I’m also certain a lot of people didn’t like that movie because it wasn’t very funny, wasn’t very scary, and wasn’t very much of anything. I’m certain that segment of trolls exists. Of course, there’s no doubt a segment of the 2016 film’s haters only attacked the film because they hate women, or find women inherently unfunny, or think women should only be seen barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen and not off chasing ghosts (“chasing ghosts is man’s work!”). It’s easy to cast a blanket over it all and say “the 2016 movie was only hated because people are sexist and the lukewarm-at-worst reception to the 2021 movie and its non-all-female cast is proof!” It’s easy but not fair. As you can imagine, the contrast in reception (especially the intensity of the reception) created a ton of angst from supporters of the 2016 movie.

In the runup to this film, however, the complaints have been much more subdued, much more traditional, and much less toxic. Naturally, the fact that the stars of the vehicle were entirely female made for more than a little toxicity in an already toxic place (the internet). When the movie came out, critics were mixed, with a lean towards liking it, while audience scores were in the toilet. Its first trailer was, for a long while, the most downvoted video in YouTube history. The 2016 movie was excoriated from the moment the film was announced. The arguments are different however, and that, in part, is a source of consternation for some.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, I guess, considering how vitriolic the attacks were against the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot attempt. There has been a strong debate online in the months (years) leading up to the release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

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