Poltergeist (1982)
Rather than dealing with themes that are broad in scope, Poltergeist takes the concept of the ghost story and applies it to what amounts to an intimate family drama – with the result being one of the scariest horror films ever made. With Tobe Hooper directing a script written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais and Mark Victor, the film sparked a trilogy that would enter the film history books for terrifying reasons.
A family of five moves into a planned community in California, built on top of an old cemetery. The family is soon terrorised by unseen forces, which eventually seem to abduct the youngest child – Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) – into another dimension, via an empty television channel. The family seeks help from a group of parapsychologists, who diagnose the presence of more than one poltergeist. The parapsychologists in turn enlist the assistance of a medium, who determines that Carol Anne is being held by a demon seeking to control restless spirits.
Poltergeist is undoubtedly a classic entry into the genres of both horror and, specifically, ghost stories. The iconic shot of the innocent child, seated in front of a television that is broadcasting only static has become synonymous with psychological terror, as the filmmakers use her almost infantile voice to intone the scary truth – “They’re here.”
Poltergeist is so effective that it has even spawned its own ‘curse’ theory, due to the premature deaths of a number of cast members – including two of the three children in this first film.
