Summary

• Director Gil Kenan reveals that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is "scary" but that it still has humor.
• According to the director, swings in tone between scary and funny help both be more effective.
• Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will likely be rated PG-13, meaning the sequel won't be delving too far into horror territory.

Ghostbusters cast like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson to take down a new enemy in New York City. Trailers for the film have teased the arrival of the "death chill" phenomenon and a sinister new villain called Garraka, but they've also confirmed that there will be plenty of jokes.

As the Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire release date approaches, Kenan addresses the movie's tone during an interview with SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar), revealing that there has been a conscious effort to up the scares this time around. The director assures that it won't be all scares, however, and that humor plays just as important a role. Check out Kenan's full explanation regarding why both are crucial below:

"This is a scary Ghostbusters movie, I set out to go for the thrills. As a big-screen experience, I think it’s going to play like a scary, funny movie. The secret is that the scarier a scene is, the funnier the next joke is going to play. That’s the way that the pendulum swings with tone. Twisting that lever to make sure that the scares land is a way of making sure that the jokes are funnier."

How Scary Will Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Actually Be?

Why Audiences Shouldn't Be Too Worried

So far, trailers have teased that the movie's antagonist means business. The death chill seems like it will genuinely kill people and wreak havoc across the city, speaking to the movie's higher stakes. Past Ghostbusters movies, however, suggest that the new sequel won't be delving too far into horror territory.

In an early teaser, Aykroyd's Ray Stantz describes how the death chill kills its victims, saying that "your veins turn to rivers of ice, your bones crack, and the last thing you see is your own tear ducts freezing up."

Every installment in the franchise so far has balanced humor with thrills, with ghostly action usually always accompanied by a quippy line from Murray or a physical gag. The Ghostbusters: Afterlife ending is arguably the biggest deviation from the franchise's tone thus far, with the climax leaning heavily into nostalgia and emotion, playing the original Ghostbusters' return and Egon Spengler's sendoff as an incredibly earnest affair. Judging from the trailers for the sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will still be mostly consistent with the franchise's overarching tone.

It's worth mentioning, too, that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is essentially guaranteed to be rated PG-13. This rating will ensure that nothing too terrifying makes its way on screen in the film. While there may indeed be some scares in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, it's likely that these moments will be more truly scary to younger audiences than to those well-versed in the franchise.

Source: SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar)