History Film / Ghostbusters2016

** Rowan could relate, seeing as he had the [[NotSoDifferent same proclivity with ghosts]] as Erin did in life. Only difference was that his [[DrivenToVillainy resentment towards his resenter]]'s opted him to erase the bastardization called [[MisanthropeSupreme mankind from the world]].

* NotSoDifferent: Rowan's history isn't that different from Abby or Erin's, but he's decided to destroy the world when they still fight for it.

2020's ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife'' is an {{unreboot}} that ignores this film and reprises the original continuity, being set a few decades after ''Film/GhostbustersII''.

* RealityEnsues:
** Erin is on track for tenure at Columbia University. Abby and Holtzmann videotape her getting slimed by a ghost, and delightfully talking about it. They then post it online, where it goes viral that Erin's boss sees it. He quickly fires her for unprofessionalism. The same thing happens with Abby and Holtzmann's boss when they ask him to hire Erin, only ''he'' is the unprofessional one.
** A real estate agent shows the women a huge space in a fancy area in New York. They all get excited by its cleanliness and potential. How much is the rent? $21,000 per month. They have to settle for the second floor of a Chinese restaurant.
** Martin Heiss shows up without an appointment to the Ghostbusters address, clearly planning to bust them with a surprise inspection. Abby and Holtzmann warn him that the ghost they caught is violent and needs a proper containment area; he doesn't believe them, motivating Erin to show the proof. [[spoiler:When he finds out that they're telling the truth, all he can do is stand in place before the ghost tosses him out of a window]].
** Ignoring the extended cut, Erin has a trauma reaction to [[spoiler:a man dying in front of her when Rowan commits suicide]], unlike her teammates. [[spoiler:Martin Heiss]] was one thing, but [[spoiler:Rowan]] is another. She takes a break from the Ghostbusters because [[spoiler:it's one thing to disintegrate ghosts and another to have someone die, and in such a gruesome fashion]].
** The Mayor and his aide try their best to cover up the masquerade, reasoning that people aren't ready to learn that ghosts are real. [[spoiler:That doesn't last by the end; news journalists are pointing out they saw New York swallowed by spirits with the police incapacitated so it seems to be an irresponsible government coverup]].

* {{Mondegreen}}: Patty is ''not'' saying "The power of pain compels you!" nor “The power of panic compels you!” She is saying "The power of ''Patty'' compels you!"

* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:Heiss]] gets killed by being thrown out a window by Mayhem.

-->'''Erin:''' You are eating right now?

** An early script for the original ''Ghostbusters'' involved the characters travelling to different time periods during the battle with Gozer. [[spoiler: In the new film, Rowan transforms parts of New York into how they looked during New York's "golden age" (apparently the 1920s) and the Ghostbusters battle various ghosts from various historical periods, including Pilgrims and a 1920s Thanksgiving Day Parade.]]

* WeUsedToBeFriends: Erin and Abby are at this point as the story begins. Erin only looks up Abby to berate her for promoting their flopped and ridiculed book. The university catching wind of it would be damaging to Erin's non-tenured position. Abby, who has not forsaken the supernatural for tenure as Erin has, parlays that request into getting into the Aldridge mansion, and proving the existence of ghosts. By the end of the film, they're friends again with Erin apologizing for having abandoned Abby.

* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:Rowan's scheme might have succeeded without a hitch if he hadn't talked to Patty, who then followed him, saw his device and the ghost it summoned, and caused her to go to the Ghostbusters, leading them back to him]].

* TheShowMustGoOn: The metal band knows perfectly well that's a real demon on stage; admirably, they keep playing without missing a beat.

* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: The theater manager tells the ghostbusters that his scream is known to be "unnerving". It's just incongruous.

* RightForTheWrongReasons: It turns out that Erin was right to lambast Abby for publishing their book without her consent. Erin's reason, that it makes her look unprofessional, was actually valid but also [[spoiler:it turns out, Rowan used their research to create his apocalypse plan]].

* RightForTheWrongReasons: It turns out that Erin was right to lambast Abby for publishing their book without her consent. While Erin's reason, however, was that it makes her look unprofessional, [[spoiler:it's because Rowan used their research to create his apocalypse plan]].

** Of all kinds, including humanoids, [[BigRedDevil a gargoyle-like demon]], a chittering SwarmOfRats, and parade balloons.

** Of all kinds, including humanoids, [[BigRedDevil a classic demon]], a chittering SwarmOfRats, and parade balloons.

* MyGreatestFailure: Erin considers the book she published with Abby to be this, to the point of being horrified it's on Amazon and being promoted actively by Abby since it could endanger her career as a serious scientist.

* OldShame: In-universe, Erin regards the book on the paranormal she co-authored with Abby as this. The events triggered by Erin confronting Abby about the book resurfacing ends up costing her tenure at Columbia.

* NotDistractedByTheSexy: Abby expresses surprise when Erin asks whether she finds Kevin attractive. It's implied that Kevin is just too stupid for Abby to see him that way. Patty clearly isn't interested when he starts grinding on her, and Jillian is implied to be gay.

* NonProtagonistResolver: Played with for laughs: Kevin ''thinks'' he's this, but his sum contribution to the climax [[spoiler: aside from getting possessed and needing to be rescued]] involves pressing some buttons on a completely unrelated machine somewhere and getting a sandwich on the pretext of "looking" for the women. The Ghostbusters, needless to say, are unimpressed.

** The film's teaser trailer mentions that the original film happened "30 years ago", implying that ''this'' film was a PassingTheTorch continuation of the original series similar to ''Film/{{Creed}}'' or ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. The original cast having not-yet-disclosed roles in the film also seemed to support this. The film is actually a complete ContinuityReboot of the series that ignores the first two films, and the original actors [[RemakeCameo play unrelated, minor characters]].
** The trailers make Abby out to be the main character, when it's actually Erin who has the most character growth. Also, they present Patty as the stereotypical Loud Ghetto Black Woman, but this is toned down in favor of emphasizing her social connections and knowledge of practical matters and local history.

** To a ''much'' lesser extent, the trailers and certain promo spots have the Ecto-1 make the distinctive siren sound heard in the first two movies. In the film itself, the Ecto-1 makes a more generic "police" siren sound.

** The final [[spoiler:1920s parade balloon ghosts]] is [[spoiler:the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man]], who [[spoiler:nearly kills three of the Ghostbusters]].

** An early script for the original ''Ghostbusters'' involved the characters travelling to different time periods during the battle with Gozer. [[spoiler: In the new film, Rowan transforms parts of New York into how they looked during New York's "golden age" (apparently the 1970s) and the Ghostbusters battle various ghosts from various historical periods, including Pilgrims and a 1920s Thanksgiving Day Parade.]]

** The film's opening sequence in Aldridge Manor features a portrait of Gertrude Aldridge, who murdered all of the house's servants and was locked in the basement for the rest of her life. The portrait, while not being haunted, is of a woman wearing a rather nasty scowl on her face, and seems much like Vigo the Carpathian's portrait from ''Ghostbusters II''.

* MagicVersusScience: { [[spoiler: This time around ghosts are little more than pests to be exterminated when confronted by the power of science. They're only able to become a true threat when harnessed by a human using science, which he at least partially copied from the Ghostbusters' own technology. Effectively: Science is fighting itself, and Magic is helpless and caught in the middle.]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Martin Heiss goads Erin into showing him proof of the ghosts that the Ghostbusters have been hunting. He gets proof alright. [[spoiler:Mayhem (the dragon-like ghost) flies right into his face and shoves him through a window.]]