"They're Heeeeeeeeeere."
114 Minutes
Directed By: Tobe Hopper
Written By: Steven Spielberg
Staring: Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Beatrice Straight, Dominique Dunne, Heather O’Rourke, Oliver Robbins, and Michael McMannus
Carol Anne – listen to me. Do NOT go into the light. Stop where you are. Turn away from it. Don’t even look at it. -Diane
Review
At the age of twenty-nine I can still strongly attest that Poltergeist is the scariest movie I have ever seen. In it’s best moments it feels like a nightmare you can’t wake up from, with characters that could easily be you, special effects that still maintain their dignity, and an open curiosity about the paranormal and it’s affects on the living. The balance of realism Spielberg’s writing gave the story, and Hopper’s ability to emote mood and tension, letting the situation manifest in your head more than scare you with visuals is what really gives the story it’s timeless ability to repetitively terrify generations long after it’s release. Human curiosity becomes the catalyst for what seems impossible, and what’s impossible suddenly is reality. Poltergeist stands with many as one of the greatest horror movies of all time.
TV People?
Immediately we are whisked into a world of suburban reality. Every house is a cookie cut out of another, but the neighborhood continues to grow and grow. A typical family that is clearly happy, yet humanly flawed begins to experience strange events out of nowhere. When their youngest daughter Carol Ann begins talking to the TV and the dog begins to act manic the parents and family don’t suspect anything in particular. In parallel with the behavior of the family dog and Carol Ann’s behavior is strange electrical currents seem to be having an effect on the house, while nastier than usual summer storms are also plaguing the neighborhood. All things of basic normality seem just slightly out of whack, but nothing that would raise more than an eyebrow when suddenly the furniture in the families home begins to move around. By itself. Suddenly lives are in peril, and a darkness invades the house.
Poltergeist was cleverly written and structured, but the content that sucks you into all of the unimaginable events is characters that are quite real. Once the family realizes something supernatural is wrong with the house, they make plans to leave or evade it, but before they can do that, Carol Ann is taken. There couldn’t be a more logical reason to be forced to stay in the house. The biggest problem is finding someone who believes their story and is willing to help them get their daughter back, who is somehow attached to their world, able to communicate threw the TV. This ingenious way of webbing the situation doesn’t give the viewer the option of saying, “They are so stupid.” There really isn’t a stupid move in Poltergeist where you want to scream at the family, if anything you empathize and feel their pain and fear. It differs from so many other movies and the actors deliver such enigmatic performances that the movie could easily have been a drama about a child kidnapped.
At the time the technology used was pretty impressive and even stands up today, but it still wasn’t overused in a way that took away from the story. Sure, we got some pretty horrific images, but they lasted only briefly, like a smidgen of terror that one can remember from their own nightmare, but that was in it’s essence what Poltergeist exuded: a living nightmare. The lingering effects of those terrifying images is what is going to play in my mind and seem plausible, something that goats my own imagination, and a lot of movies today ignore that tactic. Maybe people don’t have the imaginations they used to, but I don’t think it’s a surprise that we revert to the seventies and early eighties around Halloween each year to get spooked out. Very few contemporary films are actually considered scary.
An excellent cast including Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams really amplify the already eerie mood with their tangible performances. Even the little boy, Oliver Robbins, plays his part terrifically. When he’s freaking out in front of the TV because he hears his sisters voice talking, it’s a genuine moment of shock and terror that transcends into the audience. If the actors didn’t give such authentic performances some of the fear would have been lost. Even the casting of Heather O’Rourke as Carol Anne is genius. She looks like a cherub and has the sweet and innocent voice of an Angel. Could people possibly be more attached to her or fear for her even more?
This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and while it’s fun to watch around this spooky time of year, it’s a great thriller for any time. Of course, you’ll start to get goosebumps when your lights flicker or if your TV turns to the fuzzy station. The realism and honesty of the characters is what makes the heart of this film resonate, but the journey of the characters isn’t the only amazing thing about Poltergeist. The execution of it visually, along with an intense script makes this film a classic creeper.
Poltergeist gave me nightmares as a kid and still chills my blood. It’s one of my favorite scary movies. Great review.
Oh yeah, this is definitely right up there with the scariest horror films. Just looking at that little girl gives me the hibijibis! But the most terrifying movie of all time for me has got to be The Exorcist… even two decades later I still can’t get THAT face out of my head.
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Agreed, I can’t bring myself to watch The Exorcist, I saw about 15 minutes of it when I was a kid, terrified to this day ahah. I actually know a few people who haven’t been able to watch it in its entirety so I don’t feel as much of a chicken
Castor recently posted..
To be honest I first watched this film only because Craig T. Nelson was in it. It’s not one of my favorite horror films, nor one I find overly scary, but I do quite enjoy it. Much in the same way I enjoy The Exorcist. Over the top in a dark comedy sense, but always looking to plant that mental seed that’ll have you double take the next time you pass a child’s room.
Univarn recently posted..
Yay for Poltergeist! Though I must tell you, my aunt refuses to step into a theater or watch any horror film after she saw The Exorcist at the cinemas back in the day. We are still plotting on how to get her there…
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I have never watched this film from start to finish even though I have watched the entire thing numerous times. I don’t have it in my collection so I’m usually catching it when it’s on TV, missing either the beginning or leaving before the end. I do love it but I bet I’d enjoy it even more if I could just watch the whole thing at once!
The Film Reel recently posted..Army Of Darkness – Film Reel Reviews
I stack up the chairs in my home like that all the time. That scene never struck me as terribly frightening. Sentient clown dolls, though, are a different story.
Great throwback pick. I’ll probably Netflix this on a dark, spooky night this season myself; it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, and it might be especially creepy now that I’ve moved into my first home with my fiancee. (The old owners might have built over an ancient Boston Irish burial ground!)
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Oh, perhaps the second scariest thing I’ve ever seen was The Dolls (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092906/) There is a reason why I never played with dolls as a kid. Gimme stuffed animals or match cars any day.
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I haven’t seen this in years. I will most definitely watch this month. Curious to see how it holds up now that I am 3_ years old. Haha….
This is one of the scariest films I saw as a teenager. I still think it holds up perfecetly well today. I love its depiction of the supernatural and its funny how much it seems to have inspired the likes of Ghost Hunters, Paranormal State and Most Haunted. Good performances too! Great review Heather!
Dan recently posted..Review- The Relic
There are so many scenes from this movie that scared me when I was a kid. The clown scene, the guy’s face peeling off, the tree, etc…
I recently watched Tobe Hooper’s “Funhouse” for the first time and I had to chuckle to myself when it featured- SURPRISE!- a whole bunch of anthropomorphic creepy dolls and clowns and whatnot. It made me wonder just what Howdy Doody had done to Tobe Hooper as a child.
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This is probably one of the scariest movie experiences I have had as a kid.
I find it incredible good to this day.