The Poltergeist Remake – Film Review

The Poltergeist is a remake of the Original film which was released in 1982. I had seen the original film and so when I stepped into the theater to watch the remake I kind of knew how the story was going to be. Well I have to say the Original was one of the best horror film I had seen as a kid and so there was a bit of nostalgia as well while seeing the remake. Before watching the film myself I saw that the film had received a lot of negative reviews and so I was a bit worried. All I can say is that I am glad I watched the film and it turned out to be a pretty good film.

The film starts off with the family that has just moved into a new home in a new city. The Bowens are down on their luck, Unemployed dad, Eric (Sam Rockwell), lost his job and has had to relocate, along with his stay-at-home wife, Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt), teenage daughter Kendra (Saxon Sharbino), teen son Griffin (Kyle Catlett), and 6-year-old Maddy (Kennedi Clements). Griffin soon notices Maddy talking to her bedroom closet, but he figures she’s just made some imaginary friends. But then strange things start happening in the Bowen house — electronics go dead or turn on and off, toys move seemingly on their own accord, and a group of clown dolls freaks out Griffin in his new room. Then one night we have the Iconic scene where Maddy stands in front of the T.V. and says “They’re heeeere” followed by the poltergeist kidnapping Maddy and take her into another dimension, leaving the rest of the Bowens to seek the help of paranormal specialists and a celebrity ghost hunter (Jared Harris).

I think the film had some good scares along with changes to the characters in the film. In this film Griffin is the only one who suspects something is wrong with the house as most of the scary stuff happens solely to him. Now compared to the original film they have kept the same story but tried to change the way the film proceeds. What I really would like to have seen is if they would have kept the core of the poltergeist film the same but changed the entire story thus bringing originality into the script. I am sure most of the criticism the film has faced is because it was trying to improve on the original. Which is near impossible.

All the actors have done a decent job, despite most of them having limited roles. The main focus has been on Maddy and Griffin. Kennedi Clements has done a good job playing the creepy yet innocent looking Maddy. Jared Harris is a good actor but fails in comparison to the Zelda Rubinstein (Tangina the Spiritual Guide) from the original Poltergeist.

All said and done the film isn’t half bad and worth a watch. The film works pretty well as a standalone film and if you don’t compare it scene for scene from the Original you will enjoy the movie. If you like horror films and have some time to spare I recommend giving this a watch. I personally liked the film even though I had seen the original.

I give it a