Let's get one thing straight, right from the outset. There is no way that Tobe Hooper directed Poltergeist. He might be the guy in the credits, but if you're in any way familiar with Hooper's work, or Steven Spielberg's (who wrote and produced this) then the only logical conclusion is the latter film-maker actually made most of the creative decisions. You only have to watch what Hooper did before and after (Texas Chainsaw / Lifeforce) to realise his signature is absent here.
Less of a scary horror film and more of a thrilling roller-coaster ride, Poltergeist is a master class in storytelling. From the economic way the family dog silently introduces the Freelings to the iconic manner in which the plot is concluded, this is Spielberg at his peak (this was made between his classics Raiders and E.T.).
If you've seen the classic Family Guy episode Poltergeist, which spoofs this movie, you'll understand just how many memorable moments are in this film. From the skeletons in the swimming pool, to the melting face, to the clown at the end of the bed, Spielberg knows how to build up suspense and keep us glued to the screen.
It takes the urban mythology of the afterlife (a white light/spirits not at peace), the cliches of haunted house movies (things that go bump in the night/transparent floating ghosts/sudden drops in temperature) and combines it with a modern sensibility so that a contemporary audience can relate (new suburban house / 2.4 children family/ the ghosts talk through the television) along with a scientific perspective and a child's viewpoint too (a reworking of the monster in the closet routine/fear of lightning and old, gnarly trees). It's a masterful combination.
There's some great subtext about how television takes over people lives, woven throughout (the Freelings have more than one TV, the keep them on after they've fallen asleep). In fact, the TV is in the first and final shot of the movie. There's also some great set-pieces including the magnificent central rescue sequence as determined dwarf, Zelda Rubinstein, mounts an FX filled recovery mission to the otherside.
The cast are uniformly superb, in what is effectively about the power of a family's bond. The focus here is of a mother's unwavering commitment to protecting her child...no matter if it means her life, her values or her soul...and Jo Beth Williams is stunning as the Mom. They also stuck gold with Heather O'Rourkes all-American icon; the too-innocent-to-believe moppet that is focal Poltergeist victim, Carol Anne.
There are much scarier movies out there (The Exorcist / Robert Wise's The Haunting) but few as visceral and thrilling as this.
1 comment:
I love this film. It is note perfect in every sense from the everyday suburban family life setting and the excellent cast to the use of scary childhod imaginings to creep us out (a twisted tree, a scary clown doll, approaching thunderstorms)to the amazing ILM FX and the classic Jerry Goldsmith score. This film has Spielberg all over it. The directorial style, the themes and ideas are pure Spielberg. No way on earth did Tobe Hooper direct this. He may have pointed the camera but Spielberg told him where to point it and told the actors what was needed. My favourite bit is the sequence where the awesome Zelda Rubinstein explains to momma Freeling what it is that has little Carol-Anne. It still gives me goose bumps:
"It keeps Carol Anne very close to it and away from the spectral light. It LIES to her, it tells her things only a child could understand. It has been using her to restrain the others. To her, it simply IS another child. To us, it is the BEAST. Now, let's go get your daughter."
Post a Comment