Poltergeist (1982) Film

In the spirit of the newly released trailer I watched the original for the first time since I was in my teens (I won’t say how long that has been).

Poltergeist is the story of a family living in a new housing development that has to address the challenges of an ever increasingly aggressive haunting. It was produced and written by Steven Spielberg and is rife with little Spielberg moments.

First, I had a great time. It was a lot of fun, and well done. The special effects are effective, but not so overdone to take away from the intended affect on the viewer. They also make it a point to utilize light as a tool rather than darkness, which is a common trope today. Put your enemy in broad daylight. Why not, it is fun. The story also focused very well on what is truly horrifying, the kidnapping of their youngest daughter. Not simply shock value. As a horror movie, it will always remain as a staple of the genre and rightfully so.

Second, I have been watching quiet a few horror movies lately and I have become ever increasingly disappointed with the portrayal of men. In the instance of fathers and husbands they either become the villain or are absent leaving their families to handle the enemy without them. They only show up at the end because it makes sense.

The dad was a bit disappointing, he promised his wife, mother of the child she is about to jump into a parallel spirit dimension to rescue their kidnapped daughter that he wouldn’t let go of the rope. Then, what does our intrepid hero do when the ghost frightens him? Drops the rope. Ass.

Then he goes off, promising to return to take them to the hotel, and doesn’t show up until they are being tormented by the poltergeist returned. He pauses in the doorway, is stopped again in front of his screaming family before the door is slammed shut in front of him. What does he do? He gets mad at his boss then runs around house accomplishing nothing until the family escapes and he fumbles for his keys.

Aside from that disappointment I enjoyed the movie and was quite thrilled to see the little boy rip the stuffing out of the clown that dragged him underneath his bed. Way to go buddy, get some.