaGuardia=].
* HistoryMarchesOn: When the ''Titanic'' is shown arriving in port, it has a huge hole in the prow.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The Ghostbusters use a positively-charged version of Vigo's slime to animate the Statue of Liberty, which allows them to bypass the slime barrier surrounding the Manhattan Museum of Modern Art. The slime blowers are then key to incapacitating Janosz and [[spoiler: the possessed Ray]] without hurting them. When Vigo is forced back into the painting, the slime blowers are the only weapon that visibly hurt him.
* {{Jerkass}}: Egon with his hilariously cruel experiments, including fooling a couple into thinking they are there for marriage counseling and watching them from behind a two-way mirror, then making them wait for hours and slowly pushing up the temperature.
--> '''Egon''': [[ForScience "Lets see what happens when we take away the puppy."]]
* LargeHam: The judge, especially during his "'''BURNED AT THE STAKE!!!'''!" rant.
* MagicSkirt: The prosecuting attorney is lifted by her leg by a ghost, but her skirt stays up the entire time. (The novelisation of the movie says that she was struggling to keep her skirt from rolling over.)
* MediumAwareness:
&&The updated Ghostbusters sign with the ghost giving the "two" sign. The movie revolved around their comeback after five years of inactivity, so a redesigned logo might seem fitting. It was also their ''second run'' as ecto-exterminators. Furthermore, the "two" sign is better known as the VSign, "V for Victory," from World War II. So the logo is the Ghostbusters' TakeThat to the authorities that shut them down after the first movie. The fact that it is holding up two fingers is coincidental (at least from the story point of view). [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Combining these two]], '''V''' is the Roman numeral for '''5'''.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: The Ghostbusters while posing as construction workers.
* OneThingLedToAnother: And the next thing Louis knew, he and Janine were having sex!
* PairTheSpares: Janine, who spent most of her screen time in the first film fruitlessly flirting with Egon, hooks up in this film with Louis.
* ThePowerOfRock: The Ghostbusters use the positive emotions evoked by good ole rock to power the slime.
* PrimalFear: The sheer ''number'' of things Dana has to go through as Oscar is repeatedly manipulated, snatched away, and almost possessed…
* RasputinianDeath: The team recounts the death of [[BigBad Vigo the Carpathian]]:
-->'''Egon''': Vigo the Carpathian. Born 1505, died 1610.
-->'''Peter Venkman''': 105 years old, he hung in there, didn't he?
-->'''Ray''': He didn't die of old age, either. He was poisoned, stabbed, shot, hung, stretched, disembowled, drawn and quartered.
-->'''Peter Venkman''': Ouch.
* RealLifeRelative: Ivan Reitman's son and future director Jason Reitman plays the boy at the birthday party in the beginning who tells Ray [[SelfDeprecation "My dad says you guys are full of crap"]], and Jason's sister plays the girl with the puppy in Egon's experiment.
* TheRenfield: Janosz, who was played by Peter [=MacNicol=], who also played ''the'' Renfield in ''Dracula: Dead And Loving It''.
* SequelReset: Peter and Dana have split up, only to rekindle their relationship. The Ghostbusters were sued out of business, only to get it going once again. They are interfered with by an ObstructiveBureaucrat until the Mayor asks for their help. It's these things that hurt the otherwise enjoyable ''Ghostbusters II''.
* SinisterSubway: Home to an AfterlifeExpress, which is a CallBack to an offhand comment in the first film, when a reporter informs viewers that his grandmother used to tell ghost stories about a spectral locomotive.
** As another example of ShownTheirWork, in searching for the source of the supernatural energy spike which caused little Oscar's runaway BabyCarriage at the start of the movie, the Ghostbusters discover the fictional Van Horne station filled by the river of slime. This is a reference to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_Pneumatic_Transit Beach's Pneumatic Railway]] which was built beneath Broadway and later shut down by Boss Tweed, and the movie depiction even resembles some of Beach's designs with its tile walls and mosaic frescoes. (Interestingly, while the Manhattan Museum of Art was also fictional, the building used for its facade, the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House near Battery Park, is within a mile of the original tunnel's location.)
* SquareCubeLaw: In spite of the general RuleOfCool and AppliedPhlebotinum, the law gets a brief nod during the Statue of Liberty scene…
-->'''Winston:''' Can't you go any faster?
-->'''Ray:''' I'm afraid the vibrations would shake her to pieces. We should have padded her feet …
* ThemeTuneCameo: Ray and Winston try to sing the GB theme song at a birthday party for "ungrateful yuppie larvae", but sadly, they're shouted down by their cries for [[WesternAnimation/{{He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe}} He-Man]].
* WeaponizedLandmark: The Statue of Liberty.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Apparently Winston has an aversion to rats.
* YouHaveToBelieveMe: A certain amount of this helps Hardemeyer in getting the Ghostbusters committed, and in the psychiatrist not believing a word they said. Even Dana, despite the slime covering them, doesn't seem to respond well.
[[/folder]]
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