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Rating: 4.5 out of 5
To everyone out there that has seen a horror movie. If you think that there are some serious ghosts in your house, then you need to leave immediately. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Just leave and never come back. Don’t stay in the house and wonder what is going on. Just roll out and buy a new house. Poltergeist is a supernatural horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, and Mark Victor from a story by Spielberg. The film focuses on a suburban family whose home is invaded by malevolent ghosts that abduct their daughter.
The Freelings are a typical suburban family living in bright and sunny Southern California. Steve (Nelson) sells real estate, while Diane (Williams) is a stay-at-home mother caring for their three kids, Dana (Dunne), Robbie (Robins), and cute little Carol Anne (O’Rourke). Life is peaceful when strange things being to happen in the house. For one, Carol Anne talks to the static T.V. After a while, cupboard doors open on their own, furniture rearranges itself, and chairs go sliding across the kitchen floor. At first, it seems like a joke until it becomes a reality check when Carol Anne vanishes into a nether world where, oddly, she can only be communicated with through the white noise on their television. As the family wonders how to get Carol Anne back, a team of paranormal investigators moves into the house, but through the advice of a powerful median named Tangina (Rubinstein), they soon learn that Carol Anne was taken by an evil spirit.
First and foremost, this is a Steven Spielberg film. Even though he didn’t direct it, it looks and feels like a Steven Spielberg film all the way. It has that E.T. feel to it. Honestly, it works. If you don’t know, I think Spielberg is one of the greatest directors ever, and the dude knows how to tell a story and add suspense to a situation.
Now for the story. I don’t know about you, but I’m not dealing with any ghosts. The thrill of them being around starts off slow and then builds to an “awwwww hell no” moment. From the get-go, you know something is up because Carol Anne wakes up, goes downstairs, and starts talking to a television that is straight static. She is talking so loud, she wakes up her other family members, who stare at her. Ummm, excuse me. Pick that child up and bounce because that is not what a kid does with an imaginary friend.
Fine, that isn’t scary enough to make you leave. The film gets even more intense when the spirits are like, okay, let’s do this. During a freakin rainstorm, Robbie is looking at this creepy ass tree that should be burned. While the parents smoke that weed, lightning hits, and then Robbie and Carol Anne sleep in their parent’s room. The scene is great because your hairs just sand because the music is creepy and everything. During the night, the T.V. goes back to static, and Carol Anne wakes up and goes to the T.V. as curious as she wants to be. The whole flickering of the T.V. light is just creepy with that strobe light effect. I jumped a little when the hand came from the screen and we some spirit-like thing burst from the T.V. into the wall and then it is like an earthquake. When Carol Anne says, “They’re Here,” I would’ve packed my shit up because I don’t have no time to deal with them ghosts. Where are the Ghostbusters?
From this point on, we see some really cool scenes, like one minute the table is messy and then the next it is spotless. Another one is when Diane pushes in the chairs, and then next, they are all on top of the table. How about the scene where a chair slides from one end of the room to the next? Once again, pack your shit up and leave, but y’all think it is funny. Things get serious during another rainstorm that is actually quite odd in Southern California, the freaking creepy tree burst through the window, and then the closet door opens up with a bright ass light. Outside there is a weak ass tornado, and I don’t know why white people outside. The scene is intense because things are getting sucked into the closet and Carol Anne is screaming her lungs out, and the freaking tree is eating the boy. WTF is going on!!! Then Carol Anne and everything she has is sucked into the abuse, and the tree is still trying to eat the boy. GET THE FUCK OUT THAT HOUSE!! As they search for Carol Anne, Robbie hears her voice from the T.V. The whole silhouette of the tv and the boy/mom talking is creepy. The rest of the story is about the family getting Carol Anne back.
The special effects in this film are okay, but they do serve their purpose. The scene where the paranormal team investigator is freaky as he goes into the bathroom and almost has this Indiana Jones-Raiders of the Lost Arc type situation. The whole scene where the ghosts come down the stairs is really creepy but something to see. The upstairs has this misty type aura and then a bright freaking light. It is wavy, and everyone is in awe. The shit is CRAZY!! I would’ve been out of that house a long time ago. Everything adds a sense that everyone is not alone. When that team opens the door to the room, and it is spinning, I would’ve rolled out a long time ago.
Now I do have a question because I want to know. If Steve’s boss moved the headstones and not the graves, why isn’t anyone else haunted? Why is there house the one that is haunted? Actually, why is their house the only one that seems to go in another dimension? Everyone on the block should’ve been haunted.
Everyone does a great job in this film. Nelson does his thing as the dad. The only thing I didn’t like about him was when Tangina comes and helps. He wants to make jokes. Dude, your daughter is gone, and you want to play games. Stop being an asshole. Williams is that loving mother you want because she went to the great beyond and came back. She is tough as nails.
Here is a crazy fact before I finish this review up. There is a scene with skeletons in the pool area. The fact is that they are real people because they were cheaper. Yep, swimming in water with dead people. That is just NASTY!!!
Poltergeist is a great movie to watch during Halloween. It is not too scary, but it has enough suspense to get your heart pumping and skin crawling. It has a few iconic scenes, and the pacing is just right. Watch this film if you want to see some ghosts and be haunted a little bit.
