Poltergeist

This movie has been one of my all time favorites for more than ten years. Like many other people in the '80s, the first time I saw this movie it scared the hell out of me.

I compliment on the fact that there is no bloodspilling or graphic violence or even a single killing in the movie to make this movie sensationally scary. It relies on those trendy '80s special effects to make the movie truly frightening.

I still think this movie is scary, because I have always found supernatural forces and things that are out of the ordinary in this world to be more frightening than some idiotic blond woman being chased by an ax-wielding maniac. The script is so well written, the acting heartfelt and wonderful, and the direction and production techniques are top-notch. I have never seen horror movies embody all those elements since "The Exorcist."

For those of you who have not seen this movie, SEE IT! It may not scare you like today's modern horror flicks, but it will sure entertain and enlighten you. Has a horror movie ever done that????????????

Sometimes to judge a film fairly you really need to consider the time at which it was made and what film-making technology existed at that time. This was the first big budget film to really tackle the subject of paranormal investigation, and at the time it was made it was seamless and sleek. It would be easy for people today to put it down for some of the early 1980's effects, but let's flip this perspective around and consider that no CGI what-so-ever was used. But at the same time, "Poltergeist" has a strangely family-friendly vibe. It was directed by Tobe Hooper, but it has the unmistakable fingerprints of producer/writer Steven Spielberg all over it. It focuses on an ordinary, harmless suburban family living their usual lives (their biggest problem is the death of a pet bird), which is suddenly thrown into chaos by outside forces. And unlike most horror movies, there isn't even a lot of violence... well, except for one grotesque hallucination.

Don't expect the usual gore and typical shocks you see in all modern horror films these days, Poltergeist is not about that. With all of the elements of visual effects, sound, acting, directing (Tobe Hooper) and writers (Steven Spielberg) this is one film that achieves everything you want to see in a motion picture. Anyway, Jo Beth Williams and Craig T. Nelson are great in this film. They have real chemistry. You believe they love each other and are a team. The kids are pretty great, too. It's actually quite a thoughtful movie and even has an odd warmth to it. Though there are a few scary moments. The final fifteen minutes are played out to such effect, that one could call it pure horror.

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Imagine the archetypal middle class family - mum, dad and three kids - all muddling along nicely in their home next to a graveyard, until things really do start going bump in the night! Doors, chairs and drawers start having minds of their own; the lights come on when it suits them, not you... Well initially, the "Freeling" family think this is just a bit of a giggle - that is until their daughter "Carol Anne" (Heather O'Rourke) disappears and when the paranormal investigators discover she is in an other dimension, only able to communicate via the white noise of the television screen, the battle is truly on to retrieve her from her truly malevolent captors. Zelda Rubinstein is super as the medium "Tangina" and Tone Hooper really does manage to use her character, and that of the little girl - as well as some pretty eery light works to create a suspenseful couple of hours that have you on the edge of the chair. Not, I have to say, because I particularly wanted the child back - I'm a bit with Ian Fleming on that front; but because these evil spirits could easily subsume the whole of humanity! Chilling stuff!

There are two types of "horror" films:There are the scary ones, which is what the word "horror" means in the first place,and then there is the bloody,gory kind.Perhaps the latter kind should be categorized under another name.At any rate,Poltergeist is a good horror film.It goes beyond the idea of typical ghosts in sheets jumping out of nowhere and saying "boo!".Most of the adventure takes place in their world rather than ours,although we cannot see what is going on there.This is a very thrilling movie.It has great special effects and all of the scare elements that make a horror film what it is supposed to be.The clown in the chair at the foot of the boy's bed was a particularly tense moment for me.This is the only movie I went to see 4 times at the theater,partly to watch others' reactions.I have often heard that the film,and it's two sequels,were the victim of some type of curse,as after each film was released,a member of the cast passed away,including Heather O'Rourke,who played Carol Anne, after the 3rd film.She was only 10.Curse? Coincidence? Who knows? I guess anything is possible.All in all,this is one of the best films ever for the horror genre.

I've read several reviews of Poltergeist and most people (including Siskel & Ebert)don't seem to have seen the same film as i did! All the criticism surrounding the storyline as how ridiculous and unbelievable it is. Well it's a ghost story, although i've always felt it was closer to a modern day fable in which the parents have to prove their love for their daughter going so far as to having to go to another dimension to retrieve her (well, the mother does that). People keep saying that the ghosts are in the TV and that Carol Anne was sucked into the TV, for Christ's sake, have these people actually watched the film? Another thing is that some critics complain that after the film was over they still didn't get what the spirits wanted and why they targeted the little girl. What about the sequence between Steve Freeling and his boss and the monologue delivered by Tangina where she EXPLAINS what is going on?! Sure, the film is not perfect, there's that infamous edit jump, too much cutesy with the burial of the bird and the lack of complaint from the neighbours about the thundering, thumping, screaming sounds that go on in the house, but it is a fable people! The acting is great, we really care about the characters, and because of some great dramatic sequences with Diane Freeling (brilliantly portrayed by JoBeth Williams)we realize that (SURPRISE!) the film isn't so much about the ghosts and (iconic) special effects, as it is about the drama of parents thrown into a supernatural situation they never saw coming and having to bring their daughter, that they hear THROUGH the TV (she's NOT IN the TV), back into our world. The action sequences are greatly imaginative and entertaining, Jerry Goldsmith's score is his best, being horrific, tense, spectral, childlike and such a masterpiece. I do love this film and wish that people would actually see it instead of making erroneous assumptions about it.