The original “Poltergeist,” made in 1982 directed by Tobe Hooper (to some debate) and written/produced by Steven Spielberg, holds a special place in my heart as the first horror film I ever watched in my life. I was eight years old and I decided to tag along to my sister’s sleepover in the living room with her friend when they decided to watch this film, I jumped on it because it was only rated PG, so how scary could it really be? Really scary, that is. If you’ve read my previous reviews, you probably know my favorite genre of film is horror, that’s the genre that got me into all the other types of films, because everything seemed so much easier to handle once I cracked horror and seeing that the original “Poltergeist” was the first in my line of horror, I tip my hat to it.

Now, before I start here, let me say one thing that’s really starting to bother me. Yes, I am very aware that remakes are pointless, that they are cash grabs from studios and blah, blah, blah, go back to 4Chan and stop complaining to me. I’m going to review the 2015 film, “Poltergeist” and reference it to the 1982 film “Poltergeist.” What I’m not going to do is belittle the existence of this film simply because it’s a remake, I’m here to critique how the film is, not whether or not the film in question should exist, so shut it.

Let’s get the biggest question out of the way first, is 2015 “Poltergeist” as good as 1982 “Poltergeist”? No, and no one, including me, expected it to be. It’s nowhere near as iconic with Heather O’Rourke’s haunting delivery of the “They’re here” line, Zelda Rubinstein’s wondrous performance as the expert medium, Tangina, or any of the 80’s schlockiness that made the original so iconic, but 2015 “Poltergeist” has quite a few tricks up its sleeve that I found to be pretty effective when creating a haunting atmosphere.

If you’re unfamiliar with “Poltergeist,” here’s the rundown: A suburban family moves into a new house after their father is laid off from work. Over time, strange and frightening occurrences plague the family which all culminates in their youngest daughter, Madison, being taken into the malevolent spirit realm by their poltergeist. Together, and with the help of a local medium and a TV ghost hunter, they must find a way to safely retrieve her from this world without her leading the spirits into the light of the afterlife, taking her with them.

My biggest weakness in film is a horror film with a good cast, much like this year’s “The Lazarus Effect” (which I still stand by my positive review on, thank you very much), “Poltergeist” has quite a showy cast for the genre, including audience favorites Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jane Adams and Jared Harris. While I’m most impressed with Rockwell’s career and his performance in the film, I found that DeWitt’s performance was the most powerful in the film, channeling the fragile fire of a broken and confused mother desperate to get her child back. Adams and Harris play nicely together as local medium Dr. Brooke Powell and TV ghost hunter Carrigan Burke, a former married couple reuniting in their shared passion in the best interest of others.

Director Gil Kenan almost seemed ironically ready to take this film on, as his previous work includes directing the 2006 animated movie, “Monster House,” which basically is “Poltergeist” for children. Kenan has employed a far more visually stunning film than the 1982 version, which may or may not be an issue for some people. In 1982, you didn’t see much of these spirits and some people find the scariness in not seeing something. While in 2015, Kenan bares all for the camera, which some people find scariness in seeing the evil presented before them. I find both as scary as each other, so both work for me, but with minimalist horror like “It Follows” and “The Babadook” making a comeback once again, those who dig that might not like “Poltergeist’s” straight up approach to delivering scares.

“Poltergeist,” whilst not being advertised greatly as such, is a 3D horror film as well and provides some of the most subtle uses of 3D seen in a horror film in almost ever. With only a few small objects poking out of the screen, Kenan provides the house and spirit world to serve itself as a layer of depth to immerse the audience more in the scares. I found it to be effective, especially in the climax, but if you’re expecting anything along the lines of “Gravity,” you might as well sit the 3D experience out.

In the end, “Poltergeist” is equal parts “Insidious,” “The Conjuring” and 1982 “Poltergeist.” This new remake mixes elements of the original film in with modern takes on how haunted house horror films are made today and does so with such style and visual panache whilst moving at a brisk and even pace. This version is nowhere near as iconic, with no Zelda Rubinstein and without the daughter’s name being Carol-Anne, we shouldn’t be surprised by that revelation, but perhaps this “pointless remake” has good coming from it. Because god forbid that a movie get remade, at least let the remake be good, and let the church say “amen” for 2015 “Poltergeist.”

4/5

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures.

Directed by: Gil Kenan
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris, Jane Adams.
Runtime: 93 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for intense frightening sequences, brief suggestive material and some language.
Also available in RealD 3D.

Fox 2000 Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures present, a Ghost House Pictures/Vertigo Entertainment production, Poltergeist