Paranormal activity is amplified in new 'Ghostbusters' trailer

By Stephanie Topacio Long May 18, 2016

The first trailer for the Ghostbusters reboot was met with a flurry of dislikes and negative comments when it dropped in March, but Sony Pictures is ready to make a second impression. The studio unveiled a new trailer today, showing more of the female-driven supernatural comedy.

Interestingly, Sony Pictures seems to have made a conscious decision not to post the video on its official YouTube account, where the mayhem took place last time; instead, the distributor shared it on social media, likely in hopes of a warmer welcome. Although the first trailer has racked up more than 32 million views since being posted on YouTube March 3, it was also “disliked” by more than 804,800 people. That number places it 12th on MyTop100Video‘s list of most disliked YouTube videos.

The firestorm of criticism may very well have had something to do with the fact that Sony opted to make its leads women. Many of the negative comments referred to the gender swap, as the Washington Post pointed out when the controversy erupted. Certain movie fans clearly didn’t like the idea that the original cast was being replaced by four women.

In the new trailer, stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon face a grave threat: “Someone is creating a device that amplifies paranormal activity,” according to Erin (played by Wiig). The situation is apparently apocalypse-level bad, and it ends up going all the way up to the government, from which the women seem to find more resistance than assistance.

There are plenty of funny moments in the trailer, from the women finding out that they’re the only ones who should have to deal with such an evil to Kevin the receptionist (Chris Hemsworth) acting as more hindrance than a help. Whether or not the film will win over the naysayers remains to be seen, but no matter what, it has certainly sparked curiosity.

Ghostbusters hits theaters July 15.

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Stephanie Topacio Long

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Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…

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