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    Poltergeist

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    I’m certain that the general consensus among audiences is/is going to be that this remake of “Poltergeist” is going to be negative but for me, I found enough here that made me enjoy it. The story begins when the Bowen family move into a new home. Eric (Sam Rockwell) and Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt) bring their three children Kendra (oldest daughter, played by Saxon Sharbino), their son Griffin (Kyle Catlett) and Madison (youngest daughter, played by Kennedi Clements) to this affordable new place. Normally you’d find strange noises in the walls, a box full of creepy clowns and fluctuating power to be a sign to get out right away, but everything seems pretty harmless (and they don’t have much choice considering Eric has recently been laid off) When Madison begins being targeted by unseen forces from another realm, the family has to find a way to save her.

    I’m not overly familiar with the original film. I’ve seen it before so I remember a few key scenes, but it’s been so long that I didn’t remember what the story was. I don’t have any nostalgia for it either and while I grumble at the fact that every year we get a significant amount of remakes, sequels and reboots, I’m not offended at the idea of someone else taking a crack at “Poltergeist”. Nevertheless, I feel like this is an unnecessary film. I’m the guy who enjoyed the remake of “Robocop” because I could see a lot of the ideas and concepts being taken in completely different directions. I’ve enjoyed some horror remakes when the stories were updated and some problematic elements were taken out or streamlined (“Friday the 13th” for example) In this instance, I really don’t feel like there’s much here that makes this movie really stand out from the rest and I think that’s going to disappoint a lot of people.

    Another fact that’s going to probably let a lot of people down is that this movie isn’t really scary (I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, but I’ll get to that in a moment) There are some tense moments here and there, but mostly this is not a film that is genuinely terrifying. It’s rated PG so you don’t get people being turned inside out by ghosts or really intense sequences where you’re fearing for people’s lives. I also believe that a lot of people are coming in thinking that this film is going to be like 4 times scarier than the original (or scarier than what they remember it being) and that just isn’t the case. The film also suffers from some lackluster 3-D effects and a few moments where some practical costumes and props really should have been used instead of the CGI.

    Those are a lot of hurdles to overcome for any movie and I’ll admit that while I’m not defending it from those criticisms, I do like several things about this picture. The biggest element that I like is that towards the middle it becomes less of a horror movie and more of an eerie adventure with some spooky themes and elements. It’s not so much about if this family is going to survive living in the house anymore, it’s about them having to come up with a plan to save Madison. There are a lot of cool visuals as they attempt different things to save her from this weird realm she’s found herself in and actually, the special effects and even to an extent, the 3-D in those scenes look good. I know a lot of pre-teens or sensitive teenagers will enjoy this movie because it has scary elements in it, without being “too scary”. I think that is the intention too. It uses the fear of the unknown, some creepy clown stuff, invisible ghosts and unnatural imagery at one point or another, but they never get to that level where you will have people running out of the theatre in terror. I think the key here is that PG-13 rating. If you are old enough to see something that’s rated R, this will disappoint you. If you need a tamer horror film, this is what you want to go after, not something that your parents will turn off halfway through like “Sinister”.

    The acting here is quite good, something I do not expect from horror films (it’s probably due to the overall lack of teenagers) I enjoyed the supernatural rescue aspects and I do think the overall story is good too, with the right mix of buildup without you feeling like these people are just too dumb to live for staying in this house. I really liked Griffin as our sorta-kinda protagonist because he feels like a real person. He is afraid of things and does feel like the kind of kid that you would want next to you when you’re in a ghost movie because he’s the one that’s going to believe that things are getting out of hand just as quickly as you are. In fact, I liked the entire family here and that helped me get into this story.

    The worst thing about 2015’s “Poltergeist” is not that it isn’t scary enough. It isn’t trying to make you wet yourself, just make you feel a little unsettled and excited as this family essentially has a supernatural adventure with some high stakes because of the bond between them. There are some really good-looking scenes and some terrific moments with creepy clowns that will make you forgive all of the cheap jump scares during the beginning. It isn’t that it’s badly written, or badly acted either. It’s more than competent in both aspects. The problem is that this movie was made right here and now. If it had been the first spook fest from the 80’s being remade, I don’t think people would be upset. The fact that it’s yet another, and ultimately doesn’t mix things up enough to warrant that you have both on your movie shelf (you’d pick the original every time) it becomes nothing special at best.

    I do not feel like I wasted my time with this remake of “Poltergeist”. I enjoyed it while it lasted for that second half, which is devoid of those horror clichés and just goes for the creepy adventure family thing that will appeal to the audience it’s intended for. It’s unnecessary, sure, but if you want to see it, there’s enough going on that works. (3-D theatrical version on the big screen, June 11, 2015)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  16.6.2015 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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