Truthfully, your reaction to the latest Poltergeist reboot will largely depend on how much reverence you have for the original. The 1982 ghost story was a high profile spectacle produced with big special effects flourishes typical for a Steven Spielberg production. If you go in expecting something on the same kind of grand scale, you may come away disappointed. Yet as a simple haunted house flick that can likely play to most family members, it offers enough to earn it a moderate recommendation.
Out of work and struggling with maxed-out credit cards, Eric Bowen (Sam Rockwell) and his aspiring writer wife Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt) are forced to downsize to a smaller home. Adapting to a modest way of life becomes more difficult for their family when strange events begin occurring via (gave me pause, but probably ok) some creepy clown dolls and an intimidating tree. With their finances making it impossible to leave, the Bowens try to make the best of it, but are soon forced to take extreme measures when one of their clan disappears. Help comes in the form of TV ghost hunter, Carrigan Burke (Jared Harris). Together, they attempt to locate the missing party and “clear” the house.
First off, this is a much more modest effort. At times, it plays like a Coles Notes version of the original story. While similarly supernatural events take place, the film doesn’t elaborate on many of them in the way the original does. Indeed, some of the bigger set pieces are scaled down considerably in this edition. Anyone remembering the large scale climax featuring corpses rising from the grounds won’t see anything near as impressive in this smaller, truncated production.
Despite the feeling that events are being abbreviated and rushed, the cast and a streak of humor help to minimize this problem and elevate the goofy material. The new background story wrinkle is a nice touch that helps viewers empathize with the family (and finally gives a logical reason for them to stay put when the weird stuff begins). The likable Rockwell and DeWitt also ground the film and add the odd moment of levity.
And the young kids are actually a little more developed in this version, with Griffin (Kyle Catlett) standing out. Great care and attention is given to his character – a frightened, sensitive soul who must overcome his fears to help his family survive. This is a strong addition to the basic story and one that offers a noble message to younger audience members.
Director Gil Keenan (Monster House) also emphasizes more humor in the proceedings. There’s a stuffed animal (a “Unipig”) that gives the appearance of quivering in terror when the ghosts begin to manifest themselves around the house. There are numerous witty observations from the adults acknowledging the bizarre situation. Additionally, the movie offers a few clever thrill sequences that include some power drill mayhem and an interesting visualization of an alternate dimension.
Poltergeist never comes close to matching its source material. Still, if you just watch it on its own merits, this is an agreeable enough flick with a couple of new flourishes that deliver some genuinely fun moments. While it certainly has intense scenes, it’s closer to a family scare movie than an out-and-out horror effort and events never get too disturbing or scary (frankly, the original film wasn’t any more intense).
While this is no genre masterpiece, at least one can easily say that the film is much better than both Poltergeist II: The Other Side and Poltergeist III. Perhaps it’s faint praise, but considering how badly this remake could have ended, this is at least some kind of an accomplishment.