Video Capsule.. Poltergeist 10/10

[kerryanne]

As far as horror movies go, this one will always be one of the best for me. Starring Jobeth Williams, Craig T Nelson, and Heather O Rourke. Directed by Tobe Hooper, Story by Steven Speilberg.

The developers of Questa Verde forgot one thing before they built all the houses in this community... They forgot to move the bodies of the departed along with their headstones. Which causes a few attitude problems in the "afterlife" After the Freeling's daughter is caught talking to the tv(Most famous tag line for a horror movie "There Here") Diane Freeling(JoBeth Williams) discovers that alot of paranormal events are centered in the kitchen and around the couples all too adorable daughter Carol Ann. The ghost are friendly at first... Moving chairs in the kitchen... pulling Carol Ann across the kitchen floor. Then it all changes for the worst. The couple's son Robbie gets chomped on by a wicked looking tree, while the whole family is trying to save his life, the ghosts kidnap Carol Ann. The only communication they have with their daughter is through a static channel the television set. Determined to find his daughter,Steve Freeling (Craig T Nelson) visits a Parnormal Investigation Team(Billy Dean Williams, Beatrice Straight and Martin Casella). The team experiences some all too real events, Coffee decanters moving across tables, maggotty chicken, and melting faces...along with a string of apparitions floating down the stairs, and not to mention getting bit by an unseen attacker when attempting to enter Carol Ann's room. Knowing that they cannot solve the problems the family is facing, the ghost busters bring in Tangina(Zelda Rubinstein)to help the Freelings get their daughter back. Warning the family that the entity that wants their daughter is "the beast", the Freeling's know that there love and sense of family will prevail. With great special effects... terrific story... and fabulous cast...Poltergeist is a great horror movie and I rate it at 10/10

[DaN]

Dang. you really liked this one more then I do. I could find many problems with it. But I can also find a shite load of good things.

Bad things:
The end music. The end music was so stupid and out of place. It killed the atmosphere that this movie attempted to achieve.

Acting. Only one person that I'm talking about. THat would be the older sister's acting at the end of the movie when she is retardedly screaming like she has the worst case of constipation ever or something. That is such a dumb moment. She just stands there screaming at the top of her lungs for no, NO, reason. It just hurts me to watch such a bad thing happen to a good movie.

Good Things:
The Plot. Can anyone disagree. This was like a followup to Amityville which I havent' seen yet.

And there are so many others. The atmosphere was ok. Could have been better. But if you put all of this together you get a very good movie. I'd give it a *** 1/2 star rating. That means an 8/10.

[Raena]

What scares me more than this movie is the tragedies that surrounded this movie. But enough about that.

If chairs stacked on top of each other in my house like that, I'd be out of there. That'd be warning enough for me.

[JoBlo]

<moderator bump>

[Brock Landers]

Wow, I'm sorry I missed this review earlier kerryanne...fantastic job with the set-up and review...I also really like this film, but probably would not rate it quite so high...here's a fun quote and some more info...keep up the great stuff...I really dig it....

Tangina: Help me tie this around my
waist.
Diane Freeling: What do you think
you're doing?!
Tangina: I'm going in after her!
Diane Freeling: She won't come to
you! Let me go!
Tangina: You've never done this
before!
Diane Freeling: Neither have you!
[pause]
Tangina: You're right. You go!

I agree about the tragedies Raena...here's one...

'ORourke, Heather, who
played the little girl
Carol-Anne, and Dominique
Dunne, who played the
teenage daughter, are buried
in the same cemetery:
Westwood Memorial Park in
Los Angeles. Dunne was
strangled into brain-death by
her boyfriend in 1982, the
year of the film's release. Six
years later, O'Rourke died of
intestinal stenosis.

Film Note:

The hands which pull the flesh
off the investigator's face in the
bathroom mirror are
Spielberg's.

[the night watchman]

Good review, kerryanne (Carol-Anne ... kerryanne ... hmmm, might want to stay a safe distance from your TV). While the rampant special effects bring this one down a notch for me, Hooper/Speilberg was able to develop some wonderful moments of suspense. I still white-knuckle it during the thunder and lightning build-up to the boy-eating tree scene. And I love the early scenes where the Freelings "play around" with the paranormal phenomena. The characters, from the family to the parapsychologists, are solid and well-defined, and the plot is an engaging "what if?" story. Definitely a fun horror movie if there ever was one.

[playgames]

I liked this movie too,and if ever a film did not need a sequal,this was it.

[Green]

This movie still gets to me as well. From the first time I watched it as a little kid, I would alway make sure the TV was off before I fell asleep so the static wouldn't come on... I still view it about three to four times a year. There is a couple minor problems with it, errors and such, but I find it one of the best ghost stories ever told. The tragedies around it are very sad.
9.5/10

[PackBacker]

kick-ass flick. From the pull apart face to the demonic looking clowns to freaky Tangina this movie just rocked. Still get chills while watching it alone at night.

[playgames]

Great review.I saw this again friday night on cable.i dont know if anyone has caught this or not,but it is odd looking.Im talking about when the little boy is in front of the tv trying to get his mother to hear the little girl in the TV screen.When they both turn and you see the silouette against the screen the way that boys teeth look is funny.

[Brock Landers]

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