Should you watch this in 3D? There’s no significant difference.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? No.
Should you watch this for free? Yes, preferably in a dark room to enhance the scares.
Secret ending? Mid-credits.
Running time: 93 minutes (~1.5 hours)
“Poltergeist” is a horror film that’s a remake of 1982’s “Poltergeist.” It revolves around a family moving into a house that is haunted by a – you guessed it – poltergeist. It stars Sam Rockwell (Eric Bowen), Rosemarie DeWitt (Amy Bowen), Jared Harris (Carrigan Burke), Jane Adams (Dr. Brooke Powell), Saxon Sharbion (Kendra Bowen), Kyle Catlett (Griffin Bowen), and Kennedi Clements (Madison Bowen). It is rated PG-13.
“Poltergeist” starts off strong but finishes in a strange place. The problem is that the tone slowly but discernibly shifts as the movie continues, and becomes a rip roaring adventure by the time the climax arrives. It forgets that it’s a horror film somewhere around the second Act, and then tries to dazzle you with decent special effects and some vague exposition to magnify the severity of the situation.
Highlights
Kyle Catlett delivers a surprisingly good performance
Although the trailers and images frequently feature Kennedi Clements as the child star of the film, it’s actually Kyle Catlett’s portrayal of Griffin Bowen that makes you feel for the family. His innocence, frustration, and heroic determination make him an admirable character that you want to root for. He is the emotional centre of the film, and delivers a far more authentic performance than any other character in the film.
Good use of tension and suspense in the first Act
The film opens with many silent moments, tense scenes, and inexplicable occurrences, leading you to believe that something is amiss. It builds your anticipation by repeatedly refusing to show you just what it is that’s lurking out of sight. This clever use of scare tactics, unfortunately, gets forgotten after the first half hour, only to be replaced by cheesy graphics.
Letdowns
Nonsensical plot and storytelling
Simply put, the plot doesn’t make sense in this day and age, given what the public has been informed about ghosts and the supernatural. The situation that the characters find themselves in is completely unbelievable, and even within the context of the film itself there’s no internal consistency regarding the paranormal. Part of the reason is because the audience knows a poltergeist is at work, but the film seems to think that the viewers don’t and treats it as an astonishing reveal. It’s not 1982 anymore guys.
A romance that comes out of nowhere
It’s not that this subplot starts with proper set up at the beginning of the film – it comes out of left field, in the most inappropriate situation, at the most implausible of times. How this romance can even blossom amidst angry spirits and hostile ghosts is beyond me. As a result, you get laughs when there should be looming dread, and quips where there should be terrified screams.
Dated music
You know it’s a remake because it sounds like the music was composed in the 80’s, or 70’s. Overly dramatic scores accompany equally ludicrous scenes, throwing all subtlety out the window. It’s like the movie is so afraid that you forget it’s a scary remake, it periodically forces that idea into your face with an antiquated score
Becomes a sci-fi film in the middle of Act Two
“Poltergeist” starts to lose its scariness at the beginning of Act Two, then completely dispenses with being a horror film by seguing into the strangest of sci-fi flicks. By Act Three, you’ve got a gang of adventurers who are prepared to battle the scientific anomaly that is the poltergeist, complete with ridiculous gobbledygook and a hackneyed ghost hunter. It feels like the 80’s, all right.
“Poltergeist” had so much potential to be a good scare, but dispenses with all that tension in favour of making Hollywood blockbuster action movie halfway. It pleases nobody, not the horror aficionados nor the action movie buffs, and becomes this awful Frankenstein’s monster of a moving picture. Just watch watch the first half hour, then ditch the rest of the film.
“Poltergeist” opens in cinemas 18 June, 2015 (Thursday).
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