Poltergeist (1982)
Directed by Tobe Hooper
Viewed on Netflix
How have I never seen this one before? Coming from the horror maestro Tobe Hooper who created one of the greatest horror movies of all time, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and written and produced by Steven Spielberg, Poltergeist is a classic of the haunted house subgenre of horror that has somehow flown under my radar… until now. Poltergeist has a good pedigree, a great reputation, and with it now streaming on Netflix, I didn’t have an excuse to not have seen this anymore.
The Plot, In Case You Didn’t Know
Poltergeist tells the story of the Freeling family, a well off family living in a newly created housing development, Cuesta Verde. The Freelings’ idyllic life is soon interrupted by bizarre supernatural events that escalate rather quickly, going from amusing curiosities to the spiriting away of their youngest daughter, Carol Anne, to some kind of other world/dimension. With their house rebelling against them and with nowhere else to turn, the Freelings enlist the aid of a group of parapsychologists to try and get their daughter back and cleanse their home.
Tobe Hooper? PG? How Does This Work So Well?
One of the more interesting things about Poltergeist for me is that my experience with the director comes mainly from his work with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, which is one of the earliest slasher movies that also happens to be shocking, disturbing, and grotesque. Imagining Hooper directing a family friendly horror film that is rated PG (granted PG then wasn’t PG even a few years later because PG-13 didn’t exist yet) is one of the funniest ideas I have ever thought about. To me, this dramatic shift shouldn’t work, but to my great surprise, Hooper managed to find a middle ground between the intense horror that is his trademark and lighter elements that balance the intensity for a wider audience.
Unique Take On Horror Comedy
The fact that Poltergeist works, both as a horror movie that skews slightly younger and as a comedy, is completely shocking, and part of why that surprises me so much is Hooper’s understanding of comedy and how it should be combined with horror. In a lot of horror comedies the two elements are completely separate, but Hooper manages to set up moments that are both scary and funny at the same time. I don’t want to give all the good bits away, but one of my favorite moments involves the group of parapsychologists as they arrive to investigate. One of them is explaining a successful capture of supernatural phenomena, which was when he took 7 hours of time lapse photography to capture a toy car moving across a floor, seconds before the Freelings open a door and show them the supernatural havoc the presence is wreaking. It’s a very funny scene with good comedic timing but it is also creepy and reinforces the danger of this situation.
Things Escalate Mildly Quickly.
The danger is a large part of why this horror works so well, it is made abundantly clear that whatever is causing all this ruckus is not friendly at best and actively seeking to harm the Freelings at worst. At first, the strange happenings are treated as odd coincidences or a curiosity, but when things escalate, they escalate fast. Having seen many other haunted house movies, I was expecting a much slower pacing and this sudden turn pleasantly surprised me and reinforced the danger of the situation.
Classic Hooper Satire.
Until then though, there’s quite a bit of interesting satire to get through. There’s a running theme of how the American family has grown so fixated on television and there’s a few other interesting moments. In one scene Carol Anne is sitting close to a TV playing static and staring at it, because it’s some kind of ghost conduit, and her mom notices this and says, “Oh don’t do that, you’ll hurt your eyes.” She then flips the channel to a violent war movie and walks away.! This is classic Hooper satire commenting on parents trusting TV more than they should.
Poltergeist Lives Up To Its Reputation.
Poltergeist is quite enjoyable and, even if it isn’t as scary as it could be, it is a well made horror comedy that is good, except for a few moments at the end. I only wish that I had seen this movie as a child! I’m sure it would have been more shocking and terrifying if I hadn’t been exposed to so many other derivative horror films. Still , Poltergeist is a quality horror film that I am glad to have finally seen. Definitely give it a watch if you haven’t yet.
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