As well as having Writing, Story, and Production credits for Poltergeist it's also pretty much an open secret that Spielberg was the real director too. Yes Hooper gets the credit, but it's well known that Spielberg wanted to direct, but legally couldn't because of his E.T. Contract, and all word from everyone on set (besides Hooper and Spielberg themselves) says that Hopper did the setup, but Spielberg made all final adjustments.
It's no surprise then that this movie feels like a Spielberg movie; and it's Spielberg doing what Spielberg or pre Shindler's List Spielberg at least) does best; a movie with more than it's fair share of tension, but that is at it's heart a fun movie.
Making a movie which is largely about a missing child 'fun' is no mean feat, but Poltergeist somehow pulls it off. It's about ghosts sucking a child into an alternate dimension, yes, and it's true that there are very few actual 'monster' scenes, but it has the energy of an 80's monster movie.
The cast is great, even the child actors being perfectly serviceable, and special mention must go to Zelda Rubinstein as psychic medium Tangia (who gets the films only overt joke too).
Some parts haven't aged well, and some of the movie is ridiculously over the top that it's impossible to take seriously (the child-eating tree falling into both categories) but they only add to the fun.
If you're bothering to read a horror blog, there's a good chance that you've seen this one; but if you haven't (or haven't for a while) you should get hold of a copy.
I didn't know that bit about Speilburgs contract with ET.
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