Skip to main content

Poltergeist (1982) - Tobe Hooper

Poltergeist was, at one time a creepy and scary film. I remember watching it, at a young age and being really scared. Throughout the years, the film has lost a great deal of its luster and hasn't held up really well against the more intense horror flicks. That standing, this is a really solid movie about realistic paranormal phenomena that takes its liberties with some of the realistic aspects. Does that make any sense?

Steven Spielberg is notorious for making some really, huge, and overly adventurous movies that feature a good cross section of average American life. This movie is no exception. The main characters are delivered in very average light. They are an average American family that is haunted by this entity throughout numerous movies. Even the students and doctors that survey the entity are average. 

The movies plot deals with an evil ghostly entity that is terrorizing a young girl. It has opened a dimensional gate in her closet and sucked her in. Devastating her family and driving them into a reclusive state. They open their home to a group of students from UC Irvine, that want to play Ghosthunters and bite off a bit more than they can chew. 

This is a fun movie to watch with your friends. Its from the eighties so you have tons to pick-a-part and over analyze. The movie has some pretty funny acting and really dated effects. The gore even seems a bit... well... off. For example there is a scene, pretty famous scene, where a student rips his face apart in the bathroom mirror. This scene is funny because of how horrible it looks. That just about sums the entire movie up.

There is no death. It is only a transition to a different sphere of consciousness.

S!D

  • The hands that pull the student's face off are Steven Spielberg's. 
  • The sign at the Holiday Inn reads, Welcome Dr. Fantasy and Friends. Dr. Fantasy is a nickname for producer Frank Marshall. 
  • The film was originally given a R rating, but the filmmakers protested successfully and got a PG rating (the PG-13 rating did not exist at the time).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ju-On (2000) - Takashi Shimizu

Watching Japanese horror is similar to watching British comedy. If you enjoy dry whit then you probably enjoy the boys of Monty Python in drag. That's the joke, they're dressed like women. Get it? Well, that's British humor. But if you're like most Americans you probably prefer Adam Sandler farting his way across a football field and hooking up with chicks that are way out of his league. Americans usually prefer this more in your face, crass brand of humor. My point is funny in England is different from funny in the US. The same goes for J-Horror. What the Japanese consider scary is very different from what Americans consider scary and it shows in this horror film. Japanese horror is generally slow (a little too slow sometimes), suspenseful and creepy. Ju-On is a creepy effing film. The movie has almost no soundtrack. It is incredibly suspenseful and the pay-offs are pretty awesome, but I think that it was done better in the American version (cultural t...

Sleepy Hollow (1999) - Tim Burton

Tim Burton's take on the old Sleepy Hollow tale is really interesting. He adds his own flair of course. He delves very deeply into the original story by Washington Irving. The casting is usual for Burton. Johnny Depp of course in your lead. Helena Bonham Carter, thrown in for some flavor. The score is done by Danny Elfman. It's literally just the Ichabod Crane story run through the Tim Burton machine. But in a good way. Sleepy Hollow has a problem with a guy, running around, taking people's heads. Like, a lot of people. The town sends word for assistance and the nervous  Constable Ichabod Crane reports. He starts to unravel clues that take him down an incredibly strange path. With the Horseman still murdering patrons, Crane tries finding who's next before they lose their head.  I've always been a big fan of the Disney cartoon,  The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad . This movie is a far cry from Bing Crosby and quaint animations....

Escape From Tomorrow (2013) - Randy Moore

This review may contain spoilers. An American independent horror movie from filmmaker Randy Moore. It stars Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Jack Dalton, Annet Mahendru, and Alison Lees-Taylor. It premiered at the official selection of Roger Ebert, at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18th, 2013. Synopsis Jim is a depressed middle-aged man that despises his family life but wants to try to hold it together for a vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort. Jim receives a call before they leave and, unfortunately, Jim has lost his job as well. It proves too much to handle as this trip to the Magic Kingdom becomes a hellish nightmare. Jim’s mind cracks as we watch him deal with Disney’s seedy underbelly. Complete with elaborate corporate conspiracy, undercover sex workers, and demons. Oh and two very young French girls that Jim lusts over. It’s gross. Analysis The acting is amateurish. It’s nothing that’s going to win any awards or anything. The wri...