Poltergeist (1982)

 
Tobe Hooper, of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) fame, directed Poltergeist, although Hooper's pitiless, blood-and-guts sensibility hardly seemed to be a good fit for Steven Spielberg who wrote the screenplay and produced the 1982 hit film Poltergeist http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084516/. The movie works well.

The plot shows a suburban southern California family of five and their dog being haunted by entities that take over their home. Ironically, the family’s neighborhood bears a striking resemblance to E.T.’s neighborhood which is directed by Steven Spielberg in the same year http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083866/.

The movie kicks off with the ordinary end of late night TV programming. The Star Spangled Banner is playing over a video displaying American patriotism, then abruptly ends with dead air or TV static. Carol Anne the family’s youngest child, wakes up, walks to the TV and begins a conversation. This scene repeats a second time and you can see a ghostly image emerge from the TV and fly out of the TV over Carol Anne’s head and disappear into the bedroom wall behind her. Carol Anne playfully says, "They're Here!" From this point forward the family’s home is haunted by a Poltergeist because their home was built on top of a cemetery, in which only the headstones had been moved. A poltergeist as a ghost that manifests itself by noises, rappings, and the creation of disorder http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/poltergeist.
 

The movie has been linked to a Poltergeist curse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poltergeist_curse because “six of the stars from these movies died deaths that are characterized as mysterious or tragic, and four of these six did not live a normal lifespan.” Specifically Heather O'Rourke and Dominique Dunne (the daughter of Dominick Dunne http://www.courttv.com/onair/shows/dunne/).
 

Poltergeist was nominated for four Oscars and won for “Best Visual Effects”, “Best Horror Film”, and “Best Make-Up” in addition to Zelda Rubinstein who plays the clairvoyant wins “Best Supporting Actress”. If you’re a fan of “movie mistakes” you can locate them here http://www.moviemistakes.com/film997.

I enjoyed the movie though only some of its special effects hold up today. The movie is distinctly 80's because it highlights the picture perfect upper-middle class suburban family. Therefore, it is enjoyable to see their world turn upside down.

 

// posted by AngeliqueG 

 

 

They're Here!!!

 



Poltergeist is a film about a family who moves into a new home. Things look like they are going great for the Freelings, but little did they know that the house they have just moved into was already occupied. Carol Anne Freeling, the famous little girl in the film, begins to befriend these ghosts and communicates with them through the television static. They seem innocent at first, but then we learn that there is a malevolent poltergeist in the Freeling's home. This ghost takes Carol Anne into the world beyond. It is up to the family to save her and rid their home of these eveil spirits.

The fill is pretty frightening, even though the special effects aren't all that great. Some great scenes are when Carol Anne utters the two famous words,
"They're here!" This scene is scary, but these two words have become a part of American pop culture. Another great scene is when Mrs. Freeling falls into the whole in the backyard which was recently dug for a pool they were going to install. While in the pool, she discovers buring skeletons which began to attack her.

I was extremly impressed by the child actress Heather O'Rouke, who played the character of Carol Anne. Her performance was extremely convincing and her innocense really added a lot to the horror of the film.

Another aspect that made the film succesflly frightening was the soundtrack. I was eerie, especially the begining music during the opening credits.

This film is disturbing and has some great horror scenes. It is definatley worth to watch when your in the mood for a thrill.

 


 

// posted by Rachel