Movie Review: Poltergeist (2015)

 

Let me start off by saying that this was by far the least painful theater-going experience that I've had in a while. Normally for me when there are other people in the theater (and sadly that's pretty much always the case considering we're out in public and all) some douchebag has got to ruin it for me by either making noises or just being in my general vicinity. I realize that makes me sound douchey as well, but seriously. People cannot keep quiet in a movie theater sometimes. But thankfully there were no (big) problems this time so I could relax a bit more. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really liked the movie.

But, Michele! Isn't Poltergeist your FAVORITE horror movie ever? Yes, it is. Well, that and Child's Play, of course. I've been having a really hard time not calling that one my favorite too lately so I think I'm just going to have two favorites. ANYWAY. I did not want to be judgmental going into the remake of Poltergeist at all. So I haven't even watched the original in a few months, and I only watched one of the trailers once and avoided all others and all TV spots after that. And overall, though I could tell it was Poltergeist and though some things were obviously changed around and different, I truly think that this remake was very successful and is quite possibly one of the better ones out there. I came out of the theater feeling really good, and that is always a good sign.

At first I was weary. One thing I've always liked about the original film is that it was not like almost all other haunted house movies where it starts off with a family moving into a new house. They were already established in the house and the neighborhood before anything started. Also, the family was well established. The Freelings were just normal people that were suddenly hit out of nowhere with all this crazy supernatural stuff. The new movie has a new family, the Bowens - Eric and Amy, and their three children that mirror the children in the original - Kendra, Griffin, and Maddy. Sadly, no E. Buzz, but there was a line about how they should get a dog. It's not enough that they are moving into a new house, but they also had to give the family some problems, like the dad being laid off recently. However, this ends up being completely unnecessary because you don't need that plot point to sympathize with the family.

Which brings me to one of my favorite elements of the remake, and frankly, the thing that I was most worried about before going to see it. I've always loved that Poltergeist was like your family-friendly ghost movie, and that it was funny and that there was a wonderful family dynamic. Would this new family be just as wonderful as the laid-back, funny, pot-smoking Freelings? Indeed they are! There is no pot-smoking, but Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt are perfect as the parents, as they are so light-hearted, relatable, and absolutely lovable. The new Carol Anne is really amazing, and I loved that she had the same hairstyle, just a different color. Griffin is a bit of a dork like Robbie was but is again played by a wonderful little actor. Sassy Kendra is the annoying teen who thinks a new iPhone is the most important thing in the world - however, when things get bad, she shows a genuine love for her younger siblings. The only place where the remake falters on the family element is at the end when they switch around Maddy's rescuer from the Other Side. Though I get what they were trying to do with the Griffin character, I missed the complete motherly devotion and sacrifice of Diane Freeling that the original gave us.

The new paranormal investigative team is headed up by Dr. Brooke Powell, played by the underrated Jane Adams, and her two assistants that I don't think I ever got the names of. Instead of Tangina, we have Carrigan Burke, a sort of Peter Vincent character, if you will. He's played with a wonderful amount of snark and playboyish charm by Jared Harris, whom I freaking love. It was so refreshing and wonderful to see that these side characters were not forgotten in development, and that I was able to love them just as much as the family members they were trying to save. I was so afraid that this remake was going to shortchange the characters in favor of flashy special effects and jump scares. And I was so elated to find out that this was not the case.

Speaking of the special effects, I was really impressed with those as well. There are a few things that don't work out as well - like the comic book stacking and that weird sequence with the drill - but overall, the remake did enough to honor the original film while still throwing in a lot of its own new stuff. Of course the clown sequence probably got the most attention in the marketing (like I said, I didn't watch any of it but that big clown face on one of the posters was a giveaway) and it was handled really well. There was actually more than one clown doll, if you need me to frighten you more. I really liked the toned-down version of the tree sequence, and the addition of one very cool little scene where all the lights come out of the lightbulbs in Maddy's room and go into the closet. Reminded me of the part in the original where they see all the different spirits on the staircase.

Though in this fan's eyes, the remake was a little bit unnecessary, it certainly was not pointless. They treated the classic story with respect, making totally appropriate changes where they felt it was needed and did a good job at it. I still got the same vibe that I love so much about the original Poltergeist from this remake and, honestly, that's all I was really hoping for.

Horror Movie Locations I'd Like to Visit

Last November, I took a fantastical trip to New York City, where about 9 million movies have been shot. Only being there for a few days, I made it to just one famous filming location...

... the firehouse in Tribeca that served as the exterior location for the Ghostbusters firehouse. I also saw The Dakota, the apartment building made (in)famous for being not only the location of the murder of John Lennon, but also was yet another exterior location for the apartment building in Rosemary's Baby (didn't get a picture though... dangit).

Anyway, it turns out that there are a bunch of cool places in the US and abroad that horror fans can visit and relive some of the classic scenes from their favorite films. Here are some places that I personally would like to go to - even though I'll probably never get to see any of them!

The Night of the Living Dead Cemetery

(Evans City Cemetery, Evans City, Pennsylvania)

Thanks to Christine from Fascination with Fear, whose picture of her next to that monument in the middle got me thinking about this post to begin with! On the outside, I'm sure this cemetery is not that much different than many others, but to this zombie film fan, going to the place where modern zombie movies were born would be like going to heaven.

The Poltergeist House

(4267 Roxbury Street, Simi Valley, California)

Well, duh! Of course I want to go here! And how weird is it that the house looks kinda exactly the same as it did in 1982? 

The Orphanage House

(Llanes, Asturias, Spain)

This is just a still from the movie but here's a link to Flickr where a guy took a picture of the actual house: http://www.flickr.com/photos/francesco_pics/5055639398/. I don't know how to describe this house other than a monstrosity of beauty. It immediately got my attention when I first saw the movie and has stayed in my future-home-owner dreams ever since. It's in Spain, though, so that sucks.

The House on Haunted Hill

(a.k.a Ennis House, Los Angeles, California)

Okay, not only was this house (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) used as the exterior for the famous House on Haunted Hill in the Vincent Price B-movie of the same name, it was also used for the exteriors of the mansion in which Angel, Spike, and Drusilla dwelled in the second season of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Poof! Two awesome locations for the price of one!

The Omen Church

(All Saints Church, Fulham, London, England)

Oh, the fun I would have taking pictures here. I would gladly go out and find my own metal spike or lightening rod to reenact the spectacular death of Father Brennan in The Omen. I'm pretty sure they would just kick me out and tell me that I'm going to hell or something.

The Amityville House

(112 Ocean Avenue, Long Island, New York)

Yes, I know the owners are probably sick of people gawking over their house, but they should have known what they were signing up for. And while I'm not the biggest fan of the original movie, I guess I can't deny that this is one of the most famous movie locations in the US. 

The Stanley Hotel

(Estes Park, Colorado)

Though not the actual hotel that is in the movie The Shining (that's the Timberline Lodge in Mount Hood, Oregon), this is the place where Stephen King stayed way back in '73 and which inspired him to write the famous novel. While briefly living in Colorado two years ago, I seriously thought out taking a trip to see it, but Estes Park was way too far away and I never had time.

The Exorcist Steps

(M street, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.)

So I didn't even know that this very steep set of stairs that Father Karras fell down was a famous location to visit until I watched a feature on the Hot Fuzz DVD where Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost go there and play around for a while. Forget the Washington Monument or the White House - if I'm ever in DC, The  Exorcist steps will be the first thing I want to do!

I know that some of these are kind of obvious ones, but whatever! That's all I got for now. So what say you? Any horror movie locations on your radar?

Movie Review: Poltergeist 3 (1988)

My memory of Poltergeist 3 was slightly better than that of part 2. The story was completely lost to me but I had vague recollections of scary mirror people, Carol Anne's pajamas, and Tom Skerritt. That right there should be reason enough to hate this movie, but did the world's biggest Poltergeist fan (me) actually hate this second sequel? Read on to find out...

Carol Anne Freeling has been sent to Chicago to live with her aunt Pat, Pat's husband Bruce, and his daughter Donna. Carol Anne attends a school for gifted children with emotional problems, cared after by a doctor who is convinced that she made up all the stuff about ghosts to explain away the events of the first two films. Meanwhile, the malevolent Henry Kane has once again found a way to get to Carol Anne through the mirrors of her apartment building.

Poltergeist 3 is generally believed to be... well, a huge turd. Its current rating on Rotten Tomatoes is only a meager 14%. Despite all that, I really like this movie! I know! I like it a lot more than Poltergeist 2, and I'm actually very surprised at the across-the-board hate for it. Poltergeist 3 is seriously a pretty good movie, and I'm not just trying to be nice here. There's actually not a lot about the movie that I don't like, which is new territory for me. Again, it's no Poltergeist but it's got some things of its own going for it that at least make the movie visually entertaining.

The only original people back this time are Carol Anne and the ever-dwindling character of Tangina. I like the dynamics amongst Carol Anne and her new family. Nancy Allen plays her Aunt Pat (her mother's sister) who got married only a year prior to Bruce Gardener (Tom Skerritt) and became the stepmother to his teenage daughter Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle). Pat is Carol Anne's real blood relative of this family and yet she is the one who is the most resentful of her and what they have to put with her "crazy ghost stories." Bruce is surprisingly the one who has bonded the most with her and it is his love and trust of her that helps save his family in the end.

So after the introduction of this movie's family unit and the ginormous high-rise building they all live in, we're introduced to Carol Anne's psychologist at school, Dr. Seaton. Frankly, this guy is a complete quack and an idiot and whatever school gave him his doctor degree should be ashamed. He has this convoluted idea that Carol Anne has the power of mass hypnosis and is able to make people see whatever she imagines. In one scene where he sees, through a mirror, a hand coming out of his desk and throw a coffee cup at the mirror and breaking it, he is so delusional about his theory that he tries to tell the people behind the mirror that Carol Anne made him see it and made the other woman break the mirror. Whuh? The dude playing the doctor is also the worst actor of the whole bunch. Every line he utters is unbelievably cheesy and fake sounding, it's a wonder his whole performance didn't end up on the cutting room floor.

One thing I like about Poltergeist 3 is that is quite fast-paced, as it all takes place over the course of one day and night. The elaborate effects are a big help in this department, and most of them are very convincing and well done. I loved all the bits with the stuff happening in the mirrors, which keeps you one your toes because you're always watching the reflections, waiting to see what they're going to do next. The one bit that I remembered the most clearly before I rewatched the film is when Donna and her beau Scott meet up in the hallway. They laugh, then they kiss, then Scott rips off Donna's cheek before they walk down the mirrored hallway, only appearing in the mirror. I still kinda like that.

The other effects are quite inventive and thankfully there is nothing as stupid as the braces attack in Poltergeist 2. I liked all the mirror and ice imagery - there's an okay scene where Bruce and Pat encounter frozen chickens and pigs and then possessed frozen cars in the parking garage - which kept the effects consistent and nothing seems too far out of left field, even for a Poltergeist movie. The gross-out scene comes when Donna's evil mirror-self claws her way out of dead Tangina's body, a scene that is kind of the opposite of my favorite scene from Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 when dead Mary Lou punches her way out of alive Vicky's body. Anyway. Suffice to say that I like all the effects in Poltergeist 3 because they are inventive and crazy like a Poltergeist movie should be and they are well executed.

The weird thing about the whole movie, though, is that the villain is Kane again, trying to find Carol Anne so she can lead him into the light, but he's not really in the movie that much. You hear his voice calling for Carol Anne and he appears a lot in the mirrors but that's about it. His only real scene is at the end, when Donna confronts him to get her family back and Tangina leads him into the light instead. He's not as creepy as he was in the second film and he obviously wasn't that important either. Oh, and speaking of the ending, why did everybody suddenly forget about poor Scott? Bruce, Donna, and Carol Anne come back from The Other Side but they leave Scott, who is now going to have to live in the same limbo that pissed Kane off for so many years? Nice. Real nice, people.

So I'm going to have to be the dissenting opinion here and say that Poltergeist 3 is actually not a huge turd in my book. O'Rourke, Skerritt, Allen, and Boyle all give convincing performances in a movie where the high-dollar effects would usually overshadow everyone. These effects keep the plot moving and give us some cool things to look at along the way. Thumbs up, I say.

Red footie pajamas for the win!

Movie Review: Poltergeist 2: The Other Side (1986)

Poltergeist is my bestest horror movie bud. All-time favorite, you know. The memories of the sequels to this awesome haunted house movie were buried somewhere in my mind, mostly lost and forgotten. I finally relented and rewatched both Poltergeist 2 and 3, though I was sure that it would only muddle the beautiful feelings I have for the original. But... the second one wasn't so bad. Wasn't so great, either, but it has it's moments.

The Freeling family is back (well, minus one due to horrific real-life circumstances) and now living with Diane's mother because their house sort of disappeared into thin air. They are once again thrust into the realm of the supernatural when an reverend named Henry Kane starts following Carol Anne around. The psychic Tangina sends the family a Native American shaman, Taylor, to help them fight the assault from the relentless Kane.

Do I like Poltergeist 2? Eh, it's a toss-up. I like that it has the original cast members, and that it still has that touch of humor that made the first one so charming, and that it introduced one uber-creepy villain, but it's just not the same. The light shows and strange happenings seem like they were trying too hard to make this sequel more exciting visually instead of focusing on creating a compelling story that makes sense. The movie is entertaining enough, and it hurts to constantly feel like I have to compare it to the first Poltergeist, but seriously. Do you really expect me not to considering the fact that Poltergeist is like, my favorite horror movie EVER?

The best thing about Poltergeist 2 is the acting. JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, and even little Heather O'Rourke are just as likable and lovable as they were before. Zelda Rubenstein's Tangina is hardly around at all, which is a disappointment (and she was nominated for a Razzie for this role - ouch). Heather gets a chance to show some real acting chops here and she's practically perfect. Nelson is funny as always, especially in his hilariously charming moments with the wonderful Will Sampson, who plays Taylor. And Nelson is great in the scene where he's possessed by the tequila worm - delightfully uncomfortable.

The important thing that's missing from the whole movie, though, is the connection of the family. They are still a great and loving family, but there doesn't seem to be any real emotion there. Their desperation and breakdown about getting Carol Anne back was beautiful in the first movie, as well as their reluctant acceptance of the supernatural. Now their attitude is just "oh not this shit again" and it doesn't seem as serious.

But of course the big star of the movie is Henry Kane, played by Julian Beck. His skeletal frame, wispy white hair, and straight, yellow teeth combine to give Kane an insanely scary look - one that any child, or adult for that matter, would run away from on the street (even though Carol Anne didn't, but I think Kane used his demony hypnotic powers on her with the song and all). His voice and speech patterns are also unsettling, with that undefinable accent. His whole character is somewhat cliche in how exaggerated he is, but the actor is good enough to pull it off here.

I understand the need for strange supernatural experiences in a movie like this, but did they really have to include a scene where poor Robbie is attacked by his freaking BRACES? I didn't like that scene at all. Stephen vomiting up the worm monster was a little better. The effects are really awesome in that scene and I was no doubt very grossed out by the imagery. The thing morphing into an armless, skinless ball of jelly? Ewww. Then it slithers out of the room, grows all these tentacles and attacks Stephen. But sadly the big "fight" scene with this monster was boring and over too quickly.

Likewise the climax was also rather hurried and boring, despite the big light show when the whole freaking family went to "the other side." That was hokey as hell... but really, what did I expect them to make the other side look like? Like most of the rest of the movie, this ending seems to be there just to show off the visual effects. It's nice but less meaningful than the first film.

So yeah, I'm on the fence about Poltergeist 2. It's alright I guess, but it's no Poltergeist. The comparison between the two is almost not there and it's obvious which one is better. The sequel has some good elements and the acting is pretty good, but the story is what is most lacking and the connection between the characters.

Horror Movie Memorabilia (And Excuses For Not Blogging)

TheGirl has been slacking a lot on the review writing. This is for a few reasons, perhaps. One, I haven't actually been watching many movies lately (ever since I discovered "Hoarders" was on Netflix - love that show) and the ones I have seen have not been that worthy of a review. Except The Brood. Still working on that. Two, I'm on the book tour for Shock Value by Jason Zinoman and I've had to read that and write a deserving review, which I am also still working on (will be posted on July 18!). In fact, I may even read it again in order to have a more informed opinion. Whew.

So I'm trying to be more creative with the blogging thing and doing more than just reviews. Today, as I'm sitting in my room, it hit me!

Some of my most prized possessions include my little array of horror movie memorabilia. I would like to share with you some of these things I've collected - with pictures, of course - and I want to hear from you about anything horror-related that YOU have! I don't know if any of this stuff is true "memorabilia," like, if they're worth anything or whatever, but I love them and I want to acquire more!

Posters

The most obvious thing to collect for any movie lover are posters. I've collected a lot of non-horror posters (used to work in the video section of my grocery store) and the horror ones I do have I love, but there are certain ones that I still need to get. LIKE POLTERGEIST. It's my favorite horror movie. Why don't I have a poster of it yet??? Anyway, here are the ones I do have.

The Evil Dead! It used to have a primo spot on my wall, right above my bed, but got moved recently.

Love Saw, of course, but more so, I love this image from the film so I had to get the poster.

As they appear on my walls. Two eras of filmmaking converge!

Gosh darn, I loves me some Resident Evil. And this poster was free, too!

Toys/Dolls

Some of these I picked up pretty cheap on eBay, some I found at my video store. They're all great.

This is the "Splitting Ash and Deadite" doll collection from Army of Darkness. Terrible likeness, but still kinda neat, I think.

Also a terrible likeness, this is supposed to be Darla from the "Welcome to the Hellmouth" episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She's got some cute accessories.

This is Jessica Biel's character Erin from the TCM remake (a little bit better likeness!). I like the movie but not sure why I bought this. I guess because I liked that she's got a big slab of meat with her.

Here's the best one! The original Movie Maniacs doll of Leatherface from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre! He's got a background with the movie poster, a bloody bucket, a severed head, a meat hook... everything Leatherface needs!

Calm down, Jenny, he's not real - I have to tell myself that several times a day, too. This little plush Chucky doll is supposedly from Child's Play 2 (as the tag says) but this could be from the first film as well, I guess. So far, he hasn't shown signs of coming to life, but who knows? He could be getting up in the middle of the night and wandering around my house for all I know.

Miscellaneous

T-shirts, knickknacks, and signs - oh my! Here's some more random stuff that I have!

The first of a few Psycho related stuff. I found this on AllPosters.com (FANTASTIC site) and just had to have it. It's just a cool tin sign.

 

More Psycho stuff. I got these goodies from Dollar Bin Horror and I L-O-V-E love them! My Bates Motel t-shirt already got a little color stain from the washing machine (GRRRR), but, my Bates Motel keychain is still rockin' its awesomeness on my keyring.

Brought back to life from a previous post, here's my autographed photo of Joe Bob Briggs!

And just for fun, here is my little bookshelf that holds nothing but Stephen King paperback and hardcover books. And I still don't have them all. I picked up a few first editions (at least I hope they are) of Pet Sematary and Misery recently so that's awesome!

I also have one of those Ghostface Scream masks, but that's not as cool because they sell that every year at Halloween stores now. 

So now my horror movie nerdines is out in the open for all to see. And I'm dang proud of it! What about my amazing fellow bloggers and readers? Got any cool horror movie stuff you have that you'd like to share?