The original Ghostbusters film continues to stand the test of time by taking comedic geniuses like Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis and putting them in a situation unlike anything ever seen before. As three ghost hunters, the film treads the line of humor with the realization that their actions have aided in potentially creating the end of the world. To defeat the evil, however, they have to break one of their most important rules. While the film shows the heroes victorious, one theory believes that their reality is far grimmer.
In Ghostbusters, the heroes subdue the ghosts by firing bands of energy from their proton packs. While the devices are relatively harmless when in the hands of a professional, Egon Spengler warns his team never to cross the streams. Should they cross, he describes the situation as, “very bad … try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.” However, to defeat Gozer, the Ghostbusters have to break their most dangerous rule. While the film ends with them seemingly surviving, this theory suggests that they actually perished in their efforts to save the world.
The first Ghostbusters‘ conclusion shows the titular group, covered in Stay Puft marshmallow, greeted by hundreds of thankful New Yorkers. While it seems like everything is going well, the theory states that the celebration that the Ghostbusters are experiencing is a collective fantasy, perhaps to more easily transition the team into the afterlife.
To add to the theory, Ghostbusters II is more a sequel to their fates rather than their victory in the first film. Set in Hell or Purgatory, the Ghostbusters aren’t a team anymore, and only Ray and Winston wear the suits for ungrateful children during birthday parties. Even more incriminating is that none of New York City seems to care or remember the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man attack in the first film.
Rather than live life unfulfilled, this collective dark reality that the Ghostbusters experience also has events similar to the original but slightly altered. For example, Dana Barrett (and her infant son) are once again the target of an evil spirit trying to cross over to the living world. To stop it, the Ghostbusters must command a life-size Statue of Liberty that rallies the people of the city who are corrupted by negatively powered ooze. Rather than terrorize like the Marshmallow Man, Lady Liberty serves as a beacon of positivity that quells the ooze beneath the city. While the events are altered, the story still concludes with the Ghostbusters victorious and covered by some form of ectoplasmic substance.
Whether their afterlives repeat events to give them renewed purpose or serve to mock their actions while alive remains to be seen. However, considering Egon is the most intelligent member of the team, his theory being true makes a surprising amount of sense. He was also correct about what would happen if they turned down the ghost prison in the firehouse, which became the catalyst to their proposed demise. The theory itself is never confirmed to be canon, but it provides enough interesting details to make it one of Ghostbusters‘ darkest and most creative theories.
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