Poltergeist (Blu-ray Book Packaging)

This 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition provides an excellent transfer of one of the best films in its genre. As for the extras, well, they seem to be designed for folks who think the genre is documentary ... you won't learn anything about the making of the film, but you'll see an updated version of the investigators of the paranormal portrayed in it. Too bad Tangina's not here.

When two of the greatest directors, horror master Tobe Hooper (creator of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" & "Salem's Lot") and filming genius, Steven Spielberg (creator of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" & "Schindler's List") came together, the blockbuster smash-hit, "Poltergeist" was born and blew audiences away worldwide! A classic combo of epic proportions that brought us one of the most horrifying, imaginative, and powerful films ever put on the BIG SCREEN!

Originally released in 1982, Heather O' Rourke plays the main role as loveable (and cute!) Carol-Anne, while JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson (leading star of the 80s T.V. sitcom hit, "Coach"), & Zelda Rubinstein would probably be considered the supporting actors. It is the most original and creative ghost story since "The Exorcist" (1973) & "The Amityville Horror" (1979) about the Freeling family who lives in the beautiful California suburbs. (which is where the movie was filmed) Carol-Anne somehow has a link with the supernatural via the family television set and soon strange and funny things begin to happen: a large earthquake strikes the community, chairs begin moving on their own, and the family dog begins barking for no apparent reason. (Or so it looks from OUR point of view!)

However, the phenomenon soon turns into a terrifying nightmare of unspeakable horrors: the mysterious tree outside in the back yard comes to life and nearly swallows Carol-Annes' brother, Robbie whole; and Carol-Anne is sucked into a parallel demension (the afterlife) through her bedroom closet. Now, it's up to a group of professionals in the study of the paranormal and a gifted elderly psychic to get her back!

(WARNING: Do NOT read this if you have not yet seen the movie. Contains spoilers...)

In the world of the afterlife, Carol-Anne continues to be tormented by the powerful entity (AKA The Beast) and soon her mother must be plunged into the spectral world herself, while her husband and the others assist her safe return in the process. Barely escaping the undead insanity, Carol-Anne and her mother are brought back to our reality through a gateway in the bathroom ceiling.

Everything is back to normal and everyone is safe again... OR SO IT SEEMS! One night, the family agrees to leave their beautiful home but the nightmare isn't over yet! Robbie is attacked by the one thing that scares him, his stuffed clown doll, while the mother tackles head on with the beast ITSELF! The spirits are now PISSED!! Carol-Anne and Robbie are nearly swallowed back into the portal to the afterlife but are saved by their courageous mother.

The father, being a real estate agent arrives home with his boss and is enraged with anger with the discovery that the town cemetary's headstones was moved but the bodies were left buried under the Freeling's home. After a breathtaking escape, all hell breaks loose in the suburbs in an explosive thrill-ride finale! The ending was quite clever and nicely done and once you see it, you'll never think of T.V. sets the same way again! The DVD includes WIDESCREEN & FULLSCREEN animorphic formats and the original theatrical trailer to the film which is nice for an extra treat! But keep in mind that the BONUS extras are pretty limited.

There are absolutely NO BTS footage, let alone cast interviews or director commentaries. During the production of the film, real scary events were reported happening which weren't supposed to happen and ironically a few years later, Heather O' Rourke, Dominique Dunne (who played Carol-Anne and Robbie's older sister, Dana Freeling), & Julian Beck (who played the villain, Kain in the sequel) died. (Heather O' Rourke died before the release of "Poltergeist III") I only hope that maybe in the future a Special Edition 2-disk set of the movie can be available, teaching us what REALLY happened during filming with the cast interviews and such. After all, it would give Tobe Hooper and Spielberg fans a more insight to the movie. For now, this is the best version of the movie you can get and is without doubt, a MASTERPIECE in cinema!

I GIVE IT A 10/10!!!! DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS #1 HORROR CLASSIC! BUY TODAY!!! I also recommend, "The Amityville Horror", "Tourist Trap", "The Exorcist", & "The Funhouse" in addition! They are all truly horrifying films in their own unique way.

Apart from the special effects disaster that is "the mirror scene," Poltergeist delivers one of the most effective, engrossing, and eerie presentations in movie history. Who can ever get the ill-fated Heather O'Rourke's "They're here" line or the fantastic performance of the diminutive Zelda Rubenstein as the psychic house "cleaner" Tangina? JoBeth Williams, for her part, turns in a fantastic performance, cementing her position as the emotional center of the story. Heck, everyone involved did a great job with this movie, including the dog. I'm often critical of Tobe Hooper's directing, but there is no doubt that Poltergeist represents his finest directorial work (although rumor has it that producer/co-writer Steven Spielberg did more than his share of the directing job).

I'm not sure why they called this film Poltergeist because the goings-on in the Freeling house go way, way beyond typical poltergeist activity. Things start out small (chair stacking, objects moving on their own, utensils bending on their own), but it doesn't take long for things to get completely out of hand. Initially, though, the stage is set with the typical fears most all of us experienced as children - fear of the dark, the closet, something under the bed, thunder storms, stuffed toys that suddenly become creepy when the lights are out. Fortunately for most of us, those fears are just childish fancies. The same cannot be said for the Freeling children. Unable to go to the police with their story (yes, officer, we think our lost daughter is somewhere in the house and we can still communicate with her through the television from time to time), the Freelings call upon local paranormal researchers for help. Needless to say, this blows the socks off of every other case they've investigated, leaving them no choice but to call in reinforcements in the form of a short but formidable medium (Rubenstein). Then, just when you think things are under control, the movie ratchets things up to new heights of action and suspense.

Poltergeist definitely has the potential to frighten some viewers, with scare tactics ranging from the small and subtle to the unbelievably grandiose - and even the most over-the-top occurrences work in the context of the presentation. No stranger to large special effects budgets, Spielberg made sure that all of the visual effects were believable (including the use of real human skeletons in one scene) and added to the suspense of the story (except that mirror scene, which really does feature some of the worst special effects I've ever seen in my life). Not having seen this movie in many, many years, I had forgotten just how impressive it was. It features some of the best interaction of actors with special effects that I've ever seen, making it easy to keep suspending your disbelief in the face of the most incredible of circumstances. You even get a sense of resolution at the end, which is something you rarely find in horror movies today. Poltergeist is, without doubt, a classic in every sense of the word.

I would be remiss if I didn't also mention the Poltergeist curse (a result, some say, of using real skeletons in the movie), which adds yet another layer to the atmosphere of the film. As most people know, Heather O'Rourke died tragically at the age of 12, but it's easy to forget that her co-star Dominique Dunne (daughter of novelist Dominick Dunne) was murdered by her ex-boyfriend within months of the film's release. Of course, the curse doesn't seem to have affected Craig T. Nelson, who went on to have a long and successful acting career. You can't help but feel sad, though, watching cute and talented little Heather O'Rourke, knowing that she died so young.