| Poltergeist | |
|---|---|
 Poltergeist original theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Tobe Hooper |
| Produced by | Frank Marshall Steven Spielberg |
| Written by | Steven Spielberg Michael Grais Mark Victor |
| Starring | Craig T. Nelson JoBeth Williams Beatrice Straight Dominique Dunne Oliver Robins Heather O'Rourke Zelda Rubinstein |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Matthew F. Leonetti, ASC |
| Editing by | Michael Kahn Steven Spielberg |
| Studio | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | June 4, 1982 (U.S.) June 5, 1982 (Canada) August 5, 1982 (AUS) September 16, 1982 (UK) |
| Running time | 114 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10,700,000 (estimated) |
| Gross revenue | $76,606,280[1] (domestic) |
| Followed by | Poltergeist II: The Other Side |
Poltergeist is an American horror film, directed by Tobe Hooper, produced by Steven Spielberg, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on June 4, 1982. It is the first and most successful of the Poltergeist film trilogy, and was nominated for three Academy Awards.[2]
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.[3]
The 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.[4] The film also appeared on American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Thrills, a list of America's most heart-pounding movies.[5]
Contents |
A group of seemingly benign ghosts begin communicating with five-year-old Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O'Rourke) in her parents' suburban California home via static on the television. Eventually they use the television as their path into the house itself. A number of bizarre occurrences are subsequently observed, including an earthquake that only the Freelings feel, glasses and utensils that spontaneously break or bend at the breakfast table, and the ominous announcement by Carol Anne, "They're here." Though mother Dianne Freeling (JoBeth Williams) begins to realize the presence of beings in her home, their antics are benign at first, such as moving and stacking the kitchen table chairs. When her husband, Steven Freeling (Craig T. Nelson), notices these happenings, however, he is disturbed rather than fascinated.
During a rainstorm one night, a gnarled tree comes to life and grabs son Robbie (Oliver Robins), through his bedroom window. However, this is merely a distraction used by the ghosts to get Carol Anne's parents to leave her unattended. While Diane and Steven rescue Robbie, Carol Anne is sucked through a portal in her closet. The horrified Freelings realize she's been taken after they begin to hear her communicating through her television set.
When a group of parapsychologists from UC Irvine, Dr. Lesh (Beatrice Straight), Ryan (Richard Lawson), and Marty (Martin Casella), come to the Freeling house to investigate, they are awestruck and humbled by the manifestations they witness. They determine that the Freelings are experiencing a poltergeist. They explain that the spirits have not gone into the "Light", but are stuck between dimensions, and have taken Carol Anne because, being an innocent 5-year-old who was born in the house, her "life force" is as bright to them as the Light, and they believe she is their salvation.
After a series of paranormal episodes that frightens all in the house, Robbie and elder sister Dana (Dominique Dunne) are sent away for their safety. The parapsychologists leave with the data they collected, but Dr. Lesh and Ryan return with a spiritual medium, Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein), who informs Diane that Carol Anne is alive and in the house. She also explains that there is a single malevolent spirit present in the house, very powerful and utterly evil, whom she calls the "Beast", who exploits the fact that the despairing spirits are confused and lost, and uses Carol Anne as a distraction so they cannot move on into the Light.
The assembled group realizes that whereas the entrance to the other dimension is through the children's bedroom closet, the exit is through the living room ceiling. Diane enters the closet, with a rope tied around her that is anchored to Steven. As Tangina coaxes the agonized spirits away from Carol Anne, Diane retrieves her daughter and emerges through the living room ceiling, falling to the floor with Carol Anne. Tangina announces, "this house is clean."
However, while the spirits have moved on, the Beast has not. On their final night in the house prior to moving out, the Beast attacks Diane and the children. Diane runs to her neighbors for help, and in the process, slips and falls into the swimming pool, from which coffins and rotting corpses emerge. Her neighbors, terrified by the ghostly energy blazing from the house, refuse to enter it, but Diane runs back into it. After Robbie and Carol Anne are pulled out of the house, and Dana herself returns from a date, the reason for the spirits presence is revealed, as coffins and dead bodies begin exploding out of the ground all throughout the neighborhood.
As Steven returns home and witnesses this, he realizes, that when the subdivision was first built, Frank Teague, the real estate developer — for whom he worked — chose to save money on relocating an existing cemetery on the site by moving only the tombstones. An enraged Steven confronts Teague with the knowledge that by leaving the bodies in unmarked graves and building houses on top of them, Teague desecrated their burial grounds. As the Freelings flee down the street in their car, their entire house implodes into the otherworldly portal, as stunned neighbors, including Steven's now-ashamed boss, look on. The family checks into a Holiday Inn for the night, and taking no chances, Steven puts the television outside.
Director Tobe Hooper claims to have experienced poltergeist activity as a young man. During his teenage years, Hooper's father had died and for weeks after his death Hooper witnessed "doors breaking in, dishes flying around the residence and other bizarre occurrences". Hooper comments that's what attracted him to the project.
A clause in his contract with Universal Studios prevented Spielberg from directing any other film while preparing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.[6] Time and Newsweek tagged the summer of 1982 "The Spielberg Summer" because E.T. and Poltergeist were released a week apart in June. As such a marketable name, some began to question Spielberg's role during production. Suggestions that Spielberg had greater directorial influence than the credits suggest were aided by comments made by the writer/producer:
"Tobe isn't... a take-charge sort of guy. If a question was asked and an answer wasn't immediately forthcoming, I'd jump in and say what we could do. Tobe would nod agreement, and that become the process of collaboration."[7]
The Directors Guild of America "opened an investigation into the question of whether or not Hooper's official credit was being denigrated by statements Spielberg has made, apparently claiming authorship." Co-producer Frank Marshall told the Los Angeles Times that "the creative force of the movie was Steven. Tobe was the director and was on the set every day. But Steven did the design for every storyboard and he was on the set every day except for three days when he was in Hawaii with Lucas." However, Hooper claimed that he "did fully half of the storyboards."[6]
The Hollywood Reporter printed an open letter from Spielberg to Hooper in the week of the film's release.
Regrettably, some of the press has misunderstood the rather unique, creative relationship which you and I shared throughout the making of Poltergeist.
I enjoyed your openness in allowing me... a wide berth for creative involvement, just as I know you were happy with the freedom you had to direct Poltergeist so wonderfully.
Through the screenplay you accepted a vision of this very intense movie from the start, and as the director, you delivered the goods. You performed responsibly and professionally throughout, and I wish you great success on your next project.[8]
Several members of the Poltergeist cast and crew have over the years consistently alleged that Spielberg was the 'de facto director' of the picture, while other actors have claimed Hooper directed the film. In a 2007 interview with Ain't It Cool News, Rubinstein discussed her recollections of the shooting process. She said that "Steven directed all six days" that she was on set: "Tobe set up the shots and Steven made the adjustments." She also alleged that Hooper "allowed some unacceptable chemical agents into his work," and at her interview felt that time "Tobe was only partially there."[9] In a interview with Deadpit radio, Lou Perryman stated "Tobe directed me and everything I saw while I was there, he directed". Oliver Robbins (who played Robbie) said that Tobe Hooper was the director. Craig T. Nelson also confirmed Hooper as the director, strongly influenced by Spielberg.
In 2002, on an episode of VH1's I Love the '80s, JoBeth Williams revealed that the production used real human skeletons when filming the swimming pool scene. Many of the people on the set were alarmed by this and led others to believe the "curse" on the film series was because of this use. Craig Reardonf, a special effects artist who worked on the film, commented at the time that it was cheaper to purchase real skeletons than plastic ones as the plastic ones involved labor in making them. Williams wasn't afraid of the prop skeletons, but she was nervous working in water around so many electrically-powered lights. Producer Spielberg comforted her by being in the water during her scenes, claiming that if a light fell into the pool, they'd both be killed. Poltergeist was awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.[10]
In 1997, MGM released Poltergeist on DVD in a snap case, and the only special feature was a trailer. In 1998, Poltergeist was re-released on DVD with the same cover and disc as the 1997 release, but in a keep case and with an eight page booklet. In 1999, it was released on DVD again by Warner Home Video in a snap case with the same disc, but a different cover. Warner Home Video tentatively scheduled releases for the 25th anniversary edition of the film on standard DVD, HD DVD and Blu-Ray[11] in Spain and the US on 9 October 2007. The re-release claimed to have digitally remastered picture and sound, and a two-part documentary: "They Are Here: The Real World of Poltergeists", which makes extensive use of clips from the film. The remastered DVD of the film was released as scheduled but both high-definition releases were eventually canceled. Warner rescheduled the high definition version of the film and eventually released it only on the Blu-Ray disc format on October 14, 2008.[12]
The Blu-ray disc release still had the "25th Anniversary Edition" banner[13] even though this particular release was a full year behind the actual anniversary of the film. The Blu-ray disc release was packaged in collectible, non-standard Blu-Ray disc packaging Warner Home Video calls "digibook" which is supposed to resemble a coffee table book and contains pictures from the film on its pages.
A six disc prototype, from the abandoned 20th Anniversary Special Edition, surfaced on eBay a few years ago and still crops up from time to time. Special features included the The First Real Ghost Story and The Making of Poltergeist featurettes, screenplay, several photo galleries and Fangoria interviews, and the documentaries E! True Hollywood Story, Hollywood Ghost Stories and Terror in The Aisles. The 6th disc was a copy of the original motion picture soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith.
Poltergeist was a box office success worldwide. The film grossed $76,606,280[14] in the United States, making it the 8th biggest release (regardless of genre) and highest grossing horror film of 1982.[15]
Poltergeist was well-received by critics,[16] and is considered by many as one of the best films of 1982.[17][18][19] Many critics discussed the role of the white American middle class family in the film. Douglas Brode compares the "family values" in Poltergeist to the Bush/Quayle 1992 reelection campaign.[20] Andrew Sarris, in The Village Voice, wrote that when Carol Anne is lost the parents and the two older children "come together in blood-kin empathy to form a larger-than-life family that will reach down to the gates of hell to save its loved ones."[20] In the L.A. Herald Examiner, Peter Rainer wrote:
Buried within the plot of Poltergeist is a basic, splendid fairy tale scheme: the story of a little girl who puts her parents through the most outrageous tribulation to prove their love for her. Underlying most fairy tales is a common theme: the comforts of family. Virtually all fairy tales begin with a disrupting of the family order, and their conclusion is usually a return to order.[20]
Nearly 30 years after its release, the film is regarded by many critics as a classic of the horror genre[21][22] and maintains an 86% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[23] Poltergeist was selected by The New York Times as one of The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made.[24] The film also received recognition from the American Film Institute. The film ranked number 84 on AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills list,[25] and the tag line "They're here" was named the 69th greatest movie quote on AFI's 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes.[26]
The film was re-released in cinemas for one night only on Thursday, October 4, 2007 as a promotion for the new restored and remastered 25th anniversary DVD released on October 9. This event also included the documentary They Are Here: The Real World of Poltergeists, which was created for the new DVD.
The film spawned two sequels, Poltergeist II: The Other Side and Poltergeist III. They retained the family but introduced all-new reasons for the Beast's behavior, tying him to an evil cult leader named Henry Kane, who led his religious sect to their doom in the 1820s. As the Beast, Kane went to extraordinary lengths to keep his "flock" under his control, even in death. He used Carol Anne to do this, as he discovered his flock was attracted to her innocence. Kane and his flock were never mentioned in the first movie, only that the Beast needed Carol Anne to hold spirits captive. But the original motive—building a housing development on top of a cemetery, thus disturbing the souls of those buried there—was altered; the cemetery was now on top of a cave where Kane and his flock met their ends.
MGM announced in 2008 that Vadim Perelman will direct a remake, and that Juliet Snowden and Stiles White are writing the script. MGM will release Poltergeist November 24, 2010.[27][28]
"The Poltergeist curse" is the rumor of a supposed curse attached to the Poltergeist motion picture series and its stars. The rumor is superstition largely derived from the fact that four cast members died in the six years between the release of the first film and the release of the third, with one dying during production of the second film. Two of them died at young ages, 12 and 22. It is not clear that these particular films are atypical in the number or nature of the deaths of their actors, and at least two of the supposed victims had serious health problems before becoming attached to the film series.[29]
The actors who are supposed victims of the curse include:
The Poltergeist series is considered by some to be the most famous of a handful of movies and television series said to have been cursed, others including The Crow and The Dark Knight.[34]
Poltergeist has been referenced in several films, television shows and music videos.
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Poltergeist is a 1982 film about a southern-California family whose home is haunted by a host of ghosts.
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