The remake/reboot/semi-sequel, or whatever the hell they’re calling it, of the classic eighties horror movie Poltergeist, has landed its first victim, with news that Rosemarie DeWitt (Mad Men, Promised Land, United States of Tara) has snagged the lead female role.
The film, set to be directed by Gil Kenan (Monster House, City of Ember), is said to be a sort of remake/semi-sequel to Tobe Hooper’s original, rather than a straight up remake. Something more along the lines of this year’s Evil Dead re-do. The news that Rosemarie DeWitt has signed on, brings a genuine sparkle of hope for the film as DeWitt is a solid talent and has made an impression in various independent features in the last couple of years.
Gil Kenan on the other hand, is a different story. His experience thus far, despite some quite nifty horror elements in Monster House, has been limited to more family friendly fare, so it will be interesting to see how he tackles a straight up horror story.
The MGM press release for the new film is as follows:
“In a revisionist take on the classic horror film, a family struggling to meet ends meet relocates to an outdated suburban home and is confronted by an angry spirit who kidnaps their youngest daughter and challenges them to band together to rescue her from the clutches of evil.”
Low budget horror fare such as The Purge and The Conjuring have been doing pretty well at the box office as of late, so it’s no wonder that studios would see the potential of unleashing more of these films upon the market. Let’s just hope that they don’t butcher this one. The original Poltergeist scared the bejeezus out of me as a kid and was all kinds of fun. I highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t done so already.
Featuring a screenplay by David Lindsay-Abaire, the new Poltergeist is set for release at some point next year.
