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Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Sick Product of a Sick System

Great Film overall

This movie has some of the creepiest and most disturbing scenes you can imagine, yet it retains the warm feeling of a family movie somehow! The story makes you feel and care about the characters, and the great practical effects keep you on the edge of your seat. When it comes to buildup and "using your scares wisely" this movie could be used as a textbook. Basically when something happens in this movie, you will remember it! See it, you will not regret it.. and you will definitely not forget it!

F a movie is a great film, does it matter who made it? I come from advertising, where it's hard at best to figure our credit and uncouth to loudly demand it. So the controversy about this film - whether Spielberg or Hooper directed it - doesn't really matter to me Because the important thing is that it's a great movie.Steven and Diane Freeling (Craig T. Nelson from TV's Coach and the voice of Mr. Incredible from The Incredibles and JoBeth Williams, Stir Crazy) are living the American dream. After all, Steve is a successful real estate developer. They have three great kids. And they've recently moved into a planned community called Cuesta Verde. Sure, the newer houses in the plan look much better. And you can't even watch a football game without losing what channel you're on because the houses are so close together. But it's the American Dream, right?That TV is the fixation of America in this movie, starting with the National Anthem and continuing with the people inside the TV that fascinate their youngest daughter, Carol Anne (who would sadly die at the age of 12 of cardiac arrest and septic shock caused by a misdiagnosed intestinal stenosis). The connection between the hand that emerges from the TV and the young girl is so powerful that it shakes the entire town before she announces the film's best-known line, "They're here." All hell breaks slowly loose over the following day. A glass of milk breaks out of nowhere, drenching daughter Dana (Dominique Dunne, daughter of writer Dominick and brother of Griffin, she would be killed by her stalker ex-boyfriend John Thomas Sweeney at the age of 22). The son, Robbie (Oliver Robins, Airplane 2), has his silverware twist and turn after he uses it. Furniture slides and rearranges at will, even in front of more than one person.Here's the beauty of this film. These teases start slow and you expect the Val Lewton jump scare model, where the pressure will be let off after a minor scare. But once a tree emerges from the backyard to crash through the window and pull Robbie outside, the movie jumps onto a rollercoaster track. While saving their son, Carol Anne disappears into the closet and can only be heard through the TV set.They turn to parapsychologists Dr. Lesh (Beatrice Straight, Chiller), Ryan (Richard Lawson, Scream Blacula Scream, Sugar Hill) and Marty, who discover that there is more than one ghost. That info is confirmed when Steven finds out from his boss Lewis Teague (James Carren, The Return of the Living Dead, Invaders from Mars) that Cuesta Verde was built over an Indian cemetery.Dana and Robbie are sent away and Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein, Teen Witch, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon), a spirit medium, is called in for help. She explains how they have to get Carol Anne back from spirits that are not at rest. There's also another ghost, the Beast (which uses the same sound effect as the MGM lion roar), who has their daughter restrained. Diane enters a portal to the beyond to bring her daughter back and they both emerge covered in ectoplasm as the house is said to be clean.Steven believes that it's anything but, so he gets the family ready to move. On their last night there, he goes to quit his job while Dana goes on one last date before leaving town. The Beast attacks, turning Robbie clown doll into a demon and pushing Diane all over the walls of her room before throwing her into the backyard hole that is due to be a swimming pool. The bodies of the dead begin to explode from the ground, some in coffins, some just covered with filth and rot. Steven screams into his boss's face that he may have moved the cemetery's headstones, but the bodies were left behind. Finally, the house collapses within itself as the family drives away. As they stay in a Holiday Inn, unsure of their future, the TV is pushed outside.Poltergeist is really a must see horror film. It sets up so much so effectively and does a great job of paying off each scare. It'd be followed by two sequels and a TV series, which we'll definitely be getting to.

I admit to not being a big fan of horror movies, but this was actually a nice exception. What really impressed me is how good the acting is. All of the characters in this film feel so real. I especially love Heather O'Rourke. Now, this movie has become infamous for a number of reasons. Shortly after it was made, the actress who played the elder sister, Dominique Dunne, was strangled to death by her ex boyfriend.As if that weren't enough, the skeletons used in this film were actually real. Hey, that's two confirmed rumors that appeared on Snopes! Anyway, for the most part, the visuals were great and they seemed to hold up quite well. I really do feel sorry for this family and all that they're going through. My only complaint is that there's this scene at the beginning where these guys watching football complaining about watching Mr. Rogers. Never speak ill of him! ***1/2

This movie was eerie to watch. Spielberg is usually about big, dramatic things and loud noises but this movie was subtle, creepy, and disturbing. He did it all very well too.A house is haunted, and a little girl and her family are harassed by malevolent spirits. Pretty standard horror, but Spielberg adds his own style to the mix and the result is pretty good.The family element adds a lot to the film too. In lots of horror films, it's usually just one or two people being haunted. Here it's a whole family. Maybe that does happen a lot, but Spielberg makes movies for the whole family quite a bit so maybe that's why it works well here.Horror fans should like this. Haunted house fans too. Spielberg fans will enjoy the auteur working outside his normal range.