Poltergeist
| release date | June 4 1982 |
| studio | MGM |
| director | Tobe Hooper |
| writer | Steven Spielberg |
| starring | Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Beatrice Straight, Dominique Dunne, Oliver Robins |
| rating | PG |
| tagline | They're here! |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
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The best haunted house film ever made. The marriage of Steven Spielberg and Director Tobe Hooper is the perfect mix of horror/comedy/drama. You love the characters, you’re frightened by the spirits wreaking havoc on the Freeling Family, and you can’t wait to see how it all ties itself up. To this day, I haven’t been able to look at clowns the same way, and I’m convinced that every old, ugly tree I come across is watching me. If you haven’t seen this film then you’re doing yourself a disservice. I can’t get enough of ‘Poltergeist’. It’s one of those cinematic journeys I want to take over and over again. Jerry Goldsmith’s score is also a classic. Can’t recommend this enough.
All i can say is this movie was amazing
This one will always hold a place in my heart…..And my dvd collection!!
A CLASSIC! SIGN THE PETITION TO HELP BOYCOTT THE REMAKE!
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/poltergeistremake
This movie is a masterpiece. I still have nightmares about the clown scene…
Poltergeist, what an awesome movie, isnt? One of the first horror movies I saw as a child, I used to have a VHS but it broke down after many viewings. Loooooove the movie to this day!
Why did I wait so long?
Finally rented Poltergeist and was impressed on so many levels. The story is great, the pre-CGI effects are impressive and the actors are a cut above the regular d-grade horror stars.
How hilarious is the scene with mum and dad sharing a joint in bed?
It’s a family movie, but it’s geniunely scary. Classic stuff.
One of the best haunted house movies ever made. Who knew Speilberg could write horror so effectively. The cast is what makes this one stand out from the pack. The Freeling family are just your typical average family who get a visit from a bunch of not so friendly spirits who take a very keen liking to their young daughter Carol Anne. The entire cast do an outstanding job of grounding their characters into every day life. Hell, mum and dad even share a sneaky joint when the kids are in bed. Great suspenseful set pieces combined with excellent special effects create some chilling moments that make the everyday seem horrific. You’ll never look at steak, trees and clowns the same way again. And the cherry on top of this classic is the score. Some of the most beautiful and thrilling music ever put on screen.
Classic! Solid from start to finish with some very creepy moments (clown doll clown doll). Proof positive that family-friendly (for the most part) horror can kick ass to!
One of the true great ghost movies of all time, visually stunning to look at with the wonderfully executed special effects, good and sometimes superb acting, great direction, it’s truly hard to ever try to top one of the great classics in cinema history.
another movie that scared the poodiddles outta me as a kid,and i still love it!
i must say that plotergeist is my favorite film of all time. i saw it when i was very young and ive probably seen it like 200 times since then. lol. i think the freelings were portrayed wonderfully by the actors who made them seem like a picture perfect family who just so happened to be thrown into a haunted house.the filmmakers did an amazing job of making the audience feel like a part of the freeling family, so that way when the hauntings begin, we can all feel and understand what the family is going through. i thought heather o’ rourke did an amazing job as carolanne considering her young age. but i have to say that all the actors, did well in their respective roles. im especially fond of beatrice straight in the film. i also think it is amazing how the film still stands the test of time. i watched the film a few months ago and it still thrilled memore than half of the newer movies that have been coming out. my only complaint is that warner bros. has never released a dvd with special features worth watching. BOO! but other than that this film will always be perfection to me. soo, watch it if you havent, and if you have watch it again!!
I got attached to this flick at an early age. I was seven years old when it was released. This film, along with “Jaws”, really captured my imagination. I was a horror junkie from then on. I think it’s the best ghost story/haunted house film to date. The cast was terrific, especially the late Heather O’Rourke. Suspensful, great climax, great fx that still hold up today. You’ll never look at clowns or trees the same way again. I highly recommend it!!! Great film!!!
The original and the best. A killer tree, a killer clown doll with super long arms, a muddy swimming hole full of corpses, a tequila worm evil possessing monster thingie; this movie’s got something to freak out everyone. A classic in every sense of the word.
a very good reason why children in horror dilms makes everything much more betterer!!! how can you deny this masterpiece?
Poltergesit is a pretty simple movie. Classics like these, that bring the true horror out on the audience. Poltergesit revolves around a family, who moves into a house. Little do they know that the house is haunted, and sits upon a evil graveyard of spirits. The fun begins quickly, with first comical ghosty actions, then it becomes clear the ghosts are evil, not nice. As I said before, Poltergeist is a simple horror. The plot isn’t that well devoloped, but at the time was solid. But I am reviewing it now, 2009, so the plot, compared with some more modern movies, is too simple and boring. That aside, the acting is perfect, and the little girl is truly the star. Early on you know this is a horror film, by the music, the setting and the characters. Which, by the way, are all fantastic. The great CGI ghosts, crazy antics and wonderful characters get this movie going, although sometimes I felt the movie drifted away from the horror for a while, and went in another direction. But, still on a posotive note, it does give off a fearsome feel, and will make you itch for more.
Poltergeist trys hard to make the film loveable, and does it perfectly. It’s a solid ghostly horror, which will have any horror fan wanting more. Rent this, and if so, buy it. Because if you miss out, you’ll be dissapointed!
8/10
Poltergeist is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
One of my all time favorites,I’m sad to hear that they have plans on remaking this film.This one should be left alone.
RIP Heather O’Rourke <3
An absolute classic in every way. Amazing special effects for back in the day too. The part with the head melting scene is still awesome even by todays standards.
A classic ghost/haunted house movie
great movie
Probably the best haunted house movie ever only because you actually see shit hit the fan unlike the original amytivile movie which was just bad.
thought was good but a poor endng kinda ruined it for me
Actually they are planning on remaking this film
if you go to “COMING SOON” under “P” you’ll find
POLTERGEIST.
A classic horror movie. Lots of great scenes!
Classic enough said.
Amazing movie, scary to this day, love it. The clown is still terrifying.
I’ve always found the behind-the-scenes story of the “Poltergeist” movies more interesting than the actual movies. I watched an “E True Hollywood Story” or some comparable shit, and found the real life endurance test for the crew quite compelling. Apparently there is a supposed curse on this series of films and all involved. Steven Spielberg must be immune to the curse because his career really took off after this.
Anyway, the film is quite good. It’s not that scary, though. “Poltergeist” can be seen on basic cable on occasion.
Steven Spielberg at his best, Poltergeist is one of the best (if not THE best) haunted house movies ever made. The acting, writing, photography, music, special effects…it all holds up well today, and is top notch. It may not be scary enough for some horror fans, but it has plenty of chills for the average movie goer, and a little something even for gore hounds. The face ripping apart scene in the bathroom really freaked out a lot of people back in the day! It’s a shame about all the real life tragedy that followed this series, but in a morbid sense, it adds to the creepy aura. The classic first movie in the series is by far the best, and one no fan of supernatural terror should go without seeing. This movie makes Paranormal Activity look like a Saturday morning cartoon in every aspect.
`Poltergeist’ is a 1982 supernatural horror movie present by both Todd Hopper (Director) & Steven Spielberg (Writer, with Frank Marshall as a producer), The franchise is often said to be cursed, because several people associated with it, including stars Dominique Dunne and Heather O’Rourke, died prematurely. “The Poltergeist Curse” has been the focus of an E! True Hollywood Story and that The movie was ranked as #80 on Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments, the tag line “They’re here” was named the 69th greatest movie quote on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes ever list and also appeared on American Film Institute’s 100 Years… 100 Thrills, a list of America’s most heart-pounding movies as #84.
The Movie is one of the best Horror/Fantasy haunted house story ever made in the 80′s or another movies of its type in any year, as it’s the main kind of start of the Poltergeist phenomena which made me believe more in ghost & poltergeist happenings (Which to this very day at age 19 I still believe). It starts out with the American suburbia texture of where it happens (which you wouldn’t think it would happen at a family home or in the suburbia but its quit common) all nice and friendly & has some quick funny moment that you just can’t believe that its happening kind of thing , but then it will still to get awful mean & starts terracing the family as then the spritely world will make its way into the household (but the sprit don’t know or chooses not to know that they are dead). The Movie can get really tense at times, having great jump out moments & having some scare/freighting scene & it stay very true to how it happens in the movie to the real life expressions that happens with ghost & poltergeist and that the atmosphere is soo creepy & eerie with its music tune & the whole setting make it even more brilliant.
I have to admit that the movie made me cry twice because of it touching & heart warming element of the family as they try & fright to get their daughter back & then try & fright as a family, the special effects in the movie are memorable & marvels for its time but in 2010 28 years later its dose look a bit dated but still outstanding special effects for it type of movie elements and also really dose capture in a unique way of the spirits of the ghost and the poltergeist’s and finally I guess you will all the know that this movie is one hell of a creepy thrill ride for me & that they find the truth & the many people around the world exceptions today, yesterday or the next day are ghost & poltergeist, which weather you believe in them or not that fair either, but I do believe there is life after death & that sort of people can connect with the dead that just haven’t passed on to the light just yet.
The directions by Todd Hopper were extremely well present & well capture of a Horror/Fantasy and an emotionally journey of the family, while the acting was just brilliant by all cast members, which is the best sort of cast of this type of movie to have, which where Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Beatrice Straight, Dominique Dunne, Oliver Robins, Heather O’Rourke (cute & adore young talented little girl), Richard Lawson, James Karen and Zelda Rubinstein and the ending gave me a lot of goosebumps & when they finally saw that big huge hole into the closet of the poltergeist & where the corpses were coming up from underneath the un-finished swimming pool that made me cringe the whole time, but was always cool how it could be like in a pool with a lot of dead corpse’s and I love where there all safe driving way form the home (that its eating its self) & the fact that they get to a hotel for about 10 seconds they get the TV outside & that speck volume & the truth that they just been through a horrible nightmare in the home they used live in and that they are safe now (until the sequel).
Uber!!!
This was fun to watch. It has a cool story and tons of great fx. There are some scares, and even a few laughs too. And the cast is very likable. Good old family fun.
this is a great movie to watch! the effects still hold up, even by todays standards. love the scene with the guy in the washroom, fuckin scared the shit out of me when i was little! always had a crush on J. Williams, she was pretty hot then. kind of weird that the little girl died in real life at a young age, and the eldest daughter was murdered also. overall a pretty good movie.
This was one of the first & best ghost movie in the 80′s! It is very original and the special effects are still impressive to this day! It made me not want to turn my TV on at night when feeling the urge to watch television. To this day i am still fearful of what might be lurking under my bed, thanks to this movie. if you haven’t seen this one, you don’t know what you are missing. highly recommend, a must have!!
I liked this a lot, Tobe Hoopers directing was impressive and the whole concept was fairly original. What i liked about it was that they didn’t plod on endlessly with the paranormal activity, it didn’t form into one of those “the kid sees ghosts and the parents don’t believe her” so it removes all initial frustration and dives straight in with a fun, enjoyable films.
Some of the effects were embarrasing (yes I’m talking to you, plastic tree!) Yes, I know its 80′s but that didn’t stop The Exorcist (that was earlier!) But then again, some of the effects were quite impressive, such as the chair moving on the floor.
I also found it to be quite humourous, which I wasn’t expecting but I liked the humour. This isn’t a scary film by any means but it’s fun (I should stop saying “fun” now.) And that little old lady was so cute, you know who I mean!
so scary, especially for a movie that’s PG. a classic and highly underrated movie. the stuff that happened after production are scary as well
Spectacular, a classic that never forget, never get tired of seeing this masterpiece. Everything in this film is perfect, is frantic, fun, entertaining, and really scared all the time. Steven Spielberg at his best with Tobe Hooper brings us this wonderful film.
This movie does for ghosts what Close Encounters of the Third Kind did for aliens. It attempted to take the initial scariness and shock out of ghosts, and give the characters a sense of wonder about events going on. Don’t get me wrong, things get pretty scary, but everyone is able to keep a level head about the situation. Takes a different approach to ghosts compared to most movies made today, and especially different compared to movies made in 1982. More details here:
http://thewolfmancometh.com/2011/03/12/poltergeist-1982/
I saw this movie for the first time somewhere around ten years old, and even now I still get chills watching it. This is one of those very rare movies that is perfect–spot on performances, great script, scary. This movie is timeless. …Also, that kid had some killer Star Wars sheets.
They’rrrreeeeee Heeeeeerrrrrreeeeeeee!!
Epic movie. The face-tearing scene’s the best.
One of those rare times when the family in a horror movie actually *feels* like a family. You have to love this family and root for them. The only flaw was that it felt so huge and big-budget that except for a few scenes, it could have been a bit darker and creepier. It’s a freaky movie, but it’s not creepy. Except the clown of course! The acting was impeccable to the nth degree. You cared for every person in this movie.
A great, classic, movie.
Best haunted house movie. It’s a “family” movie but still scary. I just loved it.
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