The knives have been out for MGM and Fox's remake of Poltergeist since it was announced years
ago, which isn't a surprise. Tobe Hooper's 1982 film is a stone cold horror
classic, and modernizing it a daunting task to say the least. Even with the
likes of Sam Raimi on board as a producer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer in
David Lindsay-Abaire, and the likable duo of Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt
starring, expectations have been low. The best remakes both embrace their
predecessor while escaping from its shadow and this Poltergeist is lucky to have a director like
Gil Kenan who knows how to forge a spooky new path.
Kenan is probably the least recognizable
name of the entire production, but he's known as the director of the excellent
animated film, Monster House. Poltergeist is basically a live-action version
of Monster House, and that
is a very good thing. You'll probably laugh more than cower in fear, but
there's enough effective tension to please those willing to look beyond the
original and embrace this new version. The plot is mostly unchanged except for
a few modern touches like drones and smartphones. Rockwell and DeWitt are Eric
and Amy, parents who have moved their family to the suburbs in the wake of his
recent firing. The economic tension has the parents on edge, while their kids:
teenaged daughter Kendra (Saxon Sharbino), timid middle child Griffin (Kyle
Catlett) and 5-year-old Madison (Kennedi Clements), cause headaches in the way
kids often do. Practically five minutes after moving into their creaky, bottom
dollar home, Maddy is talking to imaginary friends and Griffin is seeing
shadows around every corner. 
Clocking in at a brisk 93 minutes, it
doesn't take long to build up steam, and this is one case where a few more
minutes to establish properly haunting atmosphere might have helped. As the
scared, awkward middle child, Griffin is our lens through which the escalating
horrors are experienced. There's a fantastic sequence involving a tree that
springs to life, and of course all those clown dolls in his room are just
waiting for an opportunity to strike. Clowns are evil. Dolls are evil. Clown
dolls are a real menace. When it can no longer be denied the house has been
haunted by a malevolent spirit (with a fondness for power drills), the family
calls in a paranormal team (led by Jane Adams and Jared Harris) to battle the
pissed-off demons that have whisked away little Maddie to their ghostly realm.
Lindsay-Abaire's screenplay leaves plenty
of room for Rockwell's impromptu humor to lighten the mood, and it's not a
stretch to say the slightly offbeat tone is similar to Raimi's Drag Me to Hell.
More weird than scary, this Poltergeist gets by on mood and strong
performances. DeWitt is solid as the anguished matriarch but she's too often
saddled with exactly this kind of role. Harris and Adams add a cornball element
that is fun while it lasts, while Catlett is surprisingly good as Griffin. The
CGI is a bit ropey at times, especially once we cross into the spirits' astral
realm, but at least the film is never slow or boring, which can't be said for
most of the lousy found footage horrors we get nowadays. Unfortunately, the
speedy pace leads to an unsatisfying hack-job of a finale totally devoid of any
excitement whatsoever. It's so bad, so poorly edited that following what is
happening is nearly impossible.
Hooper's film is still one the haunted
house genre's best, but this Poltergeist remake has enough thrills to make
it a worthy companion.
Rating: 3 out of 5
