Ghostbusters (2016) is entertaining. Also flat at the beginning, but overall an entertaining film and an amusing comedy. It is a visual effects heaven. Chris Hemsworth is amusing as the “dumb blonde”. The ghostbuster heroines are believable. Ghostbusters is also supernatural fiction, but in spite of it being fiction, is it saying there’s a supernatural world out there? Supernatural fiction Ghostbusters still points to a supernatural world.

Supernatural world

What’s in Ghostbusters in terms of teaching us things about the supernatural? I can only refer back to ghosts because this is what barely represents a supernatural world in Ghostbusters. The supernatural world in Ghostbusters intends to destroy. Innocent people are threatened. People get threatened by friendly-looking ghosts and not so friendly looking ghosts.

Some of the supernatural world on display have less than ghoulish characteristics and seem harmless. But Ghostbusters is no Casper ‘the friendly ghost’ . It is no Close Encounters of the Third Kind where the alien visitors seem okay to hang with. In Ghostbusters, even the funny looking, cartoonish ghosts are of bad intentions.

Looking at Ghostbusters the supernatural world is evil. But ghoulish, funny looking ghosts don’t look like they could hurt a fly. This latter point is subtle: sometimes evil does not look evil. So supernatural evil does not always come with pointed ears and a pitchfork ready to beset humanity in a decisive swipe.

Supernatural evil can be subtle, but still contain the essentials of evil: to destroy life. This subtle interweaving of evil intends on pulling the wool over people’s eyes before taking them down.

So a subtle lesson of Ghostbusters is to be on guard against subtle intrusions and to be alert.