Poltergeist (1982) takes an ordinary family into exploring the paranormal, the afterlife, and a host of fears! It was directed by Tobe Hooper who also directed the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and the Stephen King tv adaptation, Salem’s Lot (1979). The story is by Steven Spielberg who had a long developed concept after Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). It concerned several aliens coming to Earth, killing cattle, and one of them has a friendship with a young boy. So it seems like this broken into Poltergeist and E.T. the Extraterrestrial. Hooper is said to dislike the sci fi elements, but he later directed the sci fi horror movie Life Force. The screenplay is by Spielberg, and the writing team of Michael Grais and Mark Victor, both of whom previously worked on the Western, Death Hunt (1981). There were two sequels, Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) and Poltergeist III (1988) which brought back Carol Anne and Tangina Barrons. It is currently streaming on HBO Max.
There seems to be a dispute of who was the actual director, Spielberg was contractually unable to direct another film, only E.T. So thoughts on the director, Spielberg loves suburban families. He did incredible research for Close Encounters and may have done so here. Something Evil (1972) was a television film he directed that has similarities, Jaws (1975) was a horror movie, but there is one specific scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) with Toht that is similar to one in Poltergeist. Still, the tension and horror elements seem to be in Hooper’s wheelhouse as a horror director. He may not have the standing with a big studio movie to assert himself as director, but whatever the case, Poltergeist is a classic horror film. We hear the “Star Spangled Banner” looking at darkness and then we see distorted tv images. It was the closing of a broadcast in tv, before 24 hour channels. It goes to static and we see the sleeping of the father, Steve Freeling (Craig T. Nelson). Nelson was later known for the lead role in the sitcom, Coach (1989-1997) and more recently voicing Mr. Incredible in the Pixar animated film, The Incredibles (2004).
The family dog, E. Buzz, goes upstairs and finds the mother, Diane (JoBeth Williams), asleep. Williams had starred in the drama, Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and also the drama, The Big Chill (1983). The dog goes to disturb the teen girl, Dana (Dominique Dunne), 16, to take a bag of potato chips from her bed. Dunne unfortunately died while she was rehearsing scenes for the V (1983) mini-series. Then, E. Buzz goes to the children’s room with Robbie (Oliver Robins), 8 years old, and nudges five year old Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke). Robins played another son in the television horror movie, Don't Got to Sleep (1982) and also in the 1986 episode of the Twilight Zone, "Monsters!" O'Rourke is the heart of the movie and appeared in the two sequels. She also died from a medical condition in 1988. Carol Anne walks down the steps to the tv, she is fascinated by the static screen, and asks questions. Something else is seen by her in the tv screen! Her shouts wake up the rest of the family. They all see Carol Anne placing her hands on the screen. The next day, it is a quiet morning in Cuesta Verde, California. “Green slope” which makes sense with the hills around the suburb.
Diane is setting C-3PO bedsheets when she notices the bird, Tweety, dead in his cage. The football game, Steve and his friends are watching, suddenly switches to Mr. Rogers. Steve explains that his neighbor has the same remote channel. He argues with him outside his window and it becomes a remote shoot out, funny! Diane is about to send Tweety down the ol’ privy in the sky when she is seen by Carol Anne. Robbie is walking outside of the house and sees the tall, oak tree. Diane has placed Tweety in a cigar box and Carol Anne wants her to put a flower in the box. Up on the old tree, Robbie sees the approaching storm clouds. They bury Tweety in the garden and Carol Anne happily says she wants a goldfish. All family moments, you have to like the family to feel their danger in the rest of the movie. Lightning flashes as Carol Anne feeds her two, new goldfish. We pass a creepy clown doll on a chair, to Robbie reading an issue of Captain America. He is startled by the lightning and sees the gnarled form of the oak tree in the storm.
Diane tucks her kids to bed, Carol Anne wants her mommy to turn on the closet light, Robbie is still troubled. He does have a good Star Wars collection though; poster, Tauntaun, and TIE fighter. Steve is watching the black and white drama, A Guy Named Joe (1943) about a spirit who hangs around to help a pilot. This was remade by Spielberg as Always (1989). Diane is reading about sleepwalking thinking this was the cause of Carol Anne’s behavior. You actually don’t have conversations while wide awake when sleepwalking. Both parents are smoking joints. Diane worries about the new pool fearing that Carol Anne will sleep walk into it. Robbie is still worried, Carol Anne is staring at her fish, then Robbie looks over to the clown doll, yup, I got shivers. He puts his Chewbacca jacket over it and then runs to his covers! Steve and Diane are laughing when Robbie tells them about the storm, instant back to parent mode. He carries son back to his room.
Robbie tells his daddy about the tree, which Steve says is to protect them. Steve tells Robbie to count after the lightning to know that the storm is passing. Robbie and Carol Anne count, the storm is moving, but lightning and thunder suddenly crash! Both kids are sleeping with their parents, funny! The television signs off again, we move again to the screen, Carol Anne wakes up. She crawls over the bed to watch the screen, it seems like there are inaudible whispers, flashing star patterns. Carol Anne reaches out and a ghostly hand leaps out of the screen, jump scare! It starts to swirl around her, the effect is like the ghosts in Raiders, then hovers over the family. Eerie music by Jerry Goldsmith. The ghost light strikes the ceiling above the bed, breaching a hole in this world?, and the room starts to shake. Carol Anne turns to them and says the classic line, “They’re here.” In the morning, a tractor digs up ground in the backyard, plowing up the cigar case. Foreshadowing.
Steve is going over what he thinks is a 6.5 earthquake on the phone. Diane is serving breakfast to the kids and she asks Carol Anne about who is “They.” Her daughter calls them the “TV people.” I like the playful arguments between the kids. Carol Anne runs over to see the static on the kitchen’s portable tv. Robbie finds his utensils are bent. Construction workers are leering at Dana as she is about to ride her bike to school. She flips them off and Diane smiles at her daughter’s action. Later, Diane sees E. Buzz barking at the black stain on the wall. She later goes down to the kitchen, the chairs are pulled out, Diane goes to get some cleaning supplies then finds the chairs piled on top of each other! She whispers to Carol Anne if it was the TV People. Steve, in his realtor job, is showing people around a new house. He returns home when Diane pulls him into the kitchen. She sets down a chair, the floor is marked with a circle and arrows, the chair shudders and then slides across the floor!
Diane cheers at the paranormal activity. Steve checks the chair and then Diane sets down Carol Anne with a football helmet. Another storm and Robbie tries counting. Then, the old tree reaches out with its limbs, no Ent, and grabs Robbie! Steve and Diane see Robbie pulled away and the blinds fall. He rushes down to rescue his son, but a tree limb blocks the door! The closet door opens with an unnatural light, Carol Anne calls out for her mommy, actually she was fascinated by the TV People and their whispers. Steve makes it out of the back door, there is a tornado in the background, a weak effect even for the time. All of the toys are dragged into the closet/portal and Carol Anne screams holding onto her back board! Robbie screams for help as the tree starts to devour him! The backboard warps and then Carol Anne is taken into the Light. Steve pulls his son free, now covered with slimy sap, but then it is sucked into the tornado, again very Wizard of Oz dated effect. Suddenly, Steve thinks of Carol Anne, Dana says she left her in the house, the parents rush to pull aside the beds and toys.
They see a blanketed form and it’s the clown doll. Everyone is relieved thinking Carol Anne is in another room. The family members except Robbie staring at the closet, check the house, Diane goes to her bedroom with the tv. Steve and Dana are there when Diane thinks of the swimming pool. Steve leaps into the partially dug pool as Robbie walks into his parents room and hears Carol Anne’s distorted voice crying out, “Mommy” from the tv! This is very reminiscent of the Twilight Zone episode, “Little Girl Lost” (1962) where Tina falls into a dimension and her father and his physicist friend help to get her out. Robbie calls out for his mother and Carol Anne speaks from the tv. The next day, Steve are at a university's Parapsychology Office, next door to Dr. Venkman and Dr. Stanz?, where he talks to Dr. Lesh (Beatrice Straight) and her assistants, Ryan (Richard Lawson) and Marty (Martin Casella). Straight appeared in the classic drama, Network (1976), Lawson was Dr. Ben Taylor in the V (1983) mini-series, and Casella was in Robocop 2 (1990). Dr. Lesh wants to keep the investigation private and Steve, rims around his sleepless eyes, just wants his daughter back.
He takes them to the room, he has it locked up, and then opens it so they see objects floating around the room! Later, in the dining room, Dr. Lesh mentions poltergeist disturbances. Diane takes them to the television turned to a static channel, she calls for Carol Anne, E. Buzz barks at the ceiling. Ryan hears the whispering. Then, Carol Anne says, “Hello daddy” from the screen. She says she is lost and “I am afraid of the light.” A portal appears at the ceiling and drops various objects. Carol Anne senses someone coming. Diane walks up the steps and a wind passes which she says Carol Anne moved through her! They hear growling and it knocks them down. I like the paranormal rules set up. Marty comes down the stairs after checking the room with bite marks from a massive creature! The scientists are way out of their league and need to bring in medium Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein). I would really bring in Elise Rainier from the Insidious movies. The film is rated PG even though there is content and scares that place it at a higher rating. Poltergeist has Diane, of course connected to Carol Anne, and Tangina work together to help find her and fight all of the supernatural terrors in the house!
Five Television Sets out of Five!
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