Beware the static; that’s one of the main takeaways from this fresh batch of images for Gil Kenan and Sam Raimi’s revisionist reboot of Poltergeist.
Channeling the same eerie, electric-blue aura as Tobe Hooper’s 1982 classic, the stills are but an appetizer ahead of the arrival of the film’s maiden trailer, which is due to creep online tomorrow, February 5. Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie Dewitt star as a young couple who soon find themselves crossing paths with a host of peeved spirits. In keeping with one of the key tenets of the genre, the pair will soon turn to a supernatural researcher (played here by Jared Harris) in a bid to rid their home of all-things-evil.
As we alluded to earlier, this modern day retelling of Hooper’s cult horror will be significantly different than its ghostly forebear. For one, by focusing on Kennedi Clements’ Madison, an eight year-old child who is abducted by the titular spirits, Kenan’s film won’t necessarily be as creepy as the original. That said, the director has full confidence in his aboriginal approach.
“Whenever someone approaches material that’s so beloved, there’s a reflexive reaction to be worried,” he said. “It’s a responsibility we take very seriously. We’re working to make a Poltergeist film that lives up to the original’s legacy.”
Mind you, it’s worth keeping in mind that the original version of Poltergeist was tethered with a PG rating all those years ago, so don’t fall into a false sense of security thinking that Kenan’s reboot won’t be sending shivers down your spine when it release on July 24.
Check back with We Got This Covered tomorrow when we’ll have a play-by-play breakdown of the horror film’s maiden trailer. In the meantime, you can peek from behind the gaps in your fingers at the first screens for Poltergeist down below.
