Ghostbusters: Afterlife - Trailer #3 (Domestic "Final") Review

With Ghostbusters: Afterlife set to be released theatrically on November 19th - which is a mere week from this Friday - we're in the home stretch of things. Undoubtedly, you've already seen several of the TV Spots on television. I first spotted one during "The Simpsons" on October 24th. Sony has already given us two domestic trailers - reviewed here: Domestic Trailer #1, Domestic Trailer #2 - and a third International Trailer. Today, November 8, 2021, Sony has given us the third, and "final", domestic trailer. At a minute in length, it's more like an extended TV Spot than a trailer, but they're calling it a "trailer", so I'll consider it as such.

Before we take a look at it, let me just say SPOILER ALERT. If you've been watching all of the trailers, TV spots, and film clips that Sony has been releasing - as I've reported on the Spook Central Facebook page - then there won't be too much here you haven't already seen. Though one thing near the end is a bit of a spoiler, even though it's been common knowledge for the past two years already. Simply put, if you're trying to avoid even the most minor of spoilers, SHUT DOWN YOUR COMPUTER/MOBILE DEVICES AND TURN OFF YOUR TELEVISION UNTIL AFTER NOVEMBER 19TH!!! Direct your displeasure towards Ghost Corps and Sony, not me. I didn't release these videos.

UPDATE - If you don't want a single thing spoiled for you, then let me reiterate my statement that you SHUT DOWN YOUR COMPUTER/MOBILE DEVICES AND TURN OFF YOUR TELEVISION UNTIL AFTER NOVEMBER 19TH!!! During the Monday November 8, 2021 episode of WWE RAW on USA Network, at 10:48 PM Eastern, they aired a 15-second version of this new "Final Trailer" as a TV Spot. (You can watch it here.) It includes the shots and audio at the end, which some would consider a spoiler, even though Hasbro's toys "spoiled" this revelation months ago. Unlike this article and the other official stuff that I've reported on, there's no "spoiler alert" preceding the ad on television! Unless you immediately grab the remote and change the channel, or shut off the TV/device, you ARE going to see and hear it.

Now let's take a look at the "final" domestic trailer...

The trailer is embedded below, so feel free to watch it before reading on. Click on all framegrabs for the original images. Furthermore, THIS ARTICLE IS VERY IMAGE-INTENSIVE.


The trailer starts with the Sony/Columbia/Bron logos, which is immediately followed by footage from the original teaser trailer from way back in January 2019 showing the exterior of the barn on a windy night. While these first few "scenes" are shown, we hear edited archival audio (or perhaps a new recording) of Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz in the first film that syncs up to what's shown on screen.

I remember a Revelations..." - Inside the barn, the tarp blows off, revealing the Ecto-1.


...and I looked, as he opened the Sixth Seal." - Substitute teacher Gary Grooberson (a name revealed by Paul Rudd on The Graham Norton Show) opens a ghost trap, as seen in the "Reckless" film clip (aka "Jump-Starting a Ghost Trap"). We don't see the ghost pop out. Instead, we're shown the destruction of the Gozer's Temple set, that I assume is in the Shandor Mines somewhere.


"There was a great earthquake." - Things shake inside the Summerville hardware store and police station. The very tall pile of "symmetrically stacked" books in the old farmhouse sway.


"Judgment day." - The Ecto-1 comes screeching around the corner outside of the Spinners car hop. A Terror Dog on the temple set spontaneously combusts. Another one chases after Gary in Walmart. Spectral lightning strikes a mountaintop. Mother Callie looks worried.


When Judgment Day happens, who are you going to call? Ray's Occult Books, of course! Phoebe is "calling about what happened in New York".


"On November 19th" pops up on screen. Phoebe turns on a Proton Pack.


Gary meets a Mini-Puft in Walmart, while his voiceover informs us that "there hasn't been a ghost sighting in 30 years". Well, like "X days without an accident", that streak is about to end. We see the Mini-Puft fall flat on his face, more on a Roomba, and a few more playing with a blender. Nothing we haven't already seen in the past trailers and the Mini-Puft Reveal video.


Ghost sightings around Summerville, including the Miner Ghost, and this eyeball on a string...


Yes, the Kenner Real Ghostbusters Bug-Eye Ghost toy - which Hasbro re-released - is now officially movie canon!


Sitting with the lovely Lucky at Spinners, Trevor asks, "What is happening here?" Meanwhile, his sister Phoebe is trying to bust Muncher at the Summerville Foundry. (If you want to do the same, go get the PlayStation Dreams game.) Oh, come on, Pheebs, He wasn't hurting anyone. Leave the old guy alone.


Inside Ecto-1, Phoebe tells Trevor that "our Grandfather was a ghostbuster". Then at the mines, she says that "something was coming, and he knew it". Gozer appears to be coming out of the hole/gateway.


"It's Time" appears on screen. Back to the clip of Gary jump-starting the ghost trap, where we see the ghost come out. Looks like a spectral Sentinel Terror Dog.


"To Bust" now appears on screen. Muncher fires metal ball bearings (presumably) at the kids in the Ecto-1 chasing after him. Good for you, blue dude.


"Some Ghosts" pops up. See, "It's Time To Bust Some Ghosts". While Trevor says, "I think we've opened the gates to Hell", we see lots of lightning and menacing clouds envelop the old farmhouse.


We see the Terror Dogs growling from Gozer's Temple. I assume this is somewhere in the mines. Yeah, this is rather spoilery, but it's about to get even MORE spoilery.


Ecto-1 pulls up; close-up on the lights. Phoebe and mom Callie look at something (or someone?) arriving to save the day. I wonder who.


We see the torsos of three male ghostbusters. The unmistakable voice of Bill Murray, as Peter Venkman, says, "Hey. Have you missed us?" Yes, we sure have.


Even the Mini-Pufts have, too. They are looking on with such glee from inside the Ecto-1.


Cue the Ray Parker Jr. song, show the title and release date.


WOW! Freakin' goosebumps.

If one has watched all of the TV spots released so far, only the partial shot of the OGBs is new. So, not much was spoiled for me. This does make me even more excited to see the film. As a reminder, here in the United States, Ghostbusters: Afterlife comes out on Friday November 19th, which is a mere ONE WEEK from this Friday. CLICK HERE FOR TICKET-BUYING INFORMATION.

• VIP-EXCLUSIVE BONUS FEATURE - High-quality 1920x1080 download of the trailer and the full set of 61 framegrabs by Matthew Jordan.

UPDATE - If you want a super high quality copy of this trailer, then you're in luck! For a limited time (until November 9, 2022), Sony has uploaded a 1GB MOV file in full 1920x1080 resolution, but without the high compression that YouTube applied to the video, which was used for the images in this review/breakdown. Here are the video and audio specs of this file:
• Video: APCH 1920x1080 23.976fps 147360kbps (prores, yuv422p10le)
• Audio: PCM 48000Hz stereo 2304kbps (pcm_s24le, s24)