"Poltergeist" (1982)

Rating: PG

Genre: Horror

Directed By: Tobe Hooper

Written By: Mark Victor, Michael Grais, Steven Spielberg

Released: June 4^th, 1982

Runtime: 114 minutes

Studio: MGM Home Entertainment

Summary:

Strange and creepy happenings beset an average California family, the Freelings -- Steve (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), teenaged Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old Robbie (Oliver Robins), and five-year-old Carol Ann (Heather O'Rourke) -- when ghosts commune with them through the television set. Initially friendly and playful, the spirits turn unexpectedly menacing, and, when Carol Ann goes missing, Steve and Diane turn to a parapsychologist and eventually an exorcist for help.

Review:

This is really good. I imagine if I had watched it at a younger age I would have found it terrifying. I imagine it was terrifying when it first came out. 

It takes a while to get going. It gives you a very brief chill in the opening but then there’s a good 20 minutes or more gone before anything more exciting takes place. Then you have to wait another bit for something bigger to happen. Once it gets going though there’s no stopping it. I guess you needed that time to get to know the characters first?

Heather O’Rourke who played Carol Ann was a dote. It’s terribly sad that it would be only a handful of years later when she died.

There was one moment where this guy was looking in the mirror peeling off his face. I think it was in his imagination but it was pretty gross. A real “wtf” moment.

A compelling, well written take on the haunted house story – worth a watch for sure.

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