Poltergeist

Horrorphile

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Poltergeist

May 15th 2009 05:58

Two movies that transformed me into a horrorphile; Poltergeist (1982) and Alien (1979), but I can’t remember which movie I saw first. Poltergeist was at the movies, while Alien I saw on VHS (as I was only 11 when the movie was first released, and it was restricted to 16 years and over). Those two movie experiences had a profound effect on me: I was young and impressionable and they were convincing enough to scare me shitless. They’re still very convincing.

Poltergeist, although credited to director Tobe Hooper, who gave us the seminal The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), is actually very much a Steven Speilberg production. In fact Speilberg’s presence was so strong on set that he apparently called many of the shots himself, and was forced to keep only producer’s credit due to union rules. There are definitely Hooper moments, but the technical slickness, some of the geeky humour, and the love conquering evil is very Speilbergian.

Poltergiest Dominique Dunne, JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Oliver Robbins

Members of he Freeling family and a parapsychologist

The Freeling family is your average American suburban family: Steve (Craig T. Nelson) loves his football and beers with mates, his wife Diane (JoBeth Williams) loves a long bath, teenage daughter Dana (Dominique Dunne) gets annoyed by her two younger siblings, Robbie (Oliver Robbins) and cute little Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke).

Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) and that clown

One night Steve and Diane are woken by Carol Anne talking to the television. It’s the middle of the night and there’s only white noise blaring from the screen, but Carol Anne seems to have made a connection with something. “They’re here!” she exclaims in one of modern horror cinema’s most famous lines. And yes they are. A mischievous and malevolent energy which is known as poltergeist (German word for noisy or rumbling ghosts) has infiltrated the house and home, and pretty soon the Freeling family are at the end of their tether.

After a particularly nightmarish thunderstorm the family is left grappling for their sanity. Carol Anne vanishes, sucked into the Other Side. A bunch of parapsychologists are invited to try and rescue her, but the poltergeist still has a few wild cards to play.

Robbie (Oliver Robbins) counts the seconds between lightning and thunder

Poltergeist successfully plays on many of people’s worst fears of the unknown. In fact the movie's tagline was brilliantly direct: "It knows what scares you". It’s a fantastic exercise in supernatural manipulation, with brilliant special effects and a subtle, but distinct sense of dark comedy that tugs every now and again. The last image of Steve wheeling the motel television out onto the terrace nails it.

There’s the ghostly apparition that confronts Diane at the end of the corridor is terrifying, and the gory sequence where one of the parapsychologists seems to tear his own face apart is horrifying. But there’s the cheeky playfulness the poltergeist exhibits when it stacks the chairs on the table, and the grotesque comedy of the steak caterpillar-walking across the kitchen bench. There’s the alarming wonder of Diane falling up the wall and across the ceiling, and there’s the putrid horror of the dead bodies bursting up from the backyard pool. There’s the monstrous tree that tries to swallow Robbie, and then there’s Robbie’s clown. That grinning clown. Boy, that damn thing gave me nightmares for weeks!

Never trust a mirror in a haunted house

Whereas Poltergeist’s special effects were mostly done in front of the camera, or composited against a blue screen (the advancement green screen hadn’t yet been developed), you can imagine how saturated in CGI effects the remake will be. There’s a visceral quality to Poltergeist (probably thanks to Tobe Hooper) that makes it more palpable and immediate. CGI will, ironically, make everything seem more ephemeral and two-dimensional.

Diane (JoBeth Williams) is confronted by the Beast

There’s a remake of Poltergeist currently in pre-production, due for release in 2011. Why am I not surprised? So many great horror movies have already been plundered by the Hollywood re-boot machine, why stop now? There’s still a handful that have yet to be given the remake green light, but that list is slowly dwindling.

Poltergeist Heather O'Rourke, JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson

Carol Anne and Diane return from the Other Side

NB: Both Dominique Dunne and Heather O’Rourke died unnatural deaths following the movie. Dunne was strangled by her crazed boyfriend, and O’Rourke died of complications with the flu during the making of the second sequel. Stephen King was approached to write the screenplay (which would’ve been his first). The movie was initially given an R rating, but producers managed to talk the MPAA into giving it a PG (no PG-13 existed at that time). And rather curiously for a horror movie there are no murders or fatalities.

Here's the trailer:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

15 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Natalina

May 15th 2009 06:47

My Life My Muse
Beta Girl Blog

Very scary movie to this day. It is the best movie involving a haunted house that I can think of.

I saw a very interesting documentary about the curse that followed this film and it's sequels. Lot's of wild stuff went on during and after filming.

Comment by Damo

May 15th 2009 06:57

I have to agree that this is one great from from that era.
I watched it again with my kids some months back and all they only sighed. They like the story but were no scared at all.

I remember seeing it years ago on television with my parent and see my mother leave the room at the face tearing part.

Kids these days are harder to scare.

Comment by Bryn

May 15th 2009 06:58

Horrorphile

Natalina,
I was just the right age when I first saw this, so it holds a dear place in my horror heart. Have you seen The Changeling? That's another scary ghost in the house tale from around the same time. Yeah, I know of the so-called curse, but would like to see the doco, I seem to remember it being on tv a few years ago. The Omen is another of those cursed movies with several deaths and weird shit going on.

Comment by Bryn

May 15th 2009 07:00

Horrorphile

Damo, really? Wow, that's very interesting. How old ar e your kids? Tis true that kids these days are "desensitized" to a degree, so that stuff that scared us barely makes them bat an eyelid ... But yawning at Poltergeist?! Sheeesh, that's scary in a whole new way!

Comment by Natalina

May 15th 2009 07:09

My Life My Muse
Beta Girl Blog

The Changeling is great. I also love Burnt Offerings. That's a good one. I think you can find that doc online actually. I can't remember what it was called now, but it should be on Google Video.

Comment by Damo

May 15th 2009 07:10

The thing is the 4 of my 5 kids watched it with me ages 17 to 9 years.
I think the X-files and Ghost Whisperer has removed the sense of shock.
However The Thing made them jump.

Also The Ring did disturb them.

It must be a generational thing. I guess video games are far gorier than anything you see in film.

Comment by Bryn

May 15th 2009 07:43

Horrorphile

Natalina, ha! Burnt Offerings was another I was going to mention, even though I haven't seen it, but have always wanted to, I love the title. I presume then you've seen Ghost Story? I'll endeavour to hunt down the doco, cheers! Hmmm, I might have to make a list of favourite ghost stories now ...

Damo,
I'd like to request from you each of your kids scariest movies. Is that an easy task? I'm very curious.

Comment by Natalina

May 16th 2009 01:39

My Life My Muse
Beta Girl Blog

With Fred Astaire? Oh yes, I've seen it. Burnt Offerings is great. Bette Davis is one of the best.

Other ghost movies I love:
The Innocents
The House on Haunted Hill (Original)
The Man Who Haunted Himself
The Amityville Horror(original)

Comment by Damo

May 16th 2009 08:20

Bryn

I did a quick survey.of those who were around.

My son 17 - The Ring.
My daughter 16 - "Ha ha, you ere scared of the ring? It wasn't even scary." Nothing has ever scared her except the start of Darkness Falls. The Decent was nice an jumpy but not scary (I am still trying to work our what she means.) She thinks Saw was not even slightly scary. Gothica was the same.

My son 14. The Ring maybe. But in video games Doom 3.

My youngest - "Nothing in film."

Comment by JohnDoe

May 16th 2009 15:05

Film & TV on DVD

Hi Bryn,

i still love Poltergeist too for its thick atmosphere and slow burn tension...its what you don't see that works so well...that and the friggin doll on the bed

There is a restraint in the filmmaking that just milks every moment....brave enough to not spell it all out liek so many films today......great review

Comment by Kleonaptra

May 19th 2009 00:40

Kalikapsychosis

A classic! I was over 15 when I saw it for the first time...Freaked me out.

Comment by David O'Connell

May 19th 2009 06:38

Screen Fanatic

Nice choice Bryn, loved it as a kid too. It has an astonishing Goldsmith score as well, a truly brutal symphonic work with that gorgeous counterpoint of Carol-Anne's theme.
Anyway, a great film, whoever directed it.

Comment by Bryn

May 19th 2009 12:01

Horrorphile

David, yes, I'd plum forgotten to mention the great score!

Comment by Anonymous

August 10th 2009 11:03

Yes, a classic for sure!
I found it on DVD not too long ago and was sooo excited, I remember this movie from my youth and It scared the beejesus out of me!
Definetly looks and acts just like a Spielberg movie, and the score is unmatched in my view. Beautiful, haunting stuff.
The previous poster is sooo right about how kids now are so desensitised to movies, my 12 year old daughter thinks "Saw" is hilarious! My mother would have keeled over seeing that on our tv when I was a kid!! Not into the "torture porn" genre myself.
When I heard they were remaking Poltergeist I thought "here we go another CGI yawnfest".....hopefully we'll be suprised but I doubt it. Some things should just be left alone. They'll probably change it around so much that it could just be it's own movie anyway, they are just trying to cash in on the name.

Comment by Bryn

August 10th 2009 23:04

Horrorphile

Anon, Hollywood is terrified of taking chances. The Remake Machine is so powerful nowadays and the younger generation are so sponge-like for a re-boot, that executives are rubbing their hands and chuckling all the way to the bank. It's easier to take an existing screenplay for a movie that did reasonable box office and tweak it with the intention of giving audiences something familiar, yet different. See my most current post for a further moan.

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