Poltergeist - The original (and best) supernatural haunting movie

Ever since (roughly) the U.S. remake of ‘The Ring’ Hollywood has tended to follow the same template for its horror/supernatural movies.  This revolves around a family (sometimes single parent, sometimes not) moving into a house.  Strange things happen.  These are ignored.  Then they’re taken seriously.  Help is sought via a convenient ‘expert’ who is easily located within the town.  Resolution/confrontation with the evil presence.

I haven’t seen ‘Poltergeist’ since the eighties when I was young and actually managed to forget that, despite it being one of my favourite supernatural movies, it actually follows this template pretty closely.  The difference is... it still feels original to this day.

I’ve pretty much summed up the plot (and hopefully haven’t given too much away!), but the family in question lose a daughter to the presence and have to work out a way of getting her back.  Yes, some of the effects look a little dated (like they’ve been hand-drawn on in post production), but for every blatant bluescreen effort there’s another special effect that’s as creepy now as when it was first conceived (the meat/flesh scene springs to mind!).

The cast is largely (and deliberately) unknown, as the producers didn’t want famous faces distracting the audience from the film’s vibe.  But, don’t let the fact that they’re not recognisable make you think that they can’t turn in excellent performances.  Poltergeist has given us some of the most memorable performances that have stood the test of time (the ‘medium’ for one), not to mention some of the most chilling lines (and you all know what the girl says when she announces the spirits’ arrival!).

Normally, this is where I say that a film made in the eighties will probably only be appreciated by those who lived through the decade and have a particular nostalgia for the period.  Besides, today’s audiences are only interested in ‘jump scares’ and CGI effects, aren’t they?  Possibly, but I’m kind of hoping that ‘Poltergeist’ is the exception to the rule.  Yes, us ‘oldies’ will like it more, but I reckon anyone with an appreciation for supernatural-horror should definitely give it a go.  It’s damn creepy.  And it’s damn good.  And you’ll probably never laugh at another clown again.

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather