If yesterday’s array of creepy, neon-blue images were the foreboding appetizer for Poltergeist, then today’s full-length trailer is the blood-curdling main course.
Coming by way of The Playlist, the footage gives us our first real look at Gil Kenan’s revisionist take on Tobe Hooper’s 1982 cult classic. In it, we see Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt star as a young couple moving into their humble new abode, only to discover that the entire estate was built upon an ancient cemetery. Soon thereafter, their daughter is abducted by a group of malevolent spirits, forcing the two to turn to a supernatural researcher and clairvoyant (Jared Harris) for aid.
Sounds familiar? It should. Poltergeist was riding the crest of a horrific wave when it debuted twenty-three years ago, and in many ways helped establish the horror conventions that have become so hackneyed through repetition. That said, from what we gather, Kenan’s modern retelling will go down the road less travelled and offer a slightly different experience than its genre-defining source material, rather than simply rehashing the original frame for frame.
In fact, Kenan has long made it clear that the reboot will place a heavy emphasis on Kennedi Clements’ Madison, the aforementioned 8 year-old who falls into the parallel dimension. Whether this change of tact can win over the sceptics remains to be seen, but there’s no doubting that the trailer above contains its fair share of spine-chilling scenes.
Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt and Jared Harris will go up against forces from beyond our world when Poltergeist looms into theaters on July 24. For more on Gil Kenan’s reboot, you can check out the eerie screenshots via the gallery below.
FOX 2000 PICTURES and METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURES is excited to reveal a brand NEW Trailer for the supernatural thriller, POLTERGEIST starring Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris and Jane Adams! Legendary filmmaker Sam Raimi (“Spiderman,” “Evil Dead”, “The Grudge”) and director Gil Kenan (“Monster House”) contemporize the classic tale about a family whose suburban home is haunted by evil forces.
