A family whose suburban home is haunted by evil forces must come together to rescue their youngest daughter after the apparitions take her captive.
Director:
Gil KenanStory line
Legendary filmmaker Sam Raimi and director Gil Kenan reimagine and contemporize the classic tale about a family whose suburban home is invaded by angry spirits. When the terrifying apparitions escalate their attacks and take the youngest daughter, the family must come together to rescue her
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Poltergeist is a popcorn movie more than anything. Everything about it, from the poor writing to the lukewarm thrills, only provide surface-level enjoyment. It never gets under your skin like a good horror film should. It's not scary or disturbing, and it definitely won't stick with you once the credits start to roll. The problem is that Poltergeist is extremely formulaic and predictable. They set up these creepy scenarios and build up suspense by making it really quiet for a few moments, and then a few seconds later... BAM, loud noise and creepy face jumps at you. I love me a good jump scare but the scares are cheap and you can see them coming from a mile away. It's a shame because there are moments where you can tell the director is trying to build tension and unease, but these easy scares ruin any momentum the atmosphere had going for it.
Acting wise, Sam Rockwell is the obvious highlight. He's a very talented, likable actor and elevates any scene he's in just by his presence. He could have easily done this role in his sleep or on auto-pilot but Rockwell commits to the part and is by far the most watchable and relatable character in the movie. The family dynamic feels real solely because of him. Jared Harris gives a great performance as well considering the limited screen time he was given.
Which brings me to the characters themselves, and this is where the movie fails. Hard. The only characters that feel "real" are the father, the son, and the younger daughter (who isn't used nearly as much as she was in the original). Everyone else is just... there. The mother and older daughter add literally nothing to the story, the paranormal team members are completely forgettable and are only there for exposition, hell even Jared Harris' character is a huge wasted opportunity. It's the fault of the writers really. I mean there is some truly *cringeworthy* dialogue that's so unbelievable that it looks as if the actors are just reading off cue cards. And then they throw in a really really dumb love subplot between Jared Harris and the lead investigator which was a waste of time and excruciatingly awkward to watch.
This movie does polish some classic scenes from the original. The living tree, the clowns (yes, multiple), the subterranean graveyard, etc. It all looks sleek, smooth, and modern. But again, the novelty factor is gone so you pretty much know how everything is going to play out. There's one iconic scene that they butchered though, anyone who's seen the movie knows exactly what I'm talking about. It just felt half-assed and shoehorned in simply because it was such a powerful scene in the original and the filmmakers probably felt obligated to throw it in. The difference is that the original version was haunting and unexpected while this version lasts for like a split second and leaves you feeling absolutely nothing.
Again, there's no point in comparing this to its original because it pales in comparison in every way. It's one of the better recent horror remakes sure but that isn't saying much. However, as a standalone B-horror midnight popcorn creepfest, Poltergeist can provide a modicum of entertainment.