21. Poltergeist (1982)
October 21, 2009
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Haha, I remember this one. Me and my friends watched it a long time ago. We all liked it and had loads of fun watching it.
Great review!
I was wondering if you would review this
that fucking clown…
The clown got me again too! I hate that moment on the bed more than anything else in the entire flick.
Everything else in the movie I like but that one moment after having checked under the bed.
I have many theories about the Poltergeist curse. And they go back to the fact that if they used real skeletons then there were real biohazards and souls attached.
Still watching as the month rolls on.
Very scary movie for it’s time, classic hunted house feel…another great review James, keep em’ comming!
i forgot to mention that brain dead and evil dead (and others) are more a lot more gross than that person tearing his face off
One of my favorite movies ever…
However, the reason why the poltergeist focus on little blondie there is, as clearly stated in the movie by the weird short lady..lol..because she is a pure and innocient spirit that can lead them “to the light”.
the series has been great this year…thanks a bunch
Great review James!!! I think you should review the Puppet Master movies, I think that would be awesome. I used to love to watch them when I was younger.
I’m so tired of all these idiots telling James what to review next, it is obvious he’s already made all the videos,and besides who wants to watch reviews of movies they’ve seen.
The part with the tennis balls and the rope going through the dimensional portal was pretty cool too, especially how they come out all gunky.
I can’t believe I have never seen that one.
The face rip FREAKS ME OUT every time, god.
E V E R Y T I M E I see this movie I say ‘Gimme a break’…then I remember about how the cast started to die and then you rethink for a minute, and realize that maybe the press in the 80’s would tend to twist things around a bit just for attention.
For instance, if someone was making a Carebears movie and the cast started to drop like flies upon release of every sequel no one would think much of it.
I could hear it now…”The Carebears Curse” oooooo ahhhhh lol
Cheers
Karate Kid Icarus, If you can naman other movie where cast died off like they did with this movie please let me know. Only other one I can think of off the top of my head was The Twilight Zone movie.
I dont think death should be taking lighty like you are trying to do, even if your trying to be funny, maybe “the cuurse” was a liuttle hyped but it is strange and it did happen.
The most scary about it the actors died i heared that in the news long ago.You think its because of the real skeletons spirits or the movie spirits themselves or it was a real burial ground?
Tobe Hooper is the court king of the macabre! Bravo! He also used real skeletons, bones actually, in TCM. Same reason, because of budget restraints it was actually easier to acquire real bones and skeletons then to fabricate them. There was a photographer, Joel-Peter Witken (J.P. Witken) who would do something similair in his work. He said, in an interview, that he would go down to the mortuaries in Mexico and toss the coroners a couple of [american] dollars and told them to get some tacos while he manipulated and photographed body parts and bones. I know one piece in particular, ‘The Feast of Fools’, where he had a table laid out with dead babies in a cornacopia. He also did something other pictures in the same degree, some notable (although I can’t remember their names in particular) where a woman with 3/4 of her head missing, a foot and hand holding a rose, and a limp skeleton with a loose face of a man. Interested stuff…maybe you can produce some ‘Jame’s Art Critiques’ or ‘Cinemassacre Art Exhibit’. On an unrelated note, you should review ‘Funhouse’ another great Hooper film. Maybe it’s still on the way? I can’t remember the date (late 70s/early 80s).
@80sMade
It is unfortunate that the individuals that were involved in the picture had passed, don’t take what I mentioned as a joke by no means. But the press had over-hyped each death when someone had passed and even mentioning “The Curse” every time.
When someone passes by natural causes they shouldn’t be associated with a curse. That seems too tribal to me. In other words, I am shining respect on the fact that the individuals that had passed should have not been press bound as a gimmick or sales pitch by any network. They should have understood back then that they died and that was that. Not make a mockery of a situation by putting/reading ridiculous statements put on a teleprompter to get ratings when the individual that had passed didn’t deserve it.
In other words, the curse was made up to sell movies and get ratings with no respect to the actors that passed. Back then saying “curse” on T.V. had a viewers attention.
And I am pretty sure James will review ALL SORTS of curse related movies that became the re-hype back in the 80’s from this.
Cheers
James, where did you get this information about real skeletons? Is it just a rumor or fact? I never heard about this.
There are two little touches in this movie that I really love, first, the housing development it’s set in is called Cuesta Verde – costs green! Secondly, the scene with the chairs, it’s very different to the other sort of scares in the film, but it’s still a great shock moment!
James, I was wondering if you are gonna review Hellraiser 1
No, you’ve got the skeletons confused with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The skeleton in the scene where the girl falls into the room and it’s sitting on the chair had the skeleton bought from India as it was cheaper to get a plastic one.
That movie made me shit the bed!! when i was six years old!!
James this is of subject but this game rock at Halloween.
!
!
!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7nk8BU79u4
@Rustynutts
Very nice cabinet. Did you make that? Have it professionally made? Or buy it? And if so, is it only available in Portugal?
I see a controller coming out of that, is it also a console emulator as well?
Cheers
A classic!
This is a nice horror movie. The sequels aren’t that good. Good job mentioning the supposedly real skeletons. Good review.
One of my favorite! I agree with everyone else, fuck the sequels. I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE SECOND CASTLEVANIA AVGN!!!
Hey! You didn’t mention the late Jerry Goldsmith’s Academy Award winning score!
Now this is one I remember as a kid,I remember seeing Poltergiest 2 first then going back and watching the first one,classic,the music still creeps me to this day.
As for the so called curse,yes the elder sister and the young girl both died along with Craig T Nelsons career,strange,much like the slew of mysterious deaths and unexplained accidents that happened during the filming of The Exorcist.
I hate clowns.
So much.
@Ed Sigma
Actually it is Coasta Verde or “Green Coast”
Poltergeist is a good movie. The clown is horrifying on it’s own. What parent in their right mind would buy something like that for their kid? Well then again the parents did use a lot of drugs so I guess it makes sense.. They were high when they bought and when they came back down they knew they screwed up, but can’t admit it to the kid.
Also on Rifftrax.com a group called Hor-riff-ic Productions has made a rifftrax for this movie in the I-Riffs section. Very funny stuff..
Hell yes. Poltergeist is still just as effective today, despite the dated effects (or perhaps because of them?) I think it would be very difficult for the horror industry to put out another film like Poltergeist…it’s just a perfect storm.
http://www.livingwithanerd.com
Yes m8 its my own cab i built about three years ago.
it has all the emus running you can think of (well cabinet friendly ones anyway).
You get a nice fuzzy gut fealing when you playing the classics…
Thanks for the comment Karate Kid Icarus.
I remember watching this movie as a kid with my older sister… That clown was always the scariest part for me, till this day I curse that dam clown >:-/ …
PoGo…
I had nightmares for years of corpses rising out of swimming pools because of this movie.
The way they brush up against the mom when she falls in, and its slippery so she can’t get the fuck away….*shivers*
The Sequel was memorable on its own for the performance of the crazy old religious / cult leader.
Damn that guy was awesome!
Another shiver moment, when he sings:
“God is in his holy temple.
Earthly thoughts be silent now”
What a wacko.
Hey,
now i’m nitpicking on the number one nitpicker
why didn’t you mentioned that Tobe Hooper was excluded from the post-production. And even Spielberg was hanging around the set for every shoot. So you can say it’s a co-work of two directors.
james, you’re really doing a great job on these reviews. i look forward to watching them when i get to work in the morning (yeah, i should be working, shouldn’t i?). anyways, you’re very talented and i look forward to seeing many more of your movies in the future.
I fucking hate clowns and Hayden Fox.
[...] Cinemassacre’s Monster Madness month continues with their daily Horror film review with Poltergeist. [...]
Hey James. Would this be worth picking up?
http://www.amazon.com/Horror-Classics-Movie-Pack-Collection/dp/B0001HAGTM
It had a number of Lon Chaney Sr. films and White Zombie. Not sure I recognize any of the others. Worth it?
That clown made me shit my pants.
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Someone totally called this movie yesterday in the creepshow comments.
Great movie with a nice story. This movie made ghosts scary again, and that Clown was awesome. As for the curse outside the movie, I recall another movie that had a similar curse, maybe a little worse then that of Poltergeist. The curse from the original “The Omen” (1976), which was another big reason why I enjoyed the 70’s more then the 80’s.
I wonder if any other movies had a curse besides Poltergeist and The Omen?
I knew a girl named Carol Ann. She always got teased since she shared the same name with the character in the film.
The Exorcist did, as someone mentioned earlier.
and most recently, people have been floating the idea of a “Dark Knight” Curse:
1. Heath Ledgers Death by accidental overdose.
2. Morgan Freeman in a near fatal car crash, they needed the jaws-of-life to pull him and his passenger out, it was a real wreck.
This is one of the only movies to genuinely scare me. As a whole, movies do not really effect me in that way. The only other one I can think of is Blair Witch, which is seen as stupid now, but was scary as fuck when it first came out.
The part where they’re smoking some pot in their room: “Before, after, before, after…” LOL!
[...] –> Klick-Bum-Tschack <– [...]
I love this movie. And I love Heather O’Rourke as Carol Anne. The only thing I dislike about Poltergeist is the acting. There were lot of moments I found truly strange where the characters would react to certain things like it was no big deal. I found myself scolding in front of the TV because the characters were acting so gullible and dumbfounded. I also found it strange that after they got Carol Anne back to the real world and rid the evil spirits out of their house, the family continued to stay there for a night. I was like “WTF, mate?” If I were them, I would get my ass out of the darn house right away. What a strange family.
Overall, I love this movie but I’m still sad that Heather passed away too soon at the age of 12. She was so cute and precious. I think she’d grow to be a bombshell if she was still here with us. Rest In Peace, Heather.
This is one of my favorite movies. I thought the special effects were damn good for 1982, especially that scary white thing at the top of the stairs. I’d heard about them using real skeletons before and they didn’t tell the actress who played the mom about it until after they were done shooting. I would have stayed in the shower for a WEEK after receiving such news.
I’m glad you talked about this one. It’s the first movie on this year’s monster madness where I’ve actually seen it before. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do with all these old movies.
More of his crap?
Awesome. Now I know what last weeks southpark episode was referencing with that whispering old lady explaining what purgatory is like.
Great review!! I think it would be awesome if you review Paranormal Activity as a bonus to this month. (probably wouldn’t be able to get footage though)
Great Review. Monster Madness has been awesome this year keep up the good work.
To everyone complaining about “why won’t you do this movie or that movie, it my favorite blah blah…..”. HA-ha, this is by far my all time favorite scary movie. I feel so vindicated that James reviewed it.
@ Williamsfan
Totally agree! The late great Jerry Goldsmith wrote some creepy music for that movie!
didn’t this get remade already? or is has a remake in the works?
Didn’t the simpsons do a holloween spoof episode about that twilight zone when they travel to another dimension and the portal is in their living room?
one more thing, i know for sure family guy did a poltergeist spoof too, that was funny
Ryan, you’re my Ry Guy and I want to be the meat in your Ry bread sandwich
One of the best movies ever made! That is creepy that they used real skeletons though…
the clown really scared the shit out of me
Yeah, this is definitely one of the best horror movies ever made!
Another great video, James.
Have you considered perhaps, once Monster Madness is done, compiling all of these reviews into a single video? It would be cool to revisit these once the month is over but it would be convenient to have them all in one instead of having to click through 31 videos.
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The reason I found this movie so enjoyable is that it had a family touch. Lots of comedy scenes with adorable children and no blood. This hit the family and young adult line which I love. I wouldn’t have liked it as much if it had lots of cursing, blood, and sex. Excellent review my friend. This movie will always be a classic.
One of my favorite movies. So glad that you reviewed this.
James, I made a account just for this comment. WHERE THE @#$% IS THE NEW VIDEO OF AVGN. Now what i thought about the creppy movie your talking about. I have it it’s pretty kreepy but i didn’t realize till now that family guy did a parody of this
Was a great movie the first couple time i saw it..but TCM in Scandinavia totally destroyed it..they show it almost every day on the telie so screams in terror everytime i see it on TCM and turn off the tv and hide my self and wait until its gone ^^
Its a great movie but TCM is showing it waaaay to often
and guess what..its on the tv again right now..ieek!
I didn’t find this film scary at all, but that basket case film looks disturbing as fuck. lol
DYLANRAMSEY, I made a account just for this comment.
You suck.
@ Review, man I really have to see this one.
With your reviews I know which movies I’ve missed, thank you for that.
Great review, I’ll wait here for the other ones.
When I was a kid, I was the biggest wuss there was. I would be the one to skip out on haunted house trips with my friends. I was the scarety cat of the group, and I bet I took alot of shit for it.
I think I can blame this film for that. I was like 3 or 4 when I saw it, so it basically traumatized me for my entire childhood. Thankfully, I’ve grown out of the wuss phase.
Thanks for the reviews James. You’re reminding me of all the horror films I was too scared to watch when I was a kid, and now I want to go see them again and see what kind of effect they have on me now that I’m older.
You s-o-b. You moved the cemetery but you left the bodies, didn’t ya? You s-o-b. You left the bodies and you only moved the headstones. You only moved the headstones.
When I was little, I liked ghost movies the best because if I got too scared I could cheer myself up by saying I ain’t afraid of no ghosts.
That’s a REAL SCARY MOVIE… I don’t remember, but my parents told me that when I was a little kid, I watched this movie, and after that (acording to them), I didn’t want to watch TV for a long time…. I bet that’s the reason I had nightmares with crazy clowns for a long time…. Excellent review James
I love, love, love when you cross-reference Twilight Zone episodes in your reviews. Man after my own heart…
Speaking of clowns, i wonder if he’s going to review killer clowns from outter space..? That movie was awesome ^^
All I remember from this movie, as a kid, is the tree and the clown.. I don’t think I’ve ever fully recovered
good job james i rember there was a remake to this movie and it sucked major ballz they took it off the theathers a week after showing.
God when I was little, my dad wouldn’t let me see anything above a PG rating, so we rented Poltergeist. God this scared the shit outta me!!!!!! Madness!!!!!
Soulreaper you have a good point. I know james is hard at work at a new video and I should wait and should’t spam on one of his monster madness videos (which are just as good as avgn if not better) And i feel even more bad for continuing the spamming
Great review! Although now I’m terribly depressed to hear that girl died at the age of 12.
Sure kids die all the time but… Jeez I mean when you’re looking right at them, it’s so sad
.
funnily enough i just watched Poltergiest 2 on VHS. The original is one of the best ghost related films of all time. I totally forgot it was directed by tope hopper, with spelberg you dam well know their not going to make half assed attempted. Yes, 2 had her twin sister, yes, that was very creepy redring. This film is just plane fukin brilliant
I love this movie. I’m really hoping james will review the child’s play series this year.
I actually never got to see this movie and I know it’s considered a classic by some. I’m gonna have to rent it and check it out finally after all these years.
@ psykophear, their house imploded and they had to stay at a motel and they got rid of their tv
did you really watch this whole movie?
@ walrusonion, maybe some people want to know what he thinks about certain movies that they’ve seen or maybe haven’t seen like me because i have a long list of movies and games i’m curious to know what he would think about them
Yes! I was hoping you’d do this movie. I was about ten when it came out and you bet it scared the crap out of me. It was pretty much a compilation of every little kids and parents’ worst fears rolled into one movie. And kudos for mentioning “Little Girl Lost” an underrated and eminently creepy Twilight Zone episode.
BLARGITY, This is HIS list tho and I’m sure these reviews were done atleast a month ago so commenting a request wouldn’t help and alot of people seem to have got a little mad because James didn’t review they’re favs.
I say if it’s on his list it’s on his list, if not oh well, why not comment on the movie he’s reviewing not on what you wish he would review.
Real skeletons? Oh crap. That’s just creepy.
The most disturbing I’ve ever seen was “Cannibal holocaust” but it just made me sick and sad. Poltergeist is certainly one of the best ghost movies. My absolute favorite is nevertheless “Amityville”.
The “curse” of this film is interesting, not because it’s not true, but because of the way it has been embellished and exaggerated by the media.
As James points out, there were several deaths of actors who were in the film and people naturally saw a connection with it being a horror film and suggested a curse.
The curse has become exaggerated because some people claim that ALL the cast involved died, which is not true, Craig T Nelson, Jo Beth Williams and Tom Skerritt are all still alive.
Of the deaths:
Dominique Dunne (in the first film) – killed by an abusive boyfriend after they broke up, he strangled her almost to death, she died in a coma 4 days after the attack.
Heather O’Rourke (in all 3 films) – Toxins in her blood caused by a bowel obstruction killed her, at 12, she was unable to fight off the illness.
Julian Beck (in the second film) – Died of a cancer he had been battling for 18 months and the death was not unexpected.
Will Sampson (in the second film) – Died after a heart / lung transplant from severe malnutrition, kidney failure and a fungal infection – he was said to have known his chances of survival were low.
As such, you can see that while 4 cast members died, 1 was a murder and 1 was a tragic one, 2 were following conditions that were highly likely to kill the victims.
A curse is perhaps a little strong for this in my opinion…
Haha, awesome! Poltergeist, one of the best movies, period! Thanks for reviewing it!
James I love you!!!! Poltergeist is one of my all time favourite horror movies, hands down. When I came on here today and saw this here, I seriously yelled “Oh my God Poltergeist!” with so much excitement.
I first saw it a few years ago, when I was a little younger, thanks to my mom. It was fantastic, and really jumpy. Horror movies don’t scare me, but I bet if I saw this as a child, I would have been.
The two sequels were pretty good, I have to say. The second was actually a little more sad, and somewhat confusing in some aspects. But it was good, though. It was neat to see a follow up and to have it all come back again when they think it’s over.
I really liked the third one, which was interesting. I would loved for the original cast to be in it, but it’s sad since some unfortunate deaths had occurred. But anyway, I liked the third movie, one of the reasons was the setting. I thought the big building having everything you needed at your disposal was awesome, and plus the feeling of being trapped, with so many places it could all be. The musical score was awesome, too.
I remember reading on the internet about how Heather O’Rourke died, that was just so sad, I felt so upset. And even worse, she died while there was still about 17 pages of the script left to make in the movie. Poor girl.
Well overall, THANK YOU for reviewing Poltergeist. I truly didn’t expect that, and yet I guess I should have seen it coming, it’s a great movie, and very unique.
Good stuff!
If anyone want to know more about Heather O’Rourke’(little Carol) death:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdqQ1j7hN2M
another great review. this is personally my all time favorite movie. Keep up the great work James!
[...] 21. Poltergeist (1982) | Cinemassacre ProductionsAnd I love Heather O’Rourke as Carol Anne. The only thing I dislike about Poltergeist is the acting. There were lot of moments I found truly strange where the characters would react to certain things like it was no big deal. … Read more [...]
[...] 21. Poltergeist (1982) | Cinemassacre ProductionsAnd I love Heather O’Rourke as Carol Anne. The only thing I dislike about Poltergeist is the acting. There were lot of moments I found truly strange where the characters would react to certain things like it was no big deal. … Read more [...]
oh wow… I remember watching this when I was a kid. I was HORRIFIED!
[...] 21. Poltergeist (1982) | Cinemassacre Productions (cinemassacre.com) – October 21, 2009And I love Heather O’Rourke as Carol Anne. The only thing I dislike about Poltergeist is the acting. There were lot of moments I found truly strange where the characters would react to certain things… [...]
man i remember back when i was 7 i saw this and got all paranoid