They're here, again!
Poltergeist is a 2015 horror film directed by Gil Kenan. It is a remake of the original 1982 film of the same name. The film focuses on the struggling Bowen family that moves to a new house due to Eric Bowen being laid off from his job and needing to downsize "living" arrangements. The neighborhood appears to be a harmless Stepford Suburbia and even has a recreational field nearby for family leisure. This could be a refreshing new life for the Bowen family.
However, the neighborhood has a dark secret and the youngest daughter, Madison Bowen is soon targeted by lost spirits that haunt the home. Maddie is kidnapped when the dead violently distract Griffin & Kendra (who is baby sitting) to open a portal in Maddie's room, and take Maddie hostage in their Other Dimension. The host of a paranormal television show, Carrigan Burke, comes to their rescue to fight off the spooks and rescue the girl.
This work provides examples of:
- Adaptational Heroism: Griffin, the counterpart of Robbie from the original film series, is essentially the reboot's main protagonist and hero. He has the most focus of the Bowens, and is actually the one who saves Maddie from the other dimension, as opposed to the original's Diane (the counterpart of the reboot's Amy).
- All Just a Dream: Happens at least twice. One time where father Eric drinks whiskey and hallucinates vomiting worms and black liquid, and another time when a ghost investigator hallucinates getting their hand stuck in a hole inside Maddie's closet and being attacked by his own drill from the other side, breaking free before serious injury.
- Amicable Exes: Brooke and Carrigan still work together on cases just fine, even though they "parted ways" earlier.
- Antagonist Title: Poltergeist is not only the name of the work but also what the family battles against the whole time. It's also a One-Word Title.
- Big Brother Instinct: Griffin to Maddie, especially after leaving her to guard herself which causes her to be taken to the other dimension. While the others are busy offering themselves to go to the other dimension and become Maddie's guide, Griffin wastes no time to do it himself. His mom is apparently very supportive of him to have this instinct, too.Amy: Be brave. If you're scared, Maddie's going to be scared too. You're her big brother. You have to be an example to her.
- Big Sister Bully: Kendra is initially this to Griffin and Maddie (or at least just Griffin). She softens up throughout the film due to all they go through.
- Black Speech: The poltergeists have this effect when communicating through electronics. Maddie is able intuit their messages though.
- Body Motifs: Lots and lots of "hand" imagery.
- Brick Joke: The driver of the moving truck runs down the home's mailbox near the beginning which comes up near the end where as the family is escaping their collapsing home, their vehicle knocks their mailbox over one last time.
- Cassandra Truth: Griffin's pleas about the poltergeists are denied all the time. At least until Kendra experiences it first-hand and Maddie goes missing.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- The previous owner of the family's new home installed a sound system all over the house. This ends up coming into play during the paranormal investigation after Maddie is abducted into the Other Dimension.
- Two of the gifts the dad buys (the cell phone and the camera drone) play a role detecting the ghosts and then Maddie, respectively.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Kendra is a fan of Carrigan Burke, an occultist and the host of a paranormal investigation reality show. Carrigan himself is later called by Brooke to help rescue Maddie.
- Creepy Doll: In all its terrifying glory. And there's a closet full of them.
- Dark World: The other side, presented as a decayed mirror image of the real world. This world is close enough to world of the living to allow interaction, but out of phase.
- Detect Evil: The home's burglar alarm is able to fulfill this role, as the poltergeist invasion trips said alarm.
- Dysfunction Junction: The Bowens are almost heading to this territory at the start, due to Eric losing his job while continuously preventing Amy from seeking job so she can write a novel. Losing a job means that the family have to move in to a lower-class neighborhood that their children dislike. Ironically, the problem that should have been the worst influence on the relationship, the poltergeists, actually ends up making them reconcile and team up to repel it, though Maddie's disappearance might have something to do with it, too.
- Eldritch Location: The other dimension again.
- Everybody Lives: Should be no surprise, since the series is known for this trope despite being a high-end horror fiction.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Knowing that the Bowens will always be hunted by the spirits because of their attraction to Maddie, Carrigan ends up deciding to enter the other dimension to guide them to the light instead. However, the ending implies that he survives, which The Stinger outright confirms.
- Here We Go Again!: The house the Bowens are looking into at the end gives off the same vibe as their previous haunted house, complete with ominous tree. They respond by driving off before the realtor has a chance to finish her sales pitch.
- Incompetence, Inc.: Played for Laughs, the driver for the moving company isn't doing their company's image any favors when they reverse their moving truck into the new home's mailbox. One might wonder where they hired that driver who says sorry with little enthusiasm and couldn't bother backing into the driveway correctly.
- I'm Your Biggest Fan: Kendra and Boyd say some variation of this while meeting with their favorite idol, Carrigan. He just brushes it off.
- If We Get Through This…: Surprisingly subverted. Carrigan promises Griffin to reveal how he got the scar on his forehead once Maddie is rescued and if Griffin survive. Since all of them make it through the night, Poltergeist style, Griffin does indeed reveal how he got that: it's completely mundane and not related to the supernatural at all.
- I Will Find You: All of the Bowens after Maddie's gone will do everything to have her back. Exemplified best with Griffin when he denies Boyd's suggestion to use the paranormal activity for profit.Griffin: I just want to have my sister back.
- Layman's Terms: Not stated outright, but Brooke's Techno Babble explanation about the other dimension definitely doesn't suit Kendra and Griffin well. Sophie ends up having to explain it through papers.
- Manly Tears: "I don't care about that whole supernatural thing. I just want to have my daughter back." Well said, Eric, well said.
- Middle Child Syndrome: Griffin thinks he has this complex. He's not old enough to be given responsibilites like Kendra, and he's not young enough to warrant extra attention like Maddie. Plus, he's the only son of the trio.
- Momma's Boy: A positive example. It's obvious that out of all her children, Amy adores Griffin the most, probably because he's the only boy.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: Specifically averted. Because he's unsure whether he will survive going to the other dimension, Carrigan says this to Brooke beforehand. Fortunately, he survives.
- One-Word Title: Also an Antagonist Title.
- Our Wormholes Are Different: This is the vehicle that the spirits use to lure Maddie to their Other Dimension. Near the end of the film, the wormhole has grown very destructive due to the desperation of the dead to get Maddie back.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Said ad verbatim by Maddie to Griffin. He regrets it later, since that's the last words he heard before Maddie goes to the other dimension.
- Plot Hole: Maddie is very apprehensive when the poltergeists start invading her room and begs Griffin to stay with her before he flees. However, in the next scene, she calmly approaches the closet-portal in curiosity which apparently ignores Maddie's abject terror over the situation and the scene feels like a Non Sequitur.
- Poltergeist: The evil force in the film is a poltergeist.
- Primal Scene: Griffin walks in while his mom is lying half-dressed on bed and his dad undoing his trousers (but not underwear, thankfully).
- The Remake: With some refreshing change in details.
- Satellite Character: Out of the three members of the Department of Paranormal Research, Sophie stands out the least, since she barely gets lines other than those related to explaining the paranormal thing. Brooke gets the distinction as leader and ex-wife of Carrigan, and Boyd is Carrigan's fan and even has a certain independent opinion that establishes his money-hungry nature, but Sophie's defining trait is being an investigator and nothing more. It is particularly significant since she's also the Token Minority of the film.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Rather than tempt fate and spend the night in their "cleaned" house, the Bowens pack up what they can after they retrieve Maddie from the other side and get the hell out of Dodge only to find the ghosts haven't been exorcised and really want their guide back.
- Spoon Bending: When the family discovers that all of their cutlery has been distorted at the beginning of the movie, that is their (and the viewer's) first clue that the house is being haunted. Of course, everything gets downhill from there.
- Squee: Kendra and Boyd, but especially Kendra, when Brooke calls in Carrigan. If you look closely in some scenes where Kendra is not the focus, you can see that she's locked in a perpetual smile while looking at Carrigan.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Not quite, but Eric disapproves of Amy seeking a job so she can pursue her dream: writing a novel.
- Stepford Suburbia: The neighborhood the family moves to comes across in this way. There is no interaction with the neighbors and the family is already gloomy from needing to move into a more affordable home due to financial woes. Then it goes From Bad to Worse when the home is invaded by the titular Poltergeists.
- The Stinger: Confirms that Carrigan does indeed survive after having entered the other dimension.
- Supernatural-Proof Father: It takes some time to convince Eric that nothing makes sense in the house, and the poltergeists are real.
- Token Minority: The only non-white person in the film who has a major role is Sophie, a member of Brooke's Department of Paranormal Research, who is black. There's also Kendra's Token Black Friend, Lauren, but she has a very minor role and only appears in webcam video.
- Two-Faced Aside: Eric assures his wife that Carrigan's plan will work. As soon as she's left the room, he asks "Are you sure this will work?"
- Vertigo Effect: A nod to the Endless Corridor from the original film: Maddie is lured into the closet portal and when she turns around, she is in a pitch black void and the view of her bedroom is moving away in the opposite direction.
- Wham Line: After they flee their house, Kendra gets Carrigan to say his Catchphrase that the house is clean. Then...Kendra: I can't believe he said it. "This house is clean."
Maddie: But it's not. - Working with the Ex: Brooke and Carrigan were formerly married, but separated because Brooke wanted to pursue formal education. They remain on good professional terms, though.
