In light of Zelda Rubenstein's recent demise (and because I eyed a cheap copy of it in Target), I decided to pick up Poltergeist and give it another watch. I hadn't seen it in well over 12 years but I did remember having a pretty strong reaction to it when I was younger.
Surprisingly, it has aged fairly well. The ghost sequences still hold their grandeur (particularly the female ghost at the top of the stairs) and the effects mostly hold up with the exception of the sequence with the objects flying around the room when the door is opened for the investigators. I didn't remember how many funny moments are actually in the film, but there are quite a few. Craig T. Nelson does extremely well playing a guy who is hanging on to his sanity and keeping his family together. Jobeth Williams equally does a good job as the concerned mother. James Karen (a great character actor - fabulous in Return of the Living Dead) plays the slightly sleazy real-estate developer and has his best "Hey guy, it's all about the business" voice going. For some reason, he reminded me of Ray Milland. Zelda Rubenstein provides some of the films best comic moments as the warm-hearted psychic.
One thing I'd missed on previous viewings is how good the music is! It accompanies the onscreen action very well: sweet and soft in some places and throbbing and scary in others. I don't know why, but the sound of little children singing "la...la...la" can often be very unnerving (Amityville and other films have used it).
A couple of things that annoyed me was the whole "Take my hand!!!" thing...after Jobeth or Zelda would say the line, I kept hearing Dudley Moore in my head as a drunken Arthur saying "Well, that would leave you with one!" Also, it bothered me that after getting their daughter back they would remain in the house another minute...but they stay to give the ghosts one last chance to abduct their beloved Carol-Ann (whose name is drilled into your head since she is called so much in the film). Not me, after that, I would be OUT of there faster than you could say "Lutz-hoax!"
The infamous "clown" sequence (which is played perfectly - Hooper/Spielberg set that up nicely) scared the heck out of me as a child! Also, the idea that a house could be buried over graves! After seeing it in theaters (and being unnerved by it) I got home that night and asked my Dad if our house could be buried over an Indian grave or something....to which he replied "Yeah, I suppose so." So for the next couple of weeks I had nightmares of an Indian ghost climbing up through the floor of my closet...thanks Dad, you could have lied to me in this instance!!!
I never see Poltergeist getting much respect from fans of ghost movies. People often hail The Innocents and The Haunting but I don't see many singing the praises of Poltergeist. I think there is a lot to like about the film. It provides some very tense moments, has great special effects, depicts a family that seems genuinely in peril, and investigators that take a modern approach to the situation. The idea of a child being "kidnapped" by ghosts is great and very innovative - as was hearing Carol Anne coming through the static channel on the television. So many ghost films don't show the ghosts (or when they do, it comes off as cheesy), but this film shows them and they look equally beautiful and horrifying.
So what do you think? Is Poltergeist under-appreciated? Is it worthy of "classic" status?
Surprisingly, it has aged fairly well. The ghost sequences still hold their grandeur (particularly the female ghost at the top of the stairs) and the effects mostly hold up with the exception of the sequence with the objects flying around the room when the door is opened for the investigators. I didn't remember how many funny moments are actually in the film, but there are quite a few. Craig T. Nelson does extremely well playing a guy who is hanging on to his sanity and keeping his family together. Jobeth Williams equally does a good job as the concerned mother. James Karen (a great character actor - fabulous in Return of the Living Dead) plays the slightly sleazy real-estate developer and has his best "Hey guy, it's all about the business" voice going. For some reason, he reminded me of Ray Milland. Zelda Rubenstein provides some of the films best comic moments as the warm-hearted psychic.
One thing I'd missed on previous viewings is how good the music is! It accompanies the onscreen action very well: sweet and soft in some places and throbbing and scary in others. I don't know why, but the sound of little children singing "la...la...la" can often be very unnerving (Amityville and other films have used it).
A couple of things that annoyed me was the whole "Take my hand!!!" thing...after Jobeth or Zelda would say the line, I kept hearing Dudley Moore in my head as a drunken Arthur saying "Well, that would leave you with one!" Also, it bothered me that after getting their daughter back they would remain in the house another minute...but they stay to give the ghosts one last chance to abduct their beloved Carol-Ann (whose name is drilled into your head since she is called so much in the film). Not me, after that, I would be OUT of there faster than you could say "Lutz-hoax!"
The infamous "clown" sequence (which is played perfectly - Hooper/Spielberg set that up nicely) scared the heck out of me as a child! Also, the idea that a house could be buried over graves! After seeing it in theaters (and being unnerved by it) I got home that night and asked my Dad if our house could be buried over an Indian grave or something....to which he replied "Yeah, I suppose so." So for the next couple of weeks I had nightmares of an Indian ghost climbing up through the floor of my closet...thanks Dad, you could have lied to me in this instance!!!
I never see Poltergeist getting much respect from fans of ghost movies. People often hail The Innocents and The Haunting but I don't see many singing the praises of Poltergeist. I think there is a lot to like about the film. It provides some very tense moments, has great special effects, depicts a family that seems genuinely in peril, and investigators that take a modern approach to the situation. The idea of a child being "kidnapped" by ghosts is great and very innovative - as was hearing Carol Anne coming through the static channel on the television. So many ghost films don't show the ghosts (or when they do, it comes off as cheesy), but this film shows them and they look equally beautiful and horrifying.
So what do you think? Is Poltergeist under-appreciated? Is it worthy of "classic" status?
