Poltergeist
Director: Gil Kenan
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kennedi Clements
93 mins; Class 15;
KRS Releasing Ltd
I have some vague memories of the original Poltergeist, released in 1982.
I was, of course, much younger then. Having always had a slight aversion to horror movies, I had not seen it at the cinema, but caught it on TV. That those cloudy memories also feature Italian dialogue means it probably was Italian TV…
Italian version or not, Poltergeist went on to become one of the most beloved supernatural horror thrillers; earning kudos for its tight script – written, of course, by Steven Spielberg – sympathetic characters in the form of its almost perfect nuclear family and effective scares.
It was a film whose influence reached far and wide on the plethora of similarly-themed movies we have seen since; so much so that ‘family endangered by paranormal forces haunting their home’ could be the pitch of many a film that followed in its footsteps – diluting its initial impact somewhat.
So was this remake absolutely necessary?
No, is the short answer to that. The Poltergeist version 2015 storyline pretty much follows the original from the get-go.
We are introduced to the Bowen family – Mom and Dad Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt) and Eric Bowen (Sam Rockwell) and their three children Kendra (Saxon Sharbino), Griffin (Kyle Catlett); and Madison (Kennedi Clements) – as they move into a new home.
They have barely settled in when odd things start to happen; and when Madison is sucked into the closet and seemingly starts to communicate with the family via the TV, the Bowens call for help from paranormal researcher Dr Brooke Powell (Jane Adams) and occult specialist and television personality Carrigan Burke (Jared Harris).
The setup pretty much mirrors the original, as does the outcome. Screenwriter David Lindsay-Abaire brings absolutely nothing new to the mix, save for the odd nod to the upgrades in modern technology – mobile phones and tablets are prevalent.
How many times do we need to sit through scenes featuring scary clowns?
Crucially, the script lacks heart and soul; elements that form the building blocks of any story originated by Spielberg.
Director Gil Kenan steers proceedings with a solid hand. Yet, it is all a little pedestrian and, truth be told, rather timid and tepid, with little on screen happening to dissipate the been-there-done-that feeling that permeates throughout.
How many times do we need to sit through scenes featuring scary clown toys, dark closets, floorboards cracking open and the like? There are a couple of solid scary moments, such as– the disembodied creatures that finally make an appearance and which are effectively spine-tingling. But it is too little too late and there is little by way of nail-biting tension.
The cast acquits itself well enough, given the unchalleng-ing material.
Rockwell and DeWitt capably project the anxiety of parents rendered powerless to help their child by forces they do not understand; while the younger kids provide a good mix of cute and terrified. Catlett’s Griffin is particularly skilfully projecting a young boy’s nervy anxiety.
Harris hams it up somewhat as Burke, the TV personality-slash-ghost-hunter . Yet, his eccentric performance provides some light moments.