Poltergeist - Lisa's Review

*** SPOILERS *** (but who hasn't seen this???)

So to lay my cards on the table straight away.  I LOVE this movie.  I did the first time I saw it as a pre-teen, I did when I watched it umpteen times over the years from then to now and I did when I watch it again before this review.

I suppose I have always been intrigued by the paranormal and supernatural, so it was a subject which was always going to haul me in.  My belief  may have wavered a bit since those early years, but I still find the whole subject interesting and swallow movies about it by the box load.



Tobe Hooper was actually responsible for the direction here.  A bit different from his usual gory horrors.   Steven Spielberg co-writes and produces, which is no surprise for me.  He was responsible for much that was good in the 80's.  I suppose I should talk a bit about the premis.

The movie follows a typical american family , the Freelings, who have 3 kids - Dana, Robbie and Carol Anne.  Dana is the typical teenager, Robbie is a mischievous, fun young boy and beautiful, golden haired Carol Anne is the baby of the bunch at 5 years old.   I love this family.  When I sat down to watch this movie again, what I found so refreshing was how believable and normal as a family they were.  No model family, which is what we've become accustomed to for the past decade.  I'd forgotten how much I missed 'believable, normal people portraying a family unit.  All the characters are believable, fantastically portrayed and thoroughly likable.  I enjoyed just watching the day-to-day stuff before anything major happened.  Although all the actors are fantastic, a special mention has to go with a 5 year old Heather O'Rourke who portrays Carol Anne.  Watching the movie this time was the first time I'd watched it as a parent.  Having a 3 year old boy and knowing that this little girl was only 2 years older and was able to convey such a wide range of emotion in her acting is staggering.  I was interested to see her career develop, but sadly she died at the tender age of 12.



Getting back to the story, we stay with the Freelings as they become aware of a presence in their home.  It is first picked up by Carole Anne, which is not surprising with her being the youngest in the house.  She first becomes aware of something when watching static on the tv after close of programs at the end of the night (yup, that used to be a thing).  She refers to them as 'The Tv people'.  Very quickly the presence makes itself aware to the rest of the family and the realisation that it doesn't mean well becomes apparent.

After the initial unexplained but fun things happen in the house, the entity shows the family just how malevolent it can be.  Robbie has an almost fatal experience during a scary storm, but in the confusion and upset, Carole Ann vanishes from the house.    We follow the family trying to convince others to help them find their daughter.  Even experienced parapsychcologists are terrified by what they find in the house.  Only 1 medium is strong enough to give the family any hope of seeing Carole Ann again.  Enter Tangina Barrons who is absolutely awesome!  There are no other words).

I don't know what else I can say about this movie.  The acting is first rate, the story is solid, the pacing is great, the special effects for its time were amazing.  I just fell in love with it when I first saw it and that hasn't changed over the years.  A special mention has to go to the brilliant movie score.  When I hear it, it takes me right back to all those years ago.  There are few other movies where you would just have to hear a few notes of the soundtrack and immediately know that film it was from.  If I had to find any negatives, I would say that it possibly should end a bit earlier than it does.  An additional 10 minutes added to the end seemed a bit unnecessary.  Regardless, I give this movie a Recommended.