Poltergeist (1982) Review

        The 80s will always be the prime example of being the only decade to start multiple horror franchises. Simply because it was easy and cheap to make. While it can be said that the downside is that the whole decade was inundated with sequels. There are the ones where it influenced the genre for years to come. This is where Poltergeist comes in. In my opinion, this is the best 80s horror movie, so far.

1. TV People

        So, you may ask what a Poltergeist is. Translated from German, it means a noisy spirit. To put it simply, it’s a kind of ghost where it makes interactions by moving stuff and its not tangible to see. Usually, this type of haunting is mostly associated with a specific person or to a specific location. Which works perfectly where the film takes place. 

        We follow the Freelings who are living peacefully in their new home in a new neighborhood. Their daughter Carol Anne communicates with something whenever the TV is static. However, the spirits become violent as they kidnap the young girl. We get a red herring when we see the dad and his friends watch a football game. And it’s smart to have the fake out when the real event starts to happen. 

        The film is a classic simply because what makes the film work is the entire family. All of them sell each other as one collective whole. It’s that level of chemistry where you feel like you’re watching a family. The real secret weapon for a film is to have all of them be likeable when you’re scared for them. Especially with Carol Anne, that moment when she gets sucked into the dimension is just sad. You feel for her when she screams and inevitable get sucked in. 

        Additionally, this is the first film that predates Ghostbusters by using investigators. This part makes the film way more grounded since there’s a level of science and research that tries to understand the paranormal. And that’s what the whole film is going for, this idea of understanding what happens after someone dies. It gives the study legitimacy when there’s reports of people experiencing a haunting. 

        With that out of the way, the ghosts amp up the horror to eleven. I’m glad that the actual reason for the haunting doesn’t tie into the Native American myth. The ways how the haunting is presented is imaginative and frightening. One thing I noticed is that parts of it feel mental. For instance, one of the investigators eats a chicken wing and notices a piece of meat moving. He runs to the sink since the food was covered in maggots. He proceeds to wash his mouth and his whole face tears off. 

        The special effects too are inventive. We see just how much torment the spirits give to the family. I’m always astonished when I see the characters dragged into the walls and being “fed” into the closet. Even though the set moves with the camera being still, its frightening and awe inspiring. And as I mentioned earlier, most of the frights are mental, while the special effects show the true power of The Beast demon. 

2. "Jaws" on Land

        This will always be a thing of debate in terms of who really directed this movie. While Steven Spielberg has his whole fingertips involved with this one, he’s not credited as a director. Tobe Hooper directed the movie, but it’s a sharp contrast with what he did prior. He made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and when you look at these back to back, it’s clear that there’s a level of polish with this one that you expect it to be a Spielberg movie. 

        More so that the real antagonist in this movie is capitalism. Specifically, the nefarious business known as real estate. We see that the father Steven works with the real-estate firm that is expanding the neighborhood. And when he’s told that the graves are being moved, he puts it together that the bodies are tied to the land which explains the haunting. 

        In one way, this film is like the land version of Jaws. The family is terrorized by something that is only part of the environment. They hire investigators to deal and fight against the threat. I feel that this is the only way for the haunted house narrative to change. Since it’s mostly been the psychological aspect that mostly work. The film grounds itself to the concept that greed awakened the dead and they have come to terrorize the living as punishment. 

3. The Unnecessary Sequels

        Why there were sequels in the film I will never understand. It’s almost like a standard in Hollywood to make a sequel even if the overall story doesn’t warrant a continuation. From what I gathered; the sequels add on more to the spirits that haunted the family by tying them into a cult. And that the “Beast” demon is the leader of the cult who wants Carol Anne. 

        As always in the 21st century, it got a remake. The less we talk about that the better. If there’s one thing that I notice is that Craig T. Nelson did a great job as the father in the family. This is just speculation, but I’m pretty sure Brad Bird, who directed The Incredibles, wanted Nelson to be the father figure. He did a good job in both roles and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. 

4. Overall

        Poltergeist was a game changing horror film when it came out in ’82. It’s worthy of the classic label, and makes you think twice of where your house is sat upon.