RogerEbert
Rarely has a remake felt more contractually obligated than the 2015 version of “Poltergeist.” There are a few decent performances, a nice riff on the technology fears that drove the original movie, and a centerpiece of horror that works, but never once do you get the feeling that the people behind this remake are here because of artistic passion or creative drive. They’re here because, well, somebody had to be here, so why not them? With remakes of “Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Friday the 13th,” “Evil Dead,” and more already on the books, “Poltergeist” is even arguably a bit late to the party. And they didn’t bring a gift.
The Bowen family has fallen on hard times. Eric (Sam Rockwell) has lost his job at John Deere, forcing them to move to a new home, one which his teenage daughter Kendra (
Saxon Sharbino) openly mocks. Mother Amy (
Rosemarie DeWitt) has raised a beautiful family, but may have to go back to a day job to make ends meet. Son Griffin (Kyle Catlett) is going through that fearful time of childhood when we hear noises in our closets and wonder what’s under the bed. Finally, Madison (
Kennedi Clements) is a unique little girl, the kind who talks to her imaginary friends a bit too often.
Before the Bowens have even unpacked, weird things are afoot in their new abode. Griffin hears sounds in his attic bedroom, and finds a box full of creepy clown toys. He also really doesn’t like the look of the old tree nearly scratching his skylight. One night, while Eric and Amy are out to dinner, all Hell quite literally breaks loose. In a pretty effective centerpiece, all three children are attacked separately. Hands popping out of the floor, trees crashing through windows, and those damn clowns—it’s a solid sequence that ends with Madison being taken to the other side. As she fights for survival between worlds, the Bowens have to call in paranormal experts (including
Jared Harris and
Jane Adams) to save their little girl.
Tobe Hooper’s “Poltergeist” had two thematic foundations that have been essentially transferred intact to
Gil Kenan’s version. It was no mere coincidence that little Carol Ann was sucked into her TV as fears that the idiot box would forever destroy the next generation were pretty common in the early ‘80s. In the update, technology is everywhere, and even integrated into the narrative in scenes like the one where Kendra hears something strange through the static on her smartphone and the later use of drone technology. The fear of technology isn’t quite developed adequately here (nothing is), but I liked how
David Lindsay-Abaire captured the modern world in which we are surrounded by electrical toys—the ominous shots of the power lines behind their house are not accidental.
Even more importantly, “Poltergeist” in both forms has a solid answer for the common question that plagues haunted house movies: Why don’t they just leave? By the time the Bowens figure out what’s going on, one of them is missing, and they’re forced to band together to save her. In many ways, especially in the original, it’s about a broken family uniting in common cause to save one of their own. That element is strong here thanks in no small part to believable husband-wife chemistry between Rockwell and DeWitt and solid kid performances, especially Catlett.
The problem is that neither of these elements feel fresh or new. Nothing about “Poltergeist” feels fresh or new. And while the mere joy of seeing actors like Rockwell and DeWitt do their thing works for a little while, it can’t sustain as the horror narrative intensifies and a few things get decidedly goofy to maintain the PG-13 rating. By the last act, I really didn’t care what happened to the Bowens or those brought in to save them. The stakes don’t feel nearly as high here and the thematic undercurrents of the first act have disappeared as the actors and filmmakers go through their motions. Harris is having fun as a reality TV star ghost hunter but he can’t fix the screenwriting flaws of a project that inevitably feels like it's just racing to the end, and not in a way that produces any sort of tension.
Maybe we’re a more cynical audience and the films that have copied the original “Poltergeist” over the years have lessened the impact of the original blueprint so slavishly followed here. If that’s the case, Kenan and his team needed to find another reason to update it. Or any reason at all really.
One Final Note: Rarely has 3D been less essential or felt like more of a cash grab. See it in 2D if you choose to see it at all.
Rope Of Silicon
What made Tobe Hooper's -- or Steven Spielberg's, depending on whom you ask --Poltergeist so iconic was how it blended a mix of humor, heart and character with the same atmosphere and tension. It became the rare mainstream Hollywood thriller with just the right technical and creative talent to shine. In turn, Gil Kenan's 2015 remake is disappointing in how it's basically the opposite: cold, generic and entirely ho-hum. It's by no means the worst horror remake of late, but that it has the skills behind-and-in-front of the camera to exceed and only settles on mediocrity makes this re-imagining almost as degrading.
Kenan's take follows the Bowen family, which includes the recently unemployed Eric (Sam Rockwell), his wife Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt) and their three children -- older daughter Kendra (Saxon Sharbino), son Griffin (Kyle Catlett) and youngest daughter Madison (Kennedi Clements) -- as they've just moved into a new suburban home. It's not long after they get settled, however, that supernatural oddities begin creeping the kids out.
Madison finds herself talking to voices in her closet, Griffin's bedroom is filled with creepy dolls and Madison ends up in some unforeseen goo-from-beyond-the-grave in her basement. Beyond their parents' beliefs, the new house is also home to undead spirits; ones that take young Madison through a portal to their dimension but leave enough room for this family to return their daughter back home.
From there, Kenan's film follows the original 1982 feature's footsteps, and indeed Kenan's film is quite respectful to its peer. As these remakes do, iconic beats are mimicked and attempts towards paying homage to Hooper's initial film are realized. But, like nearly all-mainstream horror movies, jump scares replace genuine tension and the need to keep these cheap thrills undercut any emotional investment. In a year when
It Followsfinds cheeky ways to respect and abide to the genre of conventions, that movies like this still so desperately warrant, the need for audiences to accept mediocrity is not so much annoying now as it is tedious.
What's perhaps most surprising about this fairly by-the-numbers shocker is not how it lives in its original presence but how pastiche 2015's
Poltergeist feels even to its modern horror peers. Comparisons to 2013's
The Conjuring are as apparent in Kenan's film as are nods to the original Hooper film. The high production values but low enthusiasm of
Platinum Dunes remakes are also quite noticeable, and while attempts to mock shows like "
Ghost Hunters" or "
Ghost Adventures" sometimes come about, it also often appears oddly indicative of
Paranormal Activity's bag of household tricks.
This remake comes courtesy of producer
Sam Raimi, who was also behind the most entertaining mainstream horror remake in quite a while with
Evil Dead two years prior, and how he could invest so much life in that film, and yet seemingly care so little here is -- on some level -- heartbreaking. Then again, it's not as though he had a professional connection to this '80s horror flick as he did to his own debut.
Often there are moments when this Poltergeist looks as though it wants to say something about modern technology or the importance of family values at the very least, but Kenan's film is all style and little substance. For as beautiful and visceral as Javier Aguirresarobe's cinematography glazes, or as crisp as Anita Cannella's foley work andJeff Betancourt and Bob Murawski's editing are, this is so endlessly stiff. It's fine looking and well-cared for on the surface, but completely hollow and carelessly curated inside.
Also, while the original was respected more for its expert direction than tight writing, this remake's screenplay gets downright sloppy. It comes from the pen of
David Lindsay-Abaire, the Pulitzer-winning playwright behind both the play and film
Rabbit Hole. Of course you won't have seen this from his work here. Any motivations to develop characters are dropped immediately, and even those who have some depth have struggles forgone to continue the story's lumbering plot.
Here's an example. Money problems, from Rockwell's character job termination, are addressed early on in this family. The mother -- a writer -- sacrificed any attempts to write professional for raising their kids, so the dad desperately tries to get employed, including impressing a possible boss at a dinner while paranormal events go down at his house. It takes him three credit cards to pay for some rodent care, yet it's only a few minutes later when he comes home baring pizzas, new phones, a droid, jewelry and the works to his loving family. "How did you pay for all this," both his wife and we ask, but he dodges the question. You'd think this would at least be addressed later on, but nope. There's no time for that. We've got to solve this paranormal mystery! And mistakes like these, littered throughout, continuously weigh down any sincere attempts at character growth.
Rockwell not only separates himself from Craig T. Nelson's performance and makes the character his own, he also gives the screenplay's wonky dialogue some life. Unfortunately the rest of the cast seems unfit, or unable, to liven the stock of flat characters. Sharbino is reduced to little more than a stereotypical whiny teenager, Catlett -- who does bare a striking resemblance to his on-screen mom -- can only look anxiously at the ghostly terrors around him. Clements just looks wide-eyed and utters the original's catchphrases, and even DeWitt, the movie's female lead, is given next to nothing to do but be the concerning mom.
Later, spirit hunters Carrigan Burke (Jared Harris) and Dr. Claire Powell (Jane Adams) take the dependable actors playing them and are reduced to little more than exposition machines. Although Harris, at the very least, produces some fine comedy relief, even when past due. Some fun attempts towards backstory are hinted at with Burke, as the kids ask him about all his scars as though he's the Joker, and as a thespian Harris gives these interludes some zest. But often these are so few and far between they don't impact much, and because Burke's purpose is little more than interacting in Madison's rescue, any potential charisma is wasted.
The worst thing to say about Kenan's film is it's utterly forgettable. For all its technical proficiency, the lack of depth these characters have and the increasingly repetitive fright sequences make little-to-no emotional impact. To his credit, Kenan's movie does, at least, have a sense of humor about itself. The
Monster House filmmaker is more self-aware of what he's making than most directors hired for cheap remakes, and it doesn't hinder his feature as it does so often in today's meta-friendly entertainment world. But that it's not funny enough, or scary enough, or even interesting enough to stand out is what makes this
Poltergeist perhaps as disgraceful as the bland remakes around it. Good horror comes from the unknown, and if you know every step coming, then this haunted house is as dead on arrival as the spooky spirits inside it.
