Editing Ghostbusters II (section)

=== Post-production ===
[[File:The Washington Square Arch, Greenwich Village, NY (6).jpg|thumb|alt=The Washington Square Arch as seen from across the central fountain. Plumes of water shoot upwards from the fountain. The arch is tall and pale, bearing several detailed engravings. |The [[Washington Square Arch]] was featured in reshoots as the site of a slime-powered ghost attack. Thousands of civilians attended the recording and were used in the film, shown running away from the arch.]]
Following [[test screening]]s, the principal crew realized there were numerous issues with the film.{{sfn|McCabe|2016B|pp=74,75}}<ref name="LATimesEndingCut" /> Reitman said that upon watching the test version he realized the final 25 minutes of the film "just died a horrible death", so he spent four days filming a new 25-minute ending to replace it.<ref name="LATimesEndingCut" /> The test screenings identified that audiences liked the film but felt Vigo did not present a real challenge to the Ghostbusters and that their victory was too easy.{{sfn|McCabe|2016B|pp=74,75}} Test audiences also thought Vigo, the slime, and the associated ghosts were not sufficiently connected.{{sfn|Eisenberg|1989|p=25}} According to Gross, the audiences were not aware that the slime in the film could be charged by negative or positive emotions, so scenes were added to better explain this.{{sfn|Eisenberg|1989|pp=23, 25}}

Extensive re-shoots were conducted throughout March and April 1989, only two months before the film's release; these included on-location filming in New York.{{sfn|Eisenberg|1989|p=23}}<ref name="AICNOverview" /><ref name="RollingStone" /> ''Ghostbusters{{nbsp}}II'' had been scheduled for release on the [[Independence Day (United States)|July 4th Independence Day holiday weekend]] but Reitman felt June 23 would work better. When they learned the superhero film ''[[Batman (1989 film)|Batman]]'' was also being released that day, they asked to move to the 16th. According to Gross, "Joe Medjuck and I were turning pale{{nbsp}}... it did not look possible{{nbsp}}... It was a real killer".{{sfn|Eisenberg|1989|p=25}}

Several new scenes were added to increase the sense of urgency and threat to the Ghostbusters, including the underground ghost train sequence and the associated severed-heads scare. A scene showing the Ghostbusters' developed photographs of Vigo bursting into flames, threatening to immolate them, was also added. Reitman wanted these scenes added because he thought his previous cut of the film focused too much on the relationship between Murray's and Weaver's characters.<ref name="FSRJun19" /> The ghost train scene was filmed at the [[Tunnel (New York nightclub)|Tunnel]] night club in New York. It was added to create a sense of an unseen force trying to keep the Ghostbusters away.{{sfn|Eisenberg|1989|p=23}}{{sfn|Eisenberg|1989|p=26}} Medjuck noted that the added scenes did not require extensive special effects.{{sfn|McCabe|2016B|pp=74,75}} Cheech Marin's cameo as a dock supervisor was also added in this period.<ref name="AICNOverview" />

The additional content replaced some scenes and subplots that were far into completion and contained finished special effects.<ref name="AICNOverview" /> Further shooting was done in [[Washington Square Park]], which was used for the monster moving under the [[Washington Square Arch]]. The popularity of the film was evident at that time when thousands of people arrived after hearing ''Ghostbusters{{nbsp}}II'' was being filmed there. They took part in filming, screaming on cue and running to escape the monster.{{sfn|Eisenberg|1989|p=30}} The film's final battle with Vigo was reshot, and the way that Vigo left the painting to confront the Ghostbusters changed completely.<ref name="MentalFlossVigo" /><ref name="AICNOverview" />

One of the cut scenes included a subplot in which the Ray Stantz character is possessed by Vigo following his inspection of the Vigo painting. Ray erratically drives the [[Ectomobile]] until he is freed of Vigo's control by Winston. This explained Ray's possession in the finale. Some of this footage was repurposed into a montage.<ref name="Collider2013" />{{sfn|McCabe|2016|p=62}} There were also scenes of Louis Tully attempting to capture Slimer, which test audiences found intrusive, and Slimer was reduced to two appearances.{{sfn|McCabe|2016|p=62}} Gross said they retained some Slimer scenes for children but that audiences generally had no reaction to the character, which was not what they had expected.{{sfn|Eisenberg|1989|p=22}} Because the sequence in which Tully's cousin frees the Ghostbusters from the psychiatric hospital was removed, a scene showing a paranormal eclipse from the Mayor's office was added to explain the Mayor securing their release. Other removed scenes showed Ray and Egon experimenting with the slime, which explained how they learned to manipulate it to control the Statue of Liberty. A ghost was also removed from the sequence in which the slime causes ghosts to rise across New York because Reitman felt it was not creepy enough.<ref name="AICNOverview" />