Poltergeist

As long as i can remember, many people in my family belive in spirits and ghosts. My dad even communicate with them daily, so he have a lot of stories to tell. I am that person who belive in things, if i see it with my own eyes. No matter if it is a ghost or an alien, i can´t belive in anything unless i see some kind of proof. I do love stories about americans, who say they were abducted by an alien, and then got pregnant by the alien. Did they give birth to an alien child ? No, so right there i really don´t think it was a real alien, more likely it was Jeff Goldblum horny as hell. Am i fascinated about paranormal activities ? Only the few times i found something that seems to be very strange, and no one can explain what really happened. Maybe it is possible to connect with the other side, and communicate with the dead. Since i am no expert, or understand everything around this, i will simply leave this to the experts. There are plenty of motion Pictures that take on the subject of people connecting with the other side. One of the biggest classics of all time, is without a doubt the 1982 film Poltergeist. Directed by Tobe Hooper, and produced by Steven Spielberg, this film really grabbed the audicence on a journey like no other. The special effects were amazing for this period of time, and the story surrounding a family being exposed to paranormal meetings from another dimension, worked very well. The film became a box office success, and critics praised both the special effects, but also the acting, especiall from Carol Anne, played by the lovely Heather O´Rourke. 2 sequels came out during the 80´s, but none of them could compare to the original film. When Heather O´Rourke tragically passed away, only 12 years old, there were no plans of making another Poltergesit film. Time passed by and there were ideas out there, if they should bring Poltergeist back on screen, but it would take almost 17 years until the decision was made. Director Gil Kenan was chosen to direct, with a brand new cast, to bring back Poltergeist to life. I will be honest and say, i was skeptical if this was a good idea, but i had to see if they managed to make a remake that paid respect to the original film. Is this remake a worthy comeback of this classic film, or is it just another worthless try to make cash, and don´t care about the legacy ?

Eric Bowen ( Sam Rockwell ) and his wife Amy Bowen ( Rosemarie Dewitt ) are looking for a new house with their three kids Kendra ( Saxon Sharbino ), Griffin ( Kyle Catlett ), and their youngest daughter Madison ( Kennedi Clements ). Since Eric was forced to quit his job, they have economical problems, but suddenly they seem to get an offer at a house that they can afford. Since they need to think about the budget, Eric and Amy agree to make this their new house. Everything seems alright, while they adjust to their new home. One day Griffin notice that Madison is talking to someone, who can´t be seen. He asks her who this person is, but does not get an honest answer. Things become even more strange, when Madison sits by the tv one night, talking to someone that seems to be located on another location, not from this world. Griffin becomes scared, when he see hand prints, reaching towards Madison. One night while Eric and Amy goes out, and Kendra is the babysitter, all hell breaks loose. All the children are attacked by some sort of spiritual force, and Madison is taken inside the other dimension. As Eric and Amy comes home, to find out Madison is missing, they seem to connect with her through the tv screen. To find out who is causing this problem, and to bring Madison back, Eric and Amy visit the Paranormal Research department for help. They are experts at communicating with spirits, and they will try and bring Madison back. When the operation goes wrong, and the team discover that this might be a case of an poltergesit, they decide to call in the occult specialist Carrigan Burke ( Jarred Harris ). Carrigan is determined to get Madison back, no matter what it takes.

I have nothing against remakes, if you use the material in a respectful way, and still throw in some suprises. This remake does start off with influences from the original film, and then the CGI kicks in. And this is where i feel kind of confused, because the special effects does not look fantastic. Some scenes feels like they were made to scare us over the top, when in fact it becomes a bit mellow. While the original film used special effects in a very intelligent way, this remake just throws everything in your face, to make it look cool, and scary. Some scenes look, ok, while some scenes does not feel scary at all. Jump scares can work, if you make them fit in a combination of creepy moments. Here it seems a bit forced, just to please fans of horror films, especially a younger audience. Director Gil Kenan, directed the entertaining childrens movie Monster House in 2006. This animated story about a house, that is actually a monster, loves human flesh, and this was a combination that i really enjoyed. For an animated film, this was a film that turned out to be better than i expected. 2 years later Gil Kenan returned to the big screen with his next film City Of Ember. A sci fi fantasy film, with a great cast like Bill Murray, Tim Robbins and Martin Landau, but it bombed worldwide at the box office. In fact, it was probably one of the biggest box office bombs of 2008. After this, it seemed that director Gil Keenan took some time off, to find the right project. Since he have now given us a remake of Poltergeist, i can see that he must have enjoyed the original film. He does try and give us some feeling of the classic, with the family discussion scenes, and when objects move by themselves. Instead of going over the top with CGI, he should have sticked to more original special effects. Make things happen that look more realistic, because honestly the CGI can´t save the problems that becomes so obvious. I do like some of the acting performances, especially from Sam Rockwell. Jared Harris is a nice surprise as the occult specialist Carrigan Burke. If you loved the original film from 1982, like i do, i suggest you watch that film instead of this remake. This remake does not give you enough to be pleased about,  even though it have some interesting moments. Horror films will never be on the same level as the classics from the 80´s, that´s why you watch them over and over again, you never get tired of them.

Rating: DD