The original Poltergeist and E.T. were both released in the summer of 1982. I distinctly remember all the publicity about how one of the movies represented Steven Spielberg’s bright, hopeful side of suburbia (he directed E.T.) and the other, his dark, scary side (he produced Poltergeist). At the time, I liked Poltergeist well enough, but before I watched it again recently, it had been many years since I’d seen it. It holds up amazingly well and I like it today more than I remember. Excluding a couple of now cheap-looking practical effects, it remains a truly frightening and stylish movie.
I recall a question about how much involvement Spielberg had in the production of Poltergeist. It certainly contains many of his signature flourishes, but we have to give director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) at least some credit for supplying the thrills and chills. There’s really only one jump scare, but that just proves you don’t need them to make an effective horror movie. The terror comes from the characters and the situation, not from manipulations of the camera and other trickery. Neither does it come from gore.
One of the main reasons I appreciate Poltergeist today is that is a perfect snapshot of life in the early 1980s, rather than feeling dated because of its timeframe. Again, the characters and the situation are so strong and so universal that the movie could take place in almost any era and it would still feel fresh. From the moment it begins with the National Anthem playing on television as the station signs-off, to the moment it ends with a television rolling across the sidewalk at a Holiday Inn, as well as son Robbie’s (Oliver Robins) Star Wars sheets, clothes and toys in between, Poltergeist is a timeless memento of the decade.
Another reason I appreciate the movie is that it can be interpreted as making a statement on a variety of issues, none of which the filmmakers think is good. Most obvious, Poltergeist says that the greed demonstrated by the people responsible for developing the Cuesta Verde housing additions is evil. Standing on a hill overlooking a sea of cookie cutter houses, Steve Freeling’s (Craig T. Nelson) boss asks, “How’s this spot for a bay window? We’re starting Phase Five.” Steve notes that with a cemetery behind them, there’s not much room for a pool. Mr. Teague (James Karen) responds casually, “We’ve already made arrangements to relocate it. We’ve done it before.”
Yep, the entire Cuesta Verde development has sat atop burial ground since it was built in 1976. But the movie suggests that responsibility lies higher up the food chain, as shown when Steve is reading the book, “Reagan: The Man, The President.” There’s also more than a mild hint that television is the source of evil. After all, TV is the conduit through which malevolent spirits enter the household. They are not simply a plot device in Poltergeist; there are repeated cautionary references ranging from telling Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) that she’s sitting to close to the TV to Steve participating in an all-out remote control war with the neighbor. Also, TVs are everywhere… living room, bedroom and kitchen.
Poltergeist paints a picture of perfect suburban life with a loving couple and a happy family… that all goes terribly wrong one stormy night as soon as Carol Anne turns from the snowy TV and announces, “They’re heeere.” 30 minutes into the movie, the Freelings experience broken glassware, bent utensils and chairs that move themselves. At first, it seems harmless. Diane Freeling (JoBeth Williams) is excited and thrilled by the “TV people.” But after another storm when Robbie is almost eaten by a tree and Carol Anne disappears, it’s no longer much fun. At nearly an hour into the movie, the poltergeist intrusion (vs. a standard haunting) turns even more threatening and violent.
One of the most frustrating things about haunted house movies is that the inhabitants always stay in their homes, even in the face of the unknown and great danger. Why don’t they just leave? Poltergeist has a great way around that: with Carol Anne trapped on “the other side,” the Freelings cannot simply abandon her. Also, the inhabitants of haunted houses usually spend half the movie denying what’s happening and then finally figuring out what to do about it. In Poltergeist, Diane tells Steve to “reach back in our past when we used to have an open mind”; they immediately accept the situation and reach out for help.
Ultimately, help comes in the final 30 minutes of the movie from an unlikely source, a diminutive medium named Tangina. Tangina is an iconic character portrayed through an iconic performance by the late great Zelda Rubenstein. When she appears, Steve skeptically asks, “What side of the rainbow are we working tonight?” However, with her powerful commands to Carol Anne to not go into the light, then to go into the light, there’s no doubt she’ll save the day. Or will she? Poltergeist saves the best for last and ends with a magnificent roller coaster ride of a finale where all hell literally breaks loose.
Poltergeist II: The Other Side
As significant a movie as Poltergeist remains today, the inevitable sequel has not gotten any better with age… and it didn’t start out very good when it was released in 1986, four years after the original. I hated it then and it’s still one of my least favorite sequels ever. The key players are back, except for one very important one: Steven Spielberg. Never has his presence been more sorely missed. Poltergeist II: The Other Side is written by Michael Grais and Mark Victor, but again without Spielberg who is credited with them on Poltergeist. The sequel is a perfect example of a Hollywood studio turning a simple formula (house built on top of Indian burial ground = mayhem) into a bloated mess.
Everything Poltergeist does right, Poltergeist II does wrong. There’s none of the social commentary. The Freelings stay in their new house for no reason after strange things start happening. The characters seem to have forgotten their open minds and are hesitant to allow anyone to help them. Worse than that, they seem to have contempt for the people who saved them the first time. I imagine Steve’s comments about Tangina are meant to be funny, but instead they’re cruel. Speaking of Tangina, she comes and goes without explanation. In her place is meant to be Taylor (Will Sampson) a Native American with his own idiosyncrasies. He comes and goes, too.
The one thing for which I’ll give Poltergeist II credit is that it sort of attempts to do something different. It’s not really a haunted house movie. The Freelings eventually have to return to the ruins of Cuesta Verde to face the enemy. Yet they must have learned nothing from their previous experience because they put it off for so long. That means most of the movie wanders and is pointless. At 37 minutes into it, as Taylor is feeding Steve some kind of psycho-babble about Robbie wanting to be a man, Poltergeist II officially falls apart. To me it’s a sequel in name only. It continues none of the good parts from the original and fails in creating something new of its own.
I thought it was going to accomplish something with the character of Reverend Henry Kane (Julian Beck). I guess he’s the physical manifestation of the evil that resides back in Cuesta Verde, but that makes no sense. If he’s with them in Arizona or New Mexico or wherever the Freelings now live, why can’t they battle him there? Nevertheless, he’s one creepy dude and I would like to have seen more of him. He could have provided some urgency that’s missing here or a presented a threat to the family similar to the disappearance of Carol Anne in the first movie. There’s a lot of talk about being in danger, but it’s not effectively demonstrated.
There are a couple scenes in Poltergeist II after which I actually talked back to the movie. First, when Steve responds to one of Taylor’s windy explanations by saying, “That’s a lot of crap,” I said, “Yes. Yes it is.” Then, when Tangina claims, “It all makes sense now,” I said, “Really? Does it?” Bad movies can be fun, but this one is not. Never mind that it desecrates Poltergeist more grievously than Cuesta Verde desecrates Indian burial ground. I simply prefer to believe it doesn’t exist and I feel guilty about acknowledging it here. After writing all that, there’s one good thing I will say about Poltergeist II: at least it’s not Poltergeist III…
Poltergeist III
It’s two years later and the Freelings have shipped Carol Anne away to stay with Diane’s sister, Pat (Nancy Allen), her new husband, Bruce Gardner (Tom Skerritt) and his daughter, Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle), because… you know… after it takes the love of an entire family to vanquish the beast on the other side, why not go ahead and break up the family by sending the kids away. The real reason is probably more insidious: I’m certain Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams wanted nothing to do with the second sequel to Poltergeist. Very few members of the original cast and crew return, either. There are new writers (Gary Sherman, Brian Taggert) and a new director (Sherman).
Not even Julian Beck is back as Reverend Kane, the big bad from Poltergeist II who must not have really stepped into the light at the end of that one. Nathan Davis fills the role wearing bad makeup (or a mask) in an attempt to look like Beck. He’s followed Carol Anne to the Chicago high rise for which Bruce is the property manager. More threatening than Kane, though, is the idiot Dr. Seaton (Richard Fire) who runs a special school for gifted children with psychological problems that Carol Anne attends. Rather than believe in ghosts, he takes the ridiculous stance that she has a “dubious talent for making people believe things” and is “quite capable of inducing mass hypnosis.”
At least Tangina is back and her role in Poltergeist III makes more sense than it did in Poltergeist II. She travels across the country when she senses that Carol Anne is in danger and at least attempts this time to follow through with saving her. Bruce doesn’t believe her at first, stating, “That’s a lot of crap that doesn’t mean anything.” (Wait, is he talking about Tangina’s story or this movie?) Ultimately, Kane can’t take Carol Anne as long as someone remains on this side who loves her. Instead of trying to take them too, though, he simply makes them believe that various locations in the building are covered in snow and ice.
Way later in the movie than I did, Pat loses patience and announces she can’t take anymore. Her true colors show when she says she simply wants to “pack up the little brat” and send her back to her sister. Funny then, that during the silly finale, she’s suddenly full of love and pleads with Kane to return her family. Maybe she’s a little lightheaded. I mean, she and her husband have just used a window washer’s carriage to lower themselves down the outside of a 98-story building. Or maybe she’s dizzy from the disco lights that fill this version of the other side, contained completely within Carol Anne’s small bedroom.
As timeless as Poltergeist is for 1982, Poltergeist III is dated for 1988. I guess it was the late 80’s with the big hair and synthesized music. At least it sure stands out and distracts from the movie more than it did in the first and second movies only two and six years earlier. I wonder if I’m being too hard on the franchise. Poltergeist III is no worse than any number of other 80’s sequels, perhaps better. It’s just that most of them didn’t begin with such a terrific movie in the first place. Poltergeist fell much further than any other horror series. What started as a Steven Spielberg-produced masterpiece that struck a chord with the nation, ended on a pitiful note that was badly out of tune.
Poltergeist (2015)
I was surprised to hear that Poltergeist was being remade. It’s not that a remake of anything would surprise me these days, it’s just that I thought one was already made and was called Insidious. I’m not too confident that the new version will be any good; however, if they properly update the trappings of the story, it could be relevant for today’s audience. After all, television stations no longer sign off the air late at night. Technology has changed, and if Carol Anne gets pulled into the other side from her iPhone, it could make for an interesting movie.
