Poltergeist
(2015 remake/MGM/Fox Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: A- Extras: C+ Film: C
They're
here!
...a famous line from the Steven Spielberg produced/Tobe Hooper
directed 1982 cult classic, muttered again here in the 2015 horror
remake of Poltergeist. Released in May 2015 in the midst of the
exceptional Mad
Max: Fury Road
and the box office behemoth Avengers:
Age Of Ultron,
not too many turned up in the theaters to see this one. As far as
horror remakes go (or re-imaginings as they’re most commonly
called) there have been worse but this modernized version favoring
CGI over practical effects will probably be forgotten sooner rather
the filmmakers hope.
No
doubt existing due to the success of the Paranormal
Activity
and the Insidious
films,
this version of Poltergeist
is surprisingly produced by Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert (Evil
Dead),
to whom you would think would be a bit more hands on with their
practically stylistic approach here. Why not make the film
grittier... or maybe even R-rated? The film's cinematography is
incredibly slick and nicely lit throughout, which was what the
original almost avoided when looking back at its dark and natural
tones. Everything here is too clean and the demons just too fake
looking to be scary.
Starring
Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt as the parents - the plot is
simple. A Family of five moves into a new home after the
Husband/Father (Rockwell) recently loses his job. The kids don't
think much of the house but it'll do as they promptly move in. Soon,
weird things start happening and before you know it they realize that
underneath the house is a gateway to another dimension that closely
resembles purgatory. When one of the children are sucked into said
dimension, the family must enlist the aide of Spiritual Help (where
we get a fun more than a cameo by Jarred Harris) in order to bring
the child back into the light and help this family get back to a life
of normalcy.
There
are many glaring plot holes in the film, mainly the suggestion that
the Family is broke. Throughout the film we see huge HDTVs in all of
the kids rooms, tablets in their hands, and fresh plants to plant all
around. Only once when Rockwell turns home with a bunch of expensive
new toys (including a drone which is unrealistically used during the
end of the second act) is there a mention of 'hey, how did you afford
this?' Some of the attempts at being more subtle than the original
also miss the mark including re-deliverances of classic lines from
the original and an overall weak kid cast.
A
few of the scares are effective for the pre-teen audience and all in
all the film isn't as hard to stomach as the inexcusable remakes to A
Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th
or Amityville
Horror,
however it falls short of more effective films of its kind such as
The
Conjuring
or even Don't
Be Afraid Of The Dark
and ends up being just a re-hash of old material with a familiar
ghostly storyline. This isn't too far a cry from a Goosebumps
episode if you took out some of the language.
However,
the presentation on the disc is phenomenal. Fox has outdone
themselves again with a startlingly clear high definition transfer in
2.40:1 widescreen and a beautifully mixed soundtrack in a lossless
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 that makes all of the creepiness come to
life all around you. This film really does have exceptional sound
design that could make for a great presentation of home stereo
surround for all of the pre-possession scenes where TVs, creepy toys,
and radios come to life are highly effective and captured here,
mimicking its theatrical presentation closely.
Extras
include two versions of the film (Theatrical and Unrated), an
Alternate Ending, and a Still Gallery. There's also a Digital HD copy
of the film for your devices.
Though
not a complete stinker, the remake of Poltergeist
ends up being just another supernatural ghost story without the
gritty realism of the original, nor a cast that can compare. Do
yourself a favor and just re-watch the original again.
-
James Harland Lockhart V
www.facebook.com/jhl5films
