Poltergeist (2015)

I saw Gil Kenan’s Poltergeist (2015) in a near empty theater with four different knots of teenage girls, who were all primed and ready to scream. So it was a small but a good, lively crowd; too bad there was nothing really to scream at.

Still, this remake of the Tobe Hooper / Steven Spielberg original wasn't that terrible. And despite the fresh angle of a family in a terminal financial crisis relocating to a new house due to the Great Recession, it felt really by the numbers, plot-wise, as you could almost hear someone scratching a check-mark for each nod and rehash of the original that was quickly airbrushed over by a tweak that, alas, worked more not than often.

And to me, at least, it seemed the faster they could check things off that list the better. In fact, the whole film felt like it was in a hurry for no appreciable reason. It was also plagued by a ton of sloppy edits that weren't helping the cause either. Also, SQUIRREL!

As a friend so rightfully pointed out later, static shocks aside, the film was sorely missing the establishing scenes of the family playing with the strangeness in a Spielbergian wonder before Hooper brings the hammer of annihilation down on them. (Brilliant observation, Tim Gerlomi, thanks!)

The cast almost elevates things up a notch, but I think it would've been better to focus on the ghost-hunting team of Jarred Harris and Jane Adams instead of the family (-- the elder sister needed about three more rewrites), and the usually reliable Sam Rockwell appears to be sleepwalking through the whole thing, which was a huge disappointment. Still, always good to see Rosemarie DeWitt, so, yay!

One of the smartest things the original Poltergeist (1982) did was shuttle-off the kids once the ectoplasm hits the fan. That is not the case here, as the telegraphed climax is about the scaredy-cat brother finally getting over the bump-in-the-night hump.

The FX were top-notch, but they were doled out very frugally, as if they were waiting for something big that never really came. I guess I just expected more -- especially with Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert in the credits.

Also of note, I'm not sure if filmmakers are finally learning how to use 3D properly or the local theater finally has the projector in focus, but that was two topographical films in a row -- this and Mad Max: Fury Road (2014) that worked the process really well.

So, yeah, not that great, not that terrible, and honestly, totally unwarranted; and so, a hearty I'd wait for basic cable to all my fellow ghost-breakers out there.

Originally posted on June 4, 2015, at Micro-Brewed Reviews.

Poltergeist (2015) Fox 2000 Pictures :: Ghost House Pictures :: Vertigo Entertainement :: TSG Entertainment :: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) / EP: Audrey Chon, Becki Cross Trujillo, J.R. Young, John Powers Middleton / P: Roy Lee, Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, Roy Lee / D: Gil Kenan / W: David Lindsay-Abaire / C: Javier Aguirresarobe / E: Jeff Betancourt, Bob Murawski / M: Marc Streitenfeld / S: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Saxon Sharbino, Kyle Catlett, Kennedi Clements, Jared Harris, Jane Adams