Steven Spielberg co-produced and co-wrote Poltergeist, the 1982 horror classic directed by Tobe Hooper. Hooper, who directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Salem’s Lot, and Spielberg had an interesting creative relationship during the making of Poltergeist. A clause in Spielberg’s contract with Universal Studios prevented Spielberg from directing any other film during the preparation for E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The summer of 1982 was dubbed “The Summer of Spielberg” and media outlets began to question Spielberg’s actual role on Poltergeist after comments surfaced from the writer-producer that seemed to denote his involvement was significantly more hands-on than expected. As recently as 2007 during an interview with “Ain’t It Cool News”, Zelda Rubinstein explained that Hooper “wasn’t all there” during shooting and that Spielberg shot most of the film.
Regardless of this, it is Tobe Hooper who received the acknowledgements and the credit as director of Poltergeist, even after a Director’s Guild investigation. According to Douglas Brode’s book The Films of Steven Spielberg, Spielberg was the “creative force” of the film and designed every storyboard. Hooper was the director, according to co-producer Frank Marshall, and was on set each day. According to Douglas’s book, Hooper claimed he did half of the storyboards. Whatever the truth was, it’s safe to say that the energies swirling around behind-the-scenes during the filming of Poltergeist and the subsequent “Poltergeist Curse” were certainly contributory to the ominous ambience.
To add to the fun atmosphere, Poltergeist is often referred to as “cursed” because of the death of Dominique Dunne and the early death of Heather O’Rourke. Dunne played the oldest sibling Dana. She died in 1982 after being choked by a jealous boyfriend. O’Rourke, who was just 12-years-old, played Carol Anne in all three films in the Poltergeist series. She died in 1988 after suffering septic shock. Two other actors from other films in the series also died in the late 1980s, making the mystique somewhat disconcerting. There were other occurrences related to the “Poltergeist Curse” as well, including incidents in which actress JoBeth Williams, who played the mother Diane Freeling, would return home from the set each day to find pictures on her walls awry. She adjusted the pictures, only to find them awry again the next day. Williams also pointed out in interviews that the skeletons used in Poltergeist in the swimming pool scene were real.
With those cheerful thoughts in mind, let’s take a closer look at Poltergeist! Poltergeist opens as a group of temporarily benevolent ghosts begin communicating with five-year-old Carol Anne Freeling (O’Rourke). The ghosts correspond with Carol Anne through the static on the television set. For some reason, the Freeling family can’t turn off their television sets before going to sleep, which may lead to some aggravation on behalf of the ghosts, who were apparently trying to conserve energy. Through the ever-present television snow, the ghosts eventually make their way into the Freeling home and all manner of strange occurrences begins. Chairs move and are stacked in extraordinary patterns, an earthquake occurs that only the Freeling family feel, a tree eats Robbie (Oliver Robins), and forks bend by themselves.
Eventually, Carol Anne announces to her family that “they’re here” and all hell breaks loose. The ghosts start out by playing harmless tricks which entertain Diane (Williams) and flummox father Steven (Craig T. Nelson). After a while, the ghosts get a little tired of the fun and grab Carol Anne to take her into the netherworld through the television set. Carol Anne can be heard through the TV crying out for help. The family does what any family does in this situation and calls the local parapsychologists. The group of Ghostbusters arrive and are immediately shocked by what they discover. They bring in a spiritual medium (Zelda Rubinstein) to grab Carol Anne from the netherworld in the TV and hope for the best.
Poltergeist is appealing because of the inscrutability surrounding the production of the film, but there are some points within the context of the film itself that are worth noting. The first is the allegorical use of television and land development. The TV is always on, leaving it as a gateway to the demonic world of the ghosts. Also, the land on which the Freeling family lives and on which Steven develops homes with the evil real estate developer has apparently not been cleared of bodies from the cemetery that used to be below. Essays have been written about these metaphors in the film, with the most interesting one being Johannes Grenzfurthner’s “Noise and Talk.”
The scares and aura of the film are often truly forbidding. For the most part, though, the film is a less-than-scary camp horror film in typical 1980s style. Hooper’s film pushes the scares too hurriedly, leaving no room for the early build of delicate dread and instead going straight for the preposterous “tree incident.” After the tree incident, Hooper and Spielberg apparently want to backtrack to more elegant chills, but this falls apart rather hastily. The most credible and nerve-jangling sequences come near the end, as the music stops and the idiotic-looking clown finally gets his reprisal on poor Robbie.
Poltergeist doesn’t stand the test of time and it mostly appears now like a B-movie of epic proportions. Many of the scenes are overacted and overshot, leaving little room for justifiable chills. The plot is persuasive enough, however, and Poltergeist is indeed worth seeing for examination of some of the more symbolic scenes. It is more of a fascinating film than a frightening one, but it’s still a respectable vision from Spielberg and Hopper with some scrupulous effects and appealing characters.
6.5/10
Trailer:
