Poltergeist (2015)
This is a tough watch for me. I’ve been putting it off for nearly a decade at this point. The original film came out the year I was born and was my first ever horror movie. I adore it and firmly believe that it still holds up really well against modern cinema. Toby Hooper was a legend.
This movie’s ineptitude is no one’s fault, except maybe whoever greenlit it. All the ingredients are in their own right fantastic—I’m a fan of everyone involved from the cast to the director, the effects are great—and together they could make a really great film under any other circumstance, except this one. The original was a once in a lifetime bolt of lightning that struck directly into the bottle and pulled the cork in behind it. There was never any chance of this movie working the way anyone wanted; especially when you excise the entirety of the birth/death/rebirth visuals that was affecting on such a primal level.
Things I liked:
1. Some of the visual effects were really well done especially what they were doing with the light and electrical visuals and using them as a subtle callout to the original.
2. The sound design.
3. The last fifteen minutes added something new that was kind of cool.
The rest was fine, I guess. I don’t hate it but it just can’t be better than it is.
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