POLTERGEIST FILM'S

 

 

 

Poltergeist is a 1982 American horror film, directed by Tobe Hooper and co-written and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the first and most successful film of the Poltergeist film trilogy. Set in a California suburb, the plot focuses on a family whose home is invaded by malevolent ghosts that abduct the family's youngest daughter.

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.The film also appeared at #84 on American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Thrills, a list of America's most heart-pounding movies. Poltergeist was also nominated for three Academy Awards.

The Poltergeist franchise is believed by some to be cursed due to the premature deaths of several people associated with the film, a notion that was the focus of an E! True Hollywood Story.

 

this is one of my Top scariest film of all time & still creeps me out today watching it.
 

 

                                   Plot

Steven and Diane Freeling live a quiet life in a California planned community called Cuesta Verde, where Steven is a successful realtor and Diane is a housewife who cares for their children Dana, Robbie, and Carol Anne. Carol Anne awakens one night and begins conversing with the family's television set, which has started transmitting static following a sign-off. The following night, while the Freelings are sleeping, Carol Anne becomes fixated on the television set as it transmits static again. Suddenly, an apparition emerges from the television screen and vanishes into the wall, creating a violent earthquake within the house in the process, to which Carol Anne announces "They're here."

 

 

Bizarre events begin to occur the following day, such as glasses and utensils that spontaneously break or bend and furniture that moves of its own accord. The phenomena seem benign at first, but quickly begin to intensify. That night, a gnarled backyard tree becomes animated and grabs Robbie through the bedroom window. While Diane and Steven rescue Robbie, Carol Anne is sucked through a portal in her closet. The Freelings realize she has been taken when they hear her voice emanating from a television set.

A group of parapsychologists from UC Irvine—Dr. Lesh, Ryan, and Marty—come to the Freeling house to investigate and determine that the Freelings are experiencing a poltergeist intrusion. They discover that the disturbances involve more than just one ghost. Steven also finds out in an exchange with his boss, Lewis Teague, that Cuesta Verde is built where a cemetery was once located.
 

After Dana and Robbie are sent away for their safety, Dr. Lesh and Ryan call in Tangina Barrons, a spiritual medium. Tangina states that the spirits inhabiting the house are lingering in a different "sphere of consciousness" and are not at rest. Attracted to Carol Anne's life force, these spirits are distracted from the real "light" that has come for them. Tangina then adds that among these ghosts, there is also a demon known as the "Beast", who has Carol Anne under restraint in an effort to manipulate the other spirits.

The assembled group discovers that the entrance to the other dimension is through the children's bedroom closet, while the exit is through the living room ceiling. As the group attempts to rescue Carol Anne, Diane passes through the entrance tied by a rope that has been threaded through both portals. Diane manages to retrieve Carol Anne, and they both drop to the floor from the ceiling unconscious. As they recover, Tangina proclaims afterward that the house is now "clean".

Shortly thereafter, the Freelings prepare to move elsewhere. During their last night in the house, Steven attends a meeting with Teague and Dana goes on a date, leaving Diane, Robbie, and Carol Anne alone in the house. The "Beast" then ambushes Diane and the children, attempting a second kidnapping. Diane and the children escape the house to discover coffins and rotting corpses erupting out from the ground throughout the neighborhood. As Steven and Dana return home to the mayhem, Steven realizes that rather than relocating the cemetery for the development of Cuesta Verde, Teague merely had the headstones moved and the bodies left behind, desecrating the burial grounds. The Freelings flee Cuesta Verde while the house itself implodes into another dimension, to the astonishment of onlookers. The family checks into a hotel for the night, and Steven shoves the room's television outside onto the balcony.

 

                           Production
                                   Creative credit

A clause in his contract with Universal Studios prevented Spielberg from directing any other film while preparing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.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."

 

 

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."

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.

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."^[

 

 

                          Special effects

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 Reardon, 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 was not 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 would 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 losing that award to Spielberg's other summer hit, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial

 

 

                            Soundtrack

The music for Poltergeist was written by veteran composer Jerry Goldsmith. He wrote several themes for the score including the lullaby "Carol Anne's Theme" to represent blissful suburban life and the young female protagonist, an elegant semi-religious melody for dealings of the souls caught between worlds, and several dissonant, atonal blasts during moments of terror. The score went on to garner Goldsmith an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score, though he lost to fellow composer John Williams for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

 

 

                            Reception

Poltergeist was a box office success worldwide. The film grossed $76,606,280 in the United States, making it the highest-grossing horror film of 1982 and 8th overall for the year.

Poltergeist was well received by critics and is considered by many as one of the best films of 1982. Douglas Brode compares the "family values" in Poltergeist to the Bush/Quayle 1992 reelection campaign. 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." 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.

The film received three Academy Award nominations: Best Original Score, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects.

Nearly 30 years after its release, the film is regarded by many critics as a classic of the horror genre and maintains an 87% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Poltergeist was selected by The New York Times as one of The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made. The film also received recognition from the American Film Institute. The film ranked number 84 on AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills list and the tag line "They're here" was named the 69th greatest movie quote on AFI's 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes

 

 

                     Home video release

 

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^[ in Spain and the US on October 9, 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.

The Blu-ray disc release still had the "25th Anniversary Edition" banner 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 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.

 

 

    The film was reissued on sues and sequels

October 29, 1982 to take advantage of the Halloween weekend. It was shown in theaters for one night only on October 4, 2007 to promote the new restored and remastered 25th anniversary DVD, released five days later. 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. The first retained the family but introduced a new motive 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. The original motive of the cemetery's souls disturbed by the housing development was thereby altered; the cemetery was now explained to be built above a cave where Kane and his flock met their ends.

Carol Anne is the sole original family member featured in Poltergeist III, which finds her living in an elaborate Chicago skyscraper owned and inhabited by her aunt and uncle. Kane follows her there and uses the building's ubiquitous decorative mirrors as a portal to the Earthly plane.

In 2008, MGM announced that Vadim Perelman would helm a remake, to be written by Juliet Snowden and Stiles White. The remake was put on hold in 2010, because of MGM's financial problems. However, on February 18, 2011, MGM announced they still had plans for the remake

 

                           Novelization

A novelization was written by James Kahn, adapted from the film's original screenplay. The copyright is 1982 by Amblin' Enterprises, Inc. It was printed in the United States through Warner Books, with the first printing in May 1982.The novel expands upon many scenes that took place in the film, such as an extended version of the kitchen scene in which Marty watches the steak crawl across a countertop. In the book, Marty is frozen in place and is skeletonized by the maggots that crawl out of the steak . There are also additional elements not in the film, such as Robbie's mysterious discovery of the clown doll in the yard during his birthday party, and a benevolent spirit, "The Waiting Woman", who protects Carol Anne in the spirit world.

 

 

 

 

 

Poltergeist II: The Other Side is a 1986 horror film. A sequel to Poltergeist, it features the return of the original family, who are once again confronted by a spirit trying to harm their daughter, Carol Anne. It received mixed reviews from critics (41% on Rotten Tomatoes) and did not gross as much at the box office as its predecessor, although it was still financially successful. It ended up making over $40 million against a $19 million (estimated) production budget and was nominated for the Academy Award for Visual Effects. The film was also nominated for a Razzie Award for Zelda Rubinstein as Worst Supporting Actress. It was followed in 1988 by Poltergeist III.

 

Plot

One year after the events of Poltergeist, Cuesta Verde, the Freelings' neighborhood from the first film, is being evacuated and turned into an archeological paranormal dig, centered around the spot where the Freelings' home stood before it imploded. The excavation leads to the discovery of an underground cave by a ground crew. Its existence is revealed to psychic Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein), who tells a friend of hers, Taylor (Will Sampson), an American Indian shaman. After investigating the cave for himself, Taylor realizes that Kane, a demon disguised as a preacher, has located Carol Anne and goes to defend her.

The Freeling family, Steven (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), Robbie (Oliver Robins), and Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke), has relocated to Phoenix, Arizona and now live in a house with Diane's mother, Jessica "Grandma Jess" Wilson (Geraldine Fitzgerald). Having lost his real estate license, Steve is reduced to selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door while filing repeated insurance claims to cover the missing home. Grandma Jess is highly clairvoyant, and says that Diane and Carol Anne are clairvoyant as well. Grandma Jess later dies from natural causes, but not before telling Diane one last time that she'll always "be there" if she needs her.

 

Taylor shows up as Kane begins his first assault on the home. Unable to get in through the television as the family has removed all television sets from the home, Kane's minions are forced to find another way in, this time through Carol Anne's toy phone. The attack fails, and the family gets out of the house fast. Taylor introduces himself and convinces them that running would be a waste of time since Kane would only find them again, and they return to the house, which Taylor has made safe for the time being.

Kane himself shows up at the home one day in human form, and demands to be let in, but Steven stands up to him and refuses. Taylor congratulates him for resisting Kane, and then takes Steve out to the desert and gives him the Power of Smoke, an Indian spirit that can repel Kane. Tangina shows up at the house and helps Diane to understand the history of Kane and how he became the Beast that is now stalking the family: he was once a man, the Reverend Henry Kane, who led his followers into the cave because he believed the end of the world was coming, then refused to let them leave after the date he predicted came and went. Because he was so evil, Kane became a monster after death. Taylor warns the family that Kane is extremely clever, and will try to tear them apart.

One night, Steven lets his guard down and gets drunk, swallowing a Mezcal worm that is possessed by Kane, who temporarily possesses him. He attacks and tries to rape Diane, who cries out that she loves him. Steven then vomits up the worm possessed by Kane, which grows into a huge, tentacled monstrosity. In this form Kane attacks Steven from the ceiling, but Steven uses the smoke spirit to send him away. The Beast then decides on another assault, and this time, the family decides to confront the Beast on his own turf, the Other Side.

 

The Freelings return to Cuesta Verde and enter the cavern below their former home, where Kane pulls Diane and Carol Anne over into the Other Side. Steven and Robbie jump in after them through a fire started by Taylor. On the Other Side, Diane, Steven, Robbie, and Carol Anne unite, but Kane grabs Carol Anne. Taylor gets a charmed Indian lance into Steven's hands, and Steven stabs Kane with it, defeating the monster and causing him to fall into the afterlife. Carol Anne nearly crosses over into the afterlife as well, but Grandma Jess' spirit appears and returns her to the family. The Freelings then return safely to this side, and thank Taylor and Tangina

                           Production

Dana, the eldest daughter, was supposed to be written as being away at college, however that scene never made it into the final theatrical version. In real life the actress who played Dana, Dominique Dunne, was murdered by her boyfriend shortly after the first film came out.

This film was at one point intended to be filmed in 3-D. (The 3-D revival of the early eighties came to a close in early 1984.) Several scenes, such as the appearance of the Beast and the flying chainsaw were filmed to take advantage of the process. Several scenes that appeared in press stills or promotional posters were cut from the finished film including Tangina confronting Kane when he tries to enter the house again after Diane finds out about his past and also Steve and Diane looking at a flying toaster during a breakfast scene.

Because Julian Beck, who played Kane, died during filming, the filmmakers enlisted the help of H R Giger, who created the "Beast" version of Kane to replace Beck's remaining scenes. Giger created several designs but only two appeared, receiving limited screen time in the final cut of the film. Giger's designs are displayed on his official website. Many of Kane's lines were looped in post-production by noted voice actor Corey Burton.

This film and its successor were rated PG-13 by the MPAA. The original was rated PG, as there was no PG-13 rating at the time (the rating was created in 1984, largely in response to films such as the first Poltergeist, Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

 

                                                         Music

Composer Jerry Goldsmith, who had written the Academy Award nominated soundtrack to the first Poltergeist film, returned to compose and conduct a score to Poltergeist II: The Other Side. Though "Carol Anne's Theme" returns from the first film's soundtrack, the score for Poltergeist II: The Other Side consisted of mostly new material blending traditional orchestral elements with new electronic sounds. The soundtrack has been released three times; through Varèse Sarabande in 1986, Intrada Records in 1993, and a deluxe edition by Varèse Sarabande in 2003

 

Box office

Although it was financially successful, Poltergeist II: The Other Side proved to be a box office disappointment when compared to its predecessor. Nevertheless, the film still grossed a respectable $40,996,665 at the United States box office

 

 

Novelization

The novelization was Poltergeist II: The Other Side, by James Kahn. On the cover it also has Carol Anne's catch phrase "They're back" and under the title it says "The Freeling family's struggle with spirits begins again..." The copyright is 1986 by Ballantine Books, New York. It was based on the motion picture written by Michael Grais and Mark Victor. The characters from the first film are all in the book except for Dana Freeling. However, the character Dana is mentioned and her absence is explained as having moved as far East as she could after what had happened in Cuesta Verde and is attending college. The book also includes new characters as well and is no longer in print

 

 

Poltergeist III (otherwise known as Poltergeist 3 or Poltergeist 3: We're Back) is a 1988 American horror film. It is the third and final film of the Poltergeist film series. Writers Michael Grais and Mark Victor, who wrote the screenplay for the first two films, did not return for this second sequel; it was co-written, executive produced and directed by Gary Sherman, and was released on June 10, 1988 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. The film was panned by critics, and was a box office disappointment.

Heather O'Rourke and Zelda Rubinstein were the only original cast members to return. O'Rourke died four months before the film was released and before post-production could be completed. It was dedicated to her memory

 

 

Now this Third instalment of poltergeist has to be seriously the most creepiest film ever with the mirrors.

 

 

                                  Plot

The Freeling family has sent Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) to live with Diane's sister Pat (Nancy Allen) and her husband Bruce Gardner (Tom Skerritt). Carol Anne has been told she is in Chicago temporarily to attend a unique school for gifted children with emotional problems, though Pat thinks it is because Steven and Diane just wanted Carol Anne out of their house. Pat and Bruce are unaware of the events of the first two films, just noting that Steven was involved in a bad land deal. Along with Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle), Bruce's daughter from a previous marriage, they live in the luxury skyscraper (Chicago's 100-story John Hancock Center) of which Bruce is the manager.

Carol Anne has been made by her teacher/psychiatrist, Dr. Seaton (Richard Fire), to discuss her experiences from the first and second films. Seaton believes her to be delusional; however, the constant discussion has enabled Rev. Henry Kane (Nathan Davis) to locate Carol Anne and bring him back from the limbo he was sent into at the end of the second film. Not believing in ghosts, Dr. Seaton has come to the conclusion that Carol Anne is a manipulative child with the ability to create mass hysteria and to perform mass hypnosis, making people believe they were attacked by ghosts. Also during this period, Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein) realizes that Kane has found Carol Anne and travels cross-country to protect her.

 

That night, Kane drains the high rise of heat and takes possession of reflections in mirrors, causing the reflections of people to act independently of their physical counterparts. When Carol Anne is left alone that night, Kane attempts to use the mirrors in her room to capture her, but she escapes with the help of Tangina, by telepathically telling her to break the mirror. Donna and her boyfriend, Scott, see a frightened Carol Anne running through the high rise's parking lot, and move to rescue her; however, before they can, all three are taken to the Other Side by Kane and his people. By this point, Tangina and Dr. Seaton are both at the high rise, along with Pat and Bruce. Dr. Seaton stubbornly assumes that Carol Anne has staged the entire thing, while Tangina tries to get her back.

Scott is seemingly released from the Other Side through a pool in the high rise, and Donna reappears after Tangina is taken by Kane disguised as Carol Anne. Scott is left at his home with his parents. Nobody notices that the symbols on Donna's clothing are reversed from what they were before she was taken. As Dr. Seaton attempts to calm Donna, Bruce sees Carol Anne's reflection in the mirror and chases her while Pat follows. Dr. Seaton is not far behind, and he believes he sees Carol Anne in the elevator. However, after Dr. Seaton approaches the elevator doors, Donna appears behind him and pushes him to his death down the empty elevator shaft. At this point it is revealed that Donna did not actually come back, but rather the person who came back was a reflection of Donna, under the control of Kane, who then vanishes back into the mirror, with a reflection of Scott at her side.

Pat and Bruce struggle to find Carol Anne, but Bruce is captured and eventually Pat is forced to prove her love for Carol Anne in a final face-off against Kane. The ending is somewhat unclear. Tangina manages to convince Kane to go into the Light with her. Donna, Bruce, and Carol Anne are returned to Pat, whereas it is never revealed if Scott returned or is still trapped on the Other Side. The final scene shows lightning flashing over the building and Kane's laughter is heard.

                            Production

Director Gary Sherman thought the idea of the city setting was just as scary as isolated suburbia. His feeling was that there are people on the other side of the wall, and no one cares that you are in trouble.

Unlike the previous films, nearly all of the special effects were live and were performed on stage. The only visual effect added in post-production was the lightning casting over the John Hancock Center in the very final shot of the picture. Sherman himself designed the special visual effects.

Corey Burton provided the voice work for Kane, although he was uncredited for this effort.

 

 

                            Reception

The film received extremely negative reviews from critics, resulting in a 15% rating on RottenTomatoes.com. Zelda Rubinstein's performance earned rather mixed reviews, causing to grant both nominations for a Saturn Award and a Razzie Award (which she also received previously for the first sequel) at the same time. However, despite the poor reviews for the film overall, Heather O'Rourke's performance earned generally favorable reviews from both critics and viewers

 

Box office

While Poltergeist III made back its $9.5 million budget, it wound up being the lowest grossing and least attended film in the Poltergeist trilogy. The film opened at #5, making $4,344,308 on its opening weekend, averaging about $2,953 from 1,471 theaters. The bottom fell out from then on, as the film then fell out of the top 10 in only its second weekend, dropping 52 percent to only $2,093,783 (1,467 theaters, $1,427 average) ranking at #11, and bringing the 10-day cume to $8,165,286. Poltergeist III ended up with a domestic box office total of $14,114,488. The film sold 3.434 million tickets at 1988's ticket price of $4.11, compared with 25.410 million tickets for the first film, and 11.050 million tickets for the second film

 

Sadly Cast member of the film died

Heather O'Rourke's death and a revised ending

 

 

At the time Poltergeist III began shooting in Spring 1987, Heather O'Rourke had been ill for several months with what was misdiagnosed as Crohn's disease, and subsequently underwent medical treatment during parts of the filming. Principal photography for the movie began on Monday April 13, 1987 and lasted for 11 weeks, ending on Friday June 19, 1987, with June 10, 1988 as the film's scheduled release date. After O'Rourke completed filming, she returned home to California with her illness appearing to be in remission. However, in late January 1988, O'Rourke suddenly became ill again, her condition rapidly deteriorated, and she died during Poltergeist III's post-production period on Monday February 1, 1988, barely one month after her twelfth birthday.

Shortly before O'Rourke's death, the studio had requested that the ending of the film be reshot. However, with her death, this made filming a new ending very difficult, given how central her character was to the film. Rather than cancel the project with so much of the film already completed, the ending was written in a way that a body double could be used in O'Rourke's place. This is why Carol Anne's face is never seen when she comes back from the Other Side during the final scene of the film. The new ending was filmed in March 1988.

O'Rourke's death complicated MGM's marketing for Poltergeist III, out of fear of appearing to be exploiting her death Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen were discouraged from giving interviews about the film to avoid questions about O'Rourke's death