Poltergeist (1982)

Poltergeist (1982)

Starring: JoBeth Williams, Heather O'Rourke, and Craig T. Nelson

Plot: The Freelings are just your average suburban family without much to worry about.  Then strange occurrences begin to happen in their house, and at first, they're fascinated.  But when their youngest daughter suddenly disappears, they realize the darkness that now inhabits their house.  With the help of a group of paranormal investigators, they will try to find out why these events are happening and how they can get their daughter back.

Good: JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson do a great job playing the parents, showing off their dramatic and comedic sides.  The real star of the film, however, is Heather O'Rourke as Carol Anne.  She does a great performance, adding a cute yet creepy factor to the film, despite her age.  Unlike the last few films, this one does not have John Williams doing the soundtrack, but rather Jerry Goldsmith, who has done the soundtrack for countless films and TV shows, including Star Trek: The Next Generation.  His score is very well done, and really emphasizes the emotions that the characters are feeling.  The audience really gets to feel the pain that the parents go through after their daughter is taken from them.  It can get pretty hard to watch at times.  The special effects are quite good, with many clever uses of practical and visual effects, such as the scene where the steak moves across the counter.  Another thing this film achieves is creating a mythology of what happens after death, which is explained in a very simple yet haunting way.  

Bad: This film has the same ailment that I've seen in a lot of other films.  It leads the audience to believe that the film is close to being over, but then there's yet another suspense building moment that feels tacked on and pointless.  One example is The Sound of Music.  When it seems like it's over after Maria gets married, it continues with the plot about escaping the Nazis.  The first climax in Poltergeist is very exciting, with the family and the paranormal researchers trying to save Carol Anne from the afterlife.  The second climax on the other hand, while it stars out with great special effects, ends up becoming just corpses jumping out of the ground.  While the editing is good for the most part, there is one transition that really bugs me.  It's the scene when JoBeth Williams explains the supernatural events to Craig T. Nelson.  Then it transitions to when they're trying to tell the neighbors about it.  It feels so sudden that it temporarily throws the audience out of the movie.

Trivia:

• While technically, this film was directed by Tobe Hooper, many cast and crew members have stated that Spielberg had control over most of the decisions (which is why I chose this film for my retrospective), though he could not legally be credited as director because he was working on E.T. 
• There was only one character who died in the film, Carol Anne's bird Tweety.
• Poltergeist was released only a week before E.T.
• This was Tobe Hooper's highest grossing film.

Final Verdict: Despite its problems, this film is still a classic horror film.  It has fantastic acting, great special effects, and an intriguing mythology.  Whether you're a horror fan, or a Spielberg fan, this is a highly entertaining film.

Next time, we'll look at one of the most beloved Spielberg movies of all time, E.T.

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