REVIEW: Poltergeist

POLTERGEIST

RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

RATED: PG-13

RATING: ****/*****

 

PREMISE: (via IMDB) Legendary filmmaker Sam Raimi and director Gil Kenan reimagine and contemporize the classic tale about a family whose suburban home is invaded by angry spirits. When the terrifying apparitions escalate their attacks and take the youngest daughter, the family must come together to rescue her.               

 

THE PRO'S: Retains the heart and spirit of the original, genuinely and thoughtfully suspenseful, some interesting and fun ideas in there, good acting, gives a unique perspective on the original story, what it does new it does well.

 

THE CON'S: The tree scene is a HUGE disappointment, could have done more to make it original, still doesn't hold a candle to the original.

 

THE REVIEW:

Now this was a movie I have been weary about for some time. Between constant (terrible sounding) rewrites, and some harsh sounding reviews for early scripts, my hopes weren't high. But given I liked the trailers, I decided to give this a chance. And as a long-time Poltergeist super fan, I am here to say I don't regret it at all.

 

If you know the story, it's pretty similar to the original. The film focuses on the family's only son, Griffin, who is forced to move with the rest of them to a home after the father loses his job. Immediately, Griffin notices something isn't right with the house, and even less right with his little sister: Maddie. After a terror-filled night with his siblings, Maddie is abducted by the spirits he's tried to warn the family about and they are forced to call in paranormal investigators for help. Beginning a supernatural battle for Maddie's soul.

 

In the end, they took a big risk in remaking this horror classic, and I will say that it both did and didn't work. In this case, I'd like to get the bad out of the way first. Starting with the big one: one of the most terrifying scenes in the film is absolutely butchered here. Yes, I mean the tree scene. As awesome a build-up as it had, I was really upset when I found out how it was handled. Because it was just absolutely disappointing. So I feel it best to warn you about that first.

 

The rest lies in its originality. While it has a lot of it in the suspense, and build up, the story is basically the same. They've done nothing to throw any "big" twists in the plot. Even with a new kid to see through the eyes of in Griffin, nothing really changes. But it's not necessarily the worst thing, especially since Griffin is a great protagonist, things DID need to be changed up a bit more. It's this reason I feel it ultimately still didn't hold a candle to the original.

 

Now that we have the bad out of the way, let's get to all the GOOD things about this movie. And there are a lot. First and foremost, the suspense in this movie is top notch. Even knowing what was happening, I cannot count the amount of times I was gripping my chair in suspense. The movie makers clearly took great care to make sure they didn't just rely on jump scares. And instead created enough tension to keep it interesting.

 

And speaking of tone, boy did this one keep the original's well. I was so impressed with how much this film felt like a Poltergeist film. It still had that heart to it that I've come to love about these movies, and gave it a great feel. This is especially helped by the unique perspective on the story they have taken, by putting it through the eyes of the son.  Kyle Cattlet carries the movie well, and really embodies the spirit of the original well.

What's more what it does new, it does well. Without giving anything away to people, I can say there are quite a few cool little bits. Especially at the end, where the movie goes to some interesting places. I really enjoyed it for at least bringing SOME new things to the original, even if it is still just mostly a straight remake.

 

Acting-wise, as I said, Kyle Cattlet is awesome. While Kennedi Clements does a good job as Carol-Anne's update, Madison aka "Maddie", though she doesn't quite have the same haunting, angelic quality that Heather O'Rourke did. And finally, Jared Harris stands out as usual as Tangina's new version, Cariggan Burke, and does a very good job with it as well. Everyone else was good in their respective roles as well, but those three definitely stood out most.

 

So to wrap this review up...

 

IN CONCLUSION:

Poltergeist is nothing new, but that's okay, because it's still worthy of the legacy it carries the title of. Its unique perspective on the story, generally fun feel, and suspense make this movie well worth the look for new fans and old ones alike.

 

4 OUT OF 5 STARS

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED