Poltergeist (1982)
Poltergeist, admittedly, is a film I've watched perhaps 3 times at most in my entire life and...didn't have many opinions about it but it is a cult classic and will give it the respect it deserves. By the time the film was out, horror was well into mainstream media and was a part of the many supernatural movies emerging. A quote from one of my favorite horror books Essential Horror Movies states about the supernatural: "The modern horror film has capitalized on this power of disbelief by offering any number of things that go bump, or worse, in the night, whose existences defy reality, at least until reality is suspended". Poltergeist had an impressive $11-million budget and a good third of it was spent on special effects to produce the phenomenal visuals we all remember and admire. The film produced two sequels and a remake in 2015 (which I've seen in theaters and do not remember any of it).
Poltergeist was released on June 4th, 1982 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. There were disputes as to who actually directed the film between writer/producer Steven Spielberg and director Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Invaders from Mars) even before the film was released but I will credit both for the sake of this review and you can certainly dig into it on your own time. The film stars JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O'Rourke, Zelda Rubinstein, and Beatrice Straight. The Poltergeist series is said to be cursed after three of the cast members passed away tragically following their respective releases.
The film follows a beautiful, suburban family in the town of Cuesta Verde, California where parents Steven and Diane lead a normal, quiet life with their children Dana, Robbie, and little Carol Anne. All is as usual until Carol Anne begins displaying questionable behavior, particularly around TVs in post-broadcast static, and other peculiar events around the family home. During a severe thunderstorm, Carol Anne is nowhere to be seen...that is until they hear her voice emerging from their television. They hire a team of paranormal investigators to get their youngest daughter back until they are confronted with more than what they bargained for.
For a cult-classic movie, I will keep my review short and sweet since it's one most horror fanatics have already watched/heard and my more in-depth reviews will be reserved for lesser-known films.
You can almost never go wrong with 80s horror film visuals and Poltergeist is no exception, especially being early in the decade. Their money and their efforts were certainly poured into the right places. Score is phenomenal, placed appropriately, emotive, and done in a way you don't expect. I greatly admire the intimate view of a loving family which gives incredible depth to each of the characters thus forming a close bond with them throughout the film. As a result, it does a great job roping you in fairly quickly. Acting is superb and I have to give special credit to the child/teen actors as they were incredibly believable and natural. It is heavily story-based and while that's normally what I'm after and my preferred type of horror movie, it is heavily on the emotional side (underrstandably so) leaving you wanting more action with the type of elements it initially left you with. I'm not the biggest Spielberg or Hooper fan to be very frank and that may very well be why I felt bored most of the time.
My general rating is 6/10. I will not watch again but if a friend were to put the movie on I would not convince them to turn the TV off. I am also not interested in the sequels...at all.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think of this quick format, polls, and your opinions on Poltergeist. We will resume our regular schedule moving forward and at this time, I have no clue what movie to watch next but I am certain it will surprise many of you.
Stay safe and make wise decisions!
-CL
Comments
Post a Comment