Poltergeist (1982) was the first film I saw in theaters that truly scared the bejesus out of me. I remember the event distinctly, as I tagged along with my friend Martin (we were both twelve at the time), who was a real horror aficionado (he was the only kid I knew who had his own subscriptions to Fangoria and Famous Monsters of Filmland), really having no idea what I was getting myself into...co-written and produced by Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark), and directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Lifeforce), the film stars JoBeth Williams (The Big Chill), Craig T. Nelson (Stir Crazy), and Heather O'Rourke (Poltergeist II: The Other Side). Also appearing is Beatrice Straight (Network), Dominique Dunne (The Shadow Riders), Oliver Robins (Airplane II: The Sequel), James Karen (The Return of the Living Dead), and Zelda Rubinstein (Under the Rainbow).
On the surface the Freeling clan would seem your normal, middle class, American family unit living among the suburban splendor of Cuesta Verde Estates. There's the father Steve (Nelson), mother Diane (Williams), and their three children Dana (Dunne), Robbie (Robins), and youngest daughter Carol Anne (O'Rourke). Life proceeds normally, that is until Carol Anne begins talking to the static that appears on the television once the broadcast day is completed. This is soon followed by strange phenomena (inanimate objects moving of their own accord and so on), all of which seems to be localized within the Freeling's home. It's all harmless enough, that is until the old, gnarled tree outside Robbie and Carol Anne's bedroom window tries to eat a family member, followed by an unseen entity absconding off with Carol Anne into another dimension of reality (while no longer present in a corporeal sense, her parents can still communicate with Carol Anne through the television). Unable to comprehend the situation fully Diane and Steven call in a parapsychologist named Dr. Lesh (Straight) in an effort to get their daughter back, who then, in turn, after witnessing the extreme paranormal activity firsthand, brings in a diminutive, clairvoyant troll named Tangina (Rubinstein), who's something of a cross between E.T. the extraterrestrial and Yoda, only a lot less adorable. Once on the scene Tangina reveals Carol Anne has been taken by an extremely powerful and malevolent spiritual entity, one that covets Carol Anne life force dearly, so much so it has somehow managed to transverse its own plane of existence into ours in an effort to shanghai the cherub faced little girl. A plan to recover Carol Anne is formulated, and is successful, but soon the real nightmare begins as the aforementioned malignant spirit pulls out all the stops to reclaim that which it lost...
As I mentioned earlier, this was the very first film I saw in the theaters that really put a good fright into me (the first film I saw that truly scared the hell out of me was Halloween, although I saw that on video tape). In watching the film last night I thought it odd that the film was released with a `PG' rating (back then there was no PG-13 rating), but apparently it was going to be rated `R' until the filmmakers appealed and got it changed. I do remember there being some public concern at the time that this film was unsuitable for the likes of me and my peers given the frightening nature of the material, said concerns eventually redoubling after the films Gremlins (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) were released, both of which were ultimately responsible for the creation of the `PG-13' rating we've all come to know and love. Regardless, I'm just glad I was in the right place at the right time to see this film in the theater as I did, as it was one of the more memorable experiences I've had during my misspent youth. Watching the film again last night I find I'm able to appreciate it much more than I did when I was younger, specifically in terms of just how well the film was put together. The character development alone is really amazing. The first sequences feature the Freeling household at night, as the family dog wanders the house looking for things to eat. In following the dog, we see all the family members, while they slumber, the last being Carol Anne. Whether we realize it or not, we've just gotten a large hunk of exposition through a relatively simple and efficient visual manner, which is definitely a Spielberg trademark. Spielberg co-wrote and produced the film, but it's also believed by many he was directly responsible for much of the visual appearance, with Hooper basically overseeing the mechanics of shooting that which he was instructed to shoot, by Spielberg. It's also believed Spielberg, who was making the family friendly E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) around the same time, refused to take more credit than he did specifically because he didn't want people to associate such a terrifying feature with his touching, fantasy/adventure drama. This seems entirely plausible, as I do believe Spielberg is something of a control freak, and if he didn't like the way things were progressing under the helm of Hooper, he most certainly would have intervened. I suppose it doesn't matter all that much as the end result was a truly frightening and memorable film, one that will linger in the recesses of your mind long after viewing it...the special effects, provided by Industrial Light & Magic, were spectacular, and still hold up well some twenty five years later, although I will admit the face removal scene looks a bit goofy now. As far as the performances, I thought they were all wonderful, especially in terms of JoBeth Williams, who provides an incredibly strong female lead. I've read some complaints the performances weren't realistic, but really, who knows how one would react in such a situation? To me, it was all the characters could do to hold themselves together during their ordeal. They knew their daughter was still alive and relatively safe (for the time being), and their focus was on trying to get her back. Everything else here worked for me...Jerry Goldsmith's vibrant and appropriate musical scoring, the level of development of the various characters (both primary and secondary), the pacing, the scares, the revelations, the ominous sense of something malignant, the spectacular finale, it all adds up to a remarkably entertaining feature, one definitely worth owning.
The picture on this DVD release, presented in both widescreen anamorphic (2.35:1) and fullscreen (1.33:1), looks sharp and clean, with minor signs of age present (I did see some dust specks in a couple of scenes, but nothing overly obvious). The audio, available in Dolby Surround 5.1 in English, and Dolby Surround stereo in both French and Spanish, comes across strong. Regrettably, there really isn't much in terms of extras other than subtitles in English, French, and Spanish, along with the original theatrical trailer.
Cookieman108
By the way, this film was followed up by a couple of sequels, Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) and Poltergeist III (1988), both of which were fun, but unnecessary, at least in my opinion. Also, Warner Brothers has hinted at a special edition, 2 DVD set, anniversary release in the works, so if you haven't purchased this film on DVD yet, you might want to hold off.
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January 28, 2000 "Please retry" | Standard Edition | 1 | $6.39 | $0.44 |
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