Original (1984) Ghostbusters "what if" scenario...

[biostem]

After recently re-watching the original 1984 Ghostbusters movie, I started thinking about 2 plot points that could have drastically changed the movie:

1. Venkman doesn't blow off the EPA inspector, and instead treats his visit seriously. Further, let's assume 2 sub-scenarios from this - one where they actually do have or manage to get/forge the necessary permits, and another where they don't, and opt to try and draw things out in the courts somehow.

2. When presented with Louis Tully's possession, they opt to have him committed to a mental institution, based upon his actual delusional behavior. Barring any fancy escape artistry, he remains confined.


How would either or both of these scenarios alter the course of the movie, and/or do you think the containment unit would inevitably fill up or there would be some sort of failure at some point?

[hunter5]

I always got the impression the guy from the EPA had every intention of shutting the containment unit down he just used Venkmen's blow off as an excuse. Even if he hadn't been blown off he would have found some other excuse to shut it down.

[The Romulan Republic]

The SFDebris review of the film reached a similar conclusion.

[Channel72]

2. When presented with Louis Tully's possession, they opt to have him committed to a mental institution, based upon his actual delusional behavior. Barring any fancy escape artistry, he remains confined.

Presumably, Gozer would simply have Vince Clortho leave Rick Moranis' body (since he is confined in a mental hospital) and try to find another host so he could unite with Dana/Zuul.

Either that, or, supernatural activity would continue to increase (creating an even bigger Twinkie) in the NY area until some sort of societal collapse or infrastructural disaster enabled Rick Moranis to leave the mental hospital and find Dana.

[Joun_Lord]

Either that, or, supernatural activity would continue to increase (creating an even bigger Twinkie) in the NY area until some sort of societal collapse or infrastructural disaster enabled Rick Moranis to leave the mental hospital and find Dana.

Technically that is what happened for Vince to escape the Ghostbusters though through the hands of the man with no dick. One can assume that maybe Gozar had a hand in Peck's insistence on shutting down the containment grid. Shutting down some unknown possibly dangerous piece of machinery seems like a really stupid thing for a EPA agent to do even one with his head so far up his ass as Peck did. Shutting it down only helps Gozer by releasing all the contained spirits causing the Twinkie to go Godzilla sized, destroying the Ghostbusters base, and removing the Ghostbusters as a threat. All the planning that went into the release of Gozer by the Cult of Gozer, Ivo Shandor, and presumably Gozer him?self, one of them would have had to see the Ghostbusters as threat and their containment of the spirits to be detrimental to the plan and taken steps to end the threat.