Is their a "Poltergeist" curse? The producers of that scary E! True Hollywood Story that I watched in '02 sure seemed to think so. We're going to get to the bottom of that(not really) as I recap the legacy of "Poltergeist". This seems like the perfect place to drop a factoid about a TV show called "Poltergeist: The Legacy" that tried to squeeze a few bucks out of the brand name from 1996-1999. I want you to be every bit the pop culture junkie that I am. So, let's begin.
"Poltergeist"(1982)
Steven Spielberg, or God, as I like to call him, wrote, produced and directed(?) the greatest haunted house movie of all time. I know, that isn't his name under that last part in the opening credits, or the poster, or the back of the DVD. Tobe Hooper, of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" fame, was also on the set, so there's some confusion. Well, I'm going to add to it right now. Multiple cast and crew members have credited Spielberg as the film's primary creative voice. Maybe they're just sucking up to the most powerful guy in the biz, but the quality of the production certainly backs those claims. So does the suburban setting, and it's spitting image "E.T.". Drew Barrymore could have just as easily been sucked into a portal in the closet. Hooper died recently, and I don't enjoy pointing out that his last hit was..."Poltergeist". Meanwhile, SS is never far from his third Best Director Oscar, and his name appears on more moneymakers than I can list without sounding weirdly obsessed with the man. I guess the debate's settled.
The original generated $76 million upon it's June release, and is the 70th most successful film of the 1980s. Minutiae like that is one of my specialties. The Spielberg/Hooper tandem took the time to present the Freelings as a flesh-and-blood family amidst all of the supernatural shenanigans, and it makes all the difference in the world. In a decade loaded with fright-fests, only the "Shining" outranks it in my book.
"Poltergeist II: The Other Side"(1986)
JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson were lured back for the inevitable sequel by the biggest paychecks of their careers (ahh, artistic integrity). They're joined on "The Other Side" by Will Sampson(the Chief from "Cuckoo's Nest", and you better have seen it) and theater vet Julian Beck. That brings me to the only two minutes of this turd worth your undivided attention.
I proclaim the insane Rev. Kane to be one of the most underrated creeps in movie history. Seriously, this deceased preacher makes me wish that the rest of "PII" doesn't so closely resemble the last crap I took. Spielberg and Hooper were both long gone, and the late Brian Gibson's one good movie AIN'T "Poltergeist II"(it's "What's Love Got to Do with It"). Fortunately, a grinning Tom Cruise came to rescue summertime audiences from it's shoddy FX-laden climax. The jingoistic "Top Gun" was a genuine '80s phenomenon.
Now, we're going to talk about the so-called 'Curse of Poltergeist'. Twenty-two year old Dominique Dunne(older sister Dana Freeling) was strangled to death by her abusive boyfriend, four months after the release of the original(incredibly, the psychopathic John Sweeney served less than four years in prison). The skeletal Beck died of stomach cancer almost as soon as his role in "II" had been completed, and Sampson died of kidney failure a year later. Heather O'Rourke wouldn't survive the making of "III", the circumstances of which you're about to learn. These events added a spooky subtext that's arguably more interesting than the films themselves.
"Poltergeist III"(1988)
Heather O'Rourke was one of only two returning cast members(her psychic friend Zelda Rubinstein is the trilogy's other MVP) for this crummy conclusion that was symptomatic of an overworked genre being driven into the ground by cash-grab sequels. Carol Anne is sent to live with her aunt and uncle(Nancy Allen and Tom Skerritt) in a Chicago high-rise, and is still the target of malevolent spirits. You don't care about any of that, though. An eleven-year old O'Rourke probably shouldn't have spent her last days on this thrifty threequel. Heather's sudden and mysterious illness struck three quarters of the way through(she never looks healthy here), stunning the industry, and that's why Carol Anne isn't actually seen in the hastily-rewritten finale. Distraught director Gary Sherman didn't want to finish the film. I think the seven or eight people that paid to see it wish he hadn't.
"Poltergeist III" got pummeled by the far-friendlier "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" at the summer '88 box office, before joining the late-night cable scrap heap. That's where I saw it as a nine-year old that didn't know any better. Siskel & Ebert's review is on Youtube, and it's a hoot. In the end, we have a life cut heartbreakingly short, yet forever enshrined in horror movie lore. R.I.P. Heather O'Rourke.
"Poltergeist"(2015)
The unholy trifecta of '80s horror villains(Jason, Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers) were all unearthed for remakes between 2007-2010, that no one seems to like. Hell, I don't recall Damien and Carrie White getting welcomed back either, but that didn't stop Hollywood from building more homes on an ancient burial ground. Sam Rockwell is the patriarch of a new family that winds up extremely unhappy in their new suburban surroundings. In fairness, this film and it's technical components are competent. It's also bland and instantly forgettable, and is a reminder of why I hate remakes. I know that many young horror buffs won't mind, and it isn't any worse than most of the genre's yearly offerings. For anyone over the age of 25, this movie and it's telegraphed scares, didn't need to exist.
In closing, the first "Poltergeist" still steamrolls over all it's paranormal pretenders. It's a blessing, not a curse(horror sequels/reboots/remakes seem to be cursed in general by their unoriginality). TV static puts me in a trance, thanks to Carol Anne and company. They're STILL here.
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