Poltergeist

Rating:
Summary: A true "Horror" movie that is truly terrifing and scary!
Review: Ithink that this is a good horror movie. It has a lot of creepy scenes. IT doesn't use slashing or anything like that to scare you. It uses a ghostly environemt. I would say that this movie is a instant horror movie. The DVD is the best format, don't buy the VHS format. One more thing, I don't think anyone under 10 should see this flick!!!

Rating:
Summary: Wait for the Special Edition!
Review: While I'm glad to see that Poltergeist is available on DVD, I'm dissapointed with the studios for not adding of any kind of special features. I would've loved to have seen a 'making of' documentary for this movie. And why not? I know footage of the making of this movie exists, because I've seen some of it on a Spielberg biography, and the laserdisc version. So why was none of it used for the DVD!? It would've been far more interesting than a little 8-page booklet, but that's just my opinion. But MGM and Warner Brothers aren't exactly renouned for special edition dvd's.

As far as the audio and video quality goes, it wasn't that bad. Poltergiest is presented in dolby 5.0, and the picture, available in both wide and fullscreen, was fairly decent, though a little too dark at times. Unfortunatly, those were the only two things keeping this disc from being a total waste. All in all, Poltergeist is a great movie, but a dissapointing dvd. And with the Warner Bros. version being packaged in a cheap cardboard 'snap-case', it doesn't even have the eight-page insert the MGM version has!

There is some good news though. Warner Bros. is releasing an actual 'SPECIAL EDITION' OF POLTERGEIST in the fourth quarter of 2002 to mark its 20th Anniversary! More good news is that the first R1 DVD of POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE will be released at the same time. So, if you haven't purchased this title yet, my advice to you would be to wait until the special edition is released. The current edition offeres nothing more than VHS quality picture, and a grainy, fullframe theatrical trailer.

In closing, I'd give the movie 5 stars for sure, but I'm rating the DVD. I just think one of the greatest horror-thrillers of all time deserves more than a trailer and an eight page booklet. I hope the new version will be newly remasterd, have a good 'making of' documentary, interviews with both Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper, deleted scenes, production photos, conceptual drawings, DTS sound, the whole works. This movie deserves it!

Rating:
Summary: Can anyone not be afraid of this movie?
Review: I just saw this movie for the first time last week. I can sit through practically any horror movie, but this was so frightening and horribly vivid in imagery! A must see for any horror fan, this is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. For anyone who hasn't seen Poltergeist before--beware the PG rating, this is not a movie for the faint of heart, and not suitable for young children who scare easily.

Rating:
Summary: SCARY
Review: THIS MOVIE IS A CLASSIC. I STILL CHECK TO MAKE SURE THE CLOSET DOOR IS CLOSED TIGHT AND THAT THERE ARE NO STUFFED ANIMALS IN MY ROOM. I DON'T EVEN OWN A CLOWN. THIS IS A GREAT MOVIE. SPECIAL EFFECTS ARE VERY WELL DOWN. ESPECIALLY THE TREE COMING TO LIFE.

Rating:
Summary: TOUCHED BY THE HAND OF SPIELBERG
Review: The original is usually better. In this case it is also. Poltergiest starts out like many movies Steven Spielberg has had a hand in during the late 70's early 80's. The story is set in small town america.....Brown and grey colors fill the backdrop. Kids race remote control cars down sunny streets, and inside the families house, toys clutter the bedroom, and a group of beer drinking men huddle around a football game. Everything seems in order and peaceful. Until the plot thickens. The little girl hears voices coming out of the tv. When she unleashes them, the family will never be the same. The voices in the tv eventually take the little girl into the tv and into another world. Great special effects. Right out of the mind of a genius {Spielberg}

Rating:
Summary: One of the best horror movies EVER in every way
Review: Now "Poltergeist" is what I call a horror movie. It's the most classic and the best of the best of the classic horror movies. First of all, it has Steven Spielberg as the one who made the movie, so you know that it has a great chance of becoming a classic and one that most people will never forget once they see it. I prefer horror movies that have wits and suspense like "Poltergeist," "House 1," and a few others in which there's a lot of scary ghosts and other creatures that are around to scare people instead of horror movies where all that happens is a killing spree. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of great killing spree type horror movies such as the "Jaws" movies, some of the "Friday the 13th" movies, and many more, but I like horror movies like "Poltergeist" even better.

A family doesn't know it, but they're living in a house that is literally on top of an old graveyard, therefore it's on top of many bones and skeletons and dead peoples' spirits. Before they know it, many supernatural forces are raiding their house, and it all centers around Carol Anne, (Heather O'Rourke), a young girl that can hear and understand voices from a blank television screen. Soon she is kidnapped by these supernatural forces. It's up to her parents and many psychologists who study supernatural forces to try and save her.

Everything about "Poltergeist" is great and almost flawless. It had some of the best special effects for the early 80's, and when you see the ghosts come alive, the skeletons coming up out of the water, graves coming out of the ground, and the rest of the effects, you'll see what I mean. The effects in the movie would even stand up to many of today's standards. The acting from everybody is superb, combined with the great story and the special effects, to make this one of the best horror movies ever made. If you like horror movies, I recommend getting "Poltergeist" as soon as possible.

Rating:
Summary: The Best "Horror" movie ever
Review: "Poltergeist" should arguably be called the best "horror" flick of all time for a number of reasons. Like I even have to mention, it has great acting (especially children), special F/X, and a great plot. It also doesn't rely on blood, gore, and death to make it scary. It is hard to think of it as horror; it is kind of in a class of its own. If you are looking for a movie to see some night, rent "Poltergeist."

Rating:
Summary: An Extreme Classic
Review: Poltergeist was a wonderful, thrilling movie! It provided terror and humor in one well-made movie. It starts out with a 5-year old girl's interaction with the "T.V. people" as she calls them.This girl, Carol-Anne, seems to know about these incidents as they happen such as moving chairs and other items.Eventually, she is sucked out of their "ordinary" house in to another world. While the rest of the family is struggling without her, Carol-Anne is trapped in a terrifying place which may have a certain evil presence. The family does hire specialists to help them. This includes a midget woman that seems to know all about this. I loved the way that this movie gave the chills whenever anything remotely eerie happened. Because this was my first horror movie, it will always remain a classic. There are also two sequels that I thought didn't compare to the first, yet they weren't the worst movies I've seen. I totally recommend this to anyone who likes thrill and terror.

Rating:
Summary: A Strange Blend
Review: In spite of its flaws (and there are a few) this is one of the greatest horror flicks of all time. At the same time, I find it difficult to put Poltergeist in the same genre as other classics like Psycho and The Exorcist. That's because Poltergeist is really a strange blend of humor (both blunt and subtle) and terror. It's a mixture that seldom works (see April Fool's Day, among others), but is orchestrated perfectly here.

The film's opening scene is unforgettable, with little Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) being summoned in the middle of the night by creepy, droning voices emanating from the television. The next 30 minutes are rather light-hearted and jocose as we are introduced to the Freelings, a middle-class suburban family enjoying a seemingly normal, happy life. Yet a threatening backdrop hovers over this little piece of Shangri-la. As we bear witness to several brilliant foreshadowing techniques, especially the scenes with the clown and the tree, disquieted feelings of an impending nightmare enter our sub-conscious. And then, almost without warning, the incubus reveals itself...and true hell commences. Watch this film and you'll see how well it plays upon some of the worst childhood fears -- have you ever been scared of what may be hiding in your closet or under your bed? Those fears are likely to return after watching Poltergeist.

The movie has a fine supporting cast and the special effects (by 1982 standards) are superb. Jerry Goldsmith's score is both enchanting and haunting at the same time. Also pleasing to note is how the producers managed to make a grade-A horror flick without a single character death. I find it difficult to make the same claim of any other "horror" film made in the last 25 years.

Rating:
Summary: Good after all
Review: This movie is great Family-Fun. It's entertaining but not gory ( nobody dies within the whole movie ). The music is also very haunting and the characters are likeable and natural. I think the only Problem is the visualisation of the mega-supernatural thing coming from the kid's chamber. Somehow, all the magic and atmosphere the movie builds up in the first half is blown away by the somehow silly-looking skull. But it had to be done somehow and it doesn't keep the movie from being good. The tree- and clown attacks are highlights as well as the Parapsychologist's hallucinations with the meat. The film has a really beautiful photography, just check out the scene where the boy is on the tree and sees the storm coming on the horizon. Well done, indeed. The first sequel is also watchable, it actually explains the story better than this one ( In the End I found myself asking "why all this" ) but it lacks the suspense of the original. Again, good with a few little weak points.