Quick recap: A normal suburban family has to deal with the fact that something in their house wants to harm them. What starts out as supernatural pranking (chairs moving on their own) turns into a nightmare when the youngest daughter gets taken away by the poltergeist.

Fun (?) Fact: Many people believe the film is cursed because real skeletons were used in the swimming pool scene instead of fake ones (they were cheaper). During the franchise’s history, the actor who played Carol Anne died at 13 and the actor who played the oldest daughter was murdered. Seems to me everyone should’ve heeded their own advice and refrained from messing with the dead.

My thoughts: There is a rule of childhood that says at some point in your life, you will spend all your waking time attempting to scare yourself to death. I have vivid memories of riding my bike to the local video store and perusing the Horror section, trying to find something that would traumatize me. Despite the myriad of choices, I always settled on ‘It’ because there was nothing in the world more scary than clowns living in the gutter and killing children. If I had bothered to branch out once in awhile, this movie would’ve indeed been at the top of my list for creating terrifying nightmares.

just in case you needed a reminder of your childhood terror

If I was in the business of cremation, I would totally use parts of this movie as advertising against burial. The whole plot of Poltergeist centers on houses being built on top of an old burial site so if cremation had been more popular a long time ago, this whole thing wouldn’t have happened. In all seriousness, cremation solves so many problems! Besides haunting, it also helps cut down on land being used for cemeteries as well as prevents a future zombie outbreak.

Although there was nothing that truly scared me, there were plenty of creepy scenes. The ‘scariest’ part for me was probably the scenes when Carol Anne was talking through the tv, especially when she says she is scared of another person with her. It reminded me of the book, ‘House of Leaves’, which is about a house that is bigger on the inside than outside (no, not the TARDIS). There are a few scenes in the book where the inhabitants are able to hear people talking and know they are inside the house, even though no one can find where the voices are coming from.

I’m still not sure whether I actually finished the book or not

In the category of ‘ easy things that could’ve prevented everything from happening’, those children sure did have some creepy toys. I mean, who in their right mind would think that clown doll was appropriate for a child? At that point, you are just asking for it. I did appreciate the C-3P0 light switch that looked like a demon in later scenes, though.

As an adult, Poltergeist didn’t really scare me so much as make me think, ‘What the hell would I do in this situation?’ It was fascinating to think how a changed perspective can still make a movie scary, but in a completely different way. I think what terrifies me most is the idea that I’m the one in charge now. I have a 4 year old that I would do ANYTHING for, so it was completely realistic to see how the parents reacted during the film. When the movie was over, I turned off the lights and my heart began to race a little but then I went and checked on my son who was fast asleep and I felt fine.

Final review: 4/5. A near perfect horror film. It was a great mix of over the top terror and excellent effects.

Nightmares: of course! It took me awhile to fall asleep and once I did, I can’t remember anything specific. I did however, wake up a few times in the night to a sense of dread.

Up next: more Horrorfest!

Quick Recap: Two American guys go backpacking in England where they are savagely (is there any other way?) attacked by a werewolf. Jack is killed but his friend, David Kessler, survives. Continuing with lycanthrope legend, David has been bitten in the attack and is slated to turn into werewolf during the next full moon. To make matters worse, his dead best friend comes back to convince David to kill himself and sever the bloodline. Deciding that that doesn’t sound like a rocking good time, David does indeed become an American Werewolf in London and slaughters a bunch of people.

Is Burt Reynolds part werewolf?

Fun (?) fact: All of the songs featured in the film have to do with moons in some way. However, Cat Stevens refused to allow ‘Moonshadow’ because he had recently converted to Islam and Bob Dylan refused to allow ‘Moonshiner’ because he had recently discovered Christianity. Interestingly, the song ‘Werewolves in London’ is also not found in the movie.

My thoughts: This movie kickstarts my foray into all Horror movies for the month of October. I started with this one because I had never seen it and because on top 10 list of things that scare me, werewolves get a pretty low spot. I mean, in the end, they are basically just a wolf that bites you to death. Gruesome, sure, but according to legend, if you become a werewolf you have no memory of the transformation so that works for me.

With the fear element being taken out, I was left to just watch the plot unfold. As it is with most horror films, a rule was established that, if the characters had just paid attention, they wouldn’t have encountered danger, thus rendering the entire film useless. But of course, the Americans went exploring off the road and were almost instantly attacked. My interest was first truly piqued when David’s friend Jack visits him from beyond. It was such a creepy way for David to realize he had become a werewolf and then  be told that his only option was to kill himself. I continued to be creeped out every time Jack showed up because each time his body had decomposed even more. The nightmares were similarly creepy and, not that this makes much sense, realistic. I say that because obviously, being a werewolf changes your entire brain structure so it only makes sense that your subconscious would be giving you clues about your new life.

This was apparently the most painful scene because the actor who played David had to wear glass contacts

The transformation scene was beautifully done and once again, made logical sense. Becoming a wolf must be a painful experience, to say the least. The actual killing scenes were gruesome and gory, which isn’t really my thing. That is to say, I don’t really mind them, but they don’t scare me. What did creep me out sufficiently was the scene when all of the recent victims had gathered into the movie theater to once again urge David to kill himself. The victims were the perfect mix of humorous and almost apathetic about their current situation. They chastised him for what he did, but weren’t all that riled up about their current state. The ending felt abrupt to me, although I can’t really imagine anything else happening or wanting to see what became of the other characters.

Final review: 3/5. It was almost a 4, but not being scared of werewolves knocked off a point.

Nightmares: None of the werewolf nature, although that shower scene might have crept into my subconscious at some point and Ewan McGregor may or may not have been involved.

Up Next: more HORRORFEST