They're Here...
Poltergeist (1982) is a horror movie directed by
Tobe Hooper and co-written by
Steven Spielberg, chronicling the terrifying paranormal events that surround the Freelings, an ordinary suburban family, whose home is invaded by spirits that show a special interest in their five-year-old daughter, Carol Anne.
It was followed by two sequels.
Poltergeist II: The Other Side attempted to explain in greater detail why Carol Anne was targeted, and introduces the sinister Reverend Kane.
Poltergeist III shows the malevolent spirits following Carol Anne to the high-rise apartment building where she has been sent to live with her aunt and uncle.
The franchise is often said to be cursed, because several people associated with it, including stars Dominique Dunne and Heather O'Rourke, died prematurely. "The Poltergeist Curse" has been the focus of an E! True Hollywood Story. The first film is also known for persistent rumors that Spielberg directed most of the movie.
This film was ranked as #80 on Bravo's
100 Scariest Movie Moments and the Chicago Film Critics Association named it the 20th scariest film ever made.
A reboot is forthcoming, produced by Sam Raimi
These movies contains examples of:
General
- Adult Fear: Hi. We're a bunch of dead spirits who want to be friends with your five-year-old daughter... and we're all being controlled by what is essentially the Anti-Christ. Sweet dreams.
- Creepy Child: Carol Anne has her moments.
- Forgotten Trope: In the 80's, analog television sets would produce a screen of static when not tuned to a specific channel. Nowadays, not so much.
- Also in the 80s and earlier, networks would stop broadcasting late at night. Younger generations have grown up with 24 hour television, so they won't catch the significance of the television turning to static, then commonly known as "dead air"...
- The static-screen did make a reappearance in the United States, with the discontinuation of analog TV broadcasts. These days, it's a channel showing anything else in the absence of a cable or dish hookup that's incongruous.
- Nowadays, hotel televisions are typically tied in place with cables to prevent theft, so the final shot of the father evicting a TV from their hotel room is also dated.
- Helium Speech: Tangina, all the time.
- Ironic Nursery Tune: The opening theme.
- God Is In His Holy Temple in the second film. Brrrr.
- It Got Worse
- Last Note Nightmare: The opening theme starts out with children singing... And then, at the end, disturbing laughter is heard.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: The "angry at the living" type.
- Reality Subtext: Dana Freeling was entirely absent from the second and third movies, and in fact not mentioned at all. Her actress, Dominique Dunne, was murdered in 1982.
- Recycled: The Series: Poltergeist: The Legacy had little to do with any of the movies in the franchise.
- Red Herring: The Indian burial ground has nothing to do with anything.
- Say My Name: CAROL ANNE! CAROL ANNE! CAROL ANNE!
- Soundtrack Dissonance
Poltergeist
Poltergeist II
- Braces of Orthodontic Overkill: Well, they were fine until the wires tried to eat him.
- Brother Chuck: Dana is not in the second film because the actress playing her was dead and no explanation is given for where she is. The original script had a line mentioning that she was away at college but the scene never made it to the final film.
- Magical Native American: Taylor.
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: Julian Beck was one of the most loving people on Earth. One of the saddest things about Poltergeist II was that Beck was literally dying of cancer during the filming, and it shows.
- Orifice Invasion: The second movie shows why you never swallow the tequila worm.
- Retcon: The second movie reveals that the angry ghosts weren't from the desecrated cemetery under the Freelings' house, but rather from a cavern, containing the remains of an ancient religious cult, located UNDER the desecrated cemetery under the Freelings' house.
- This troper had figured that the souls from the cemetary were indeed present and pissed, because the grave goods that came through the ceiling were of recent origin. It's the monster ghost, Kane, whose backstory the second film filled in. So, no Retcon, just expanded history.
- Sinister Minister: Reverend Kane. It's his fault the Beast is in the mortal realm.
Poltergeist III
0 reviews