#28: Poltergeist
I have a bizarre fascination with this film, and especially how it's able to work with all of the rather strange elements involved. It has a sort of goofy, cartoonish nature presented through the use of surprisingly bright and also familiar colors, and not having to put ghosts inside a tree, and a random tornado, and maggots under the skin. There's a lot that should make this film hokey, and I don't even think I'm going to be able to properly review this on why it is so scary and fun to watch. It'll probably be easier to say everything wrong with it and follow it up with "but it's still scary".
I can't even describe how this is scary, honestly I'm surprised it only defies horror movie logic for me. Look at almost any horror film ever released. Either the setting is outside of the norm for society, or if it is set in the norm, something is changed to make the atmosphere off. Like in The Exorcist, one suburbia horror films, the colors are all dark and muted. Or in Paranormal Activity, the use of the found footage technique, plus the ability to make everything eerily too real and too quiet. Here, there's nothing at all like that. And yes, this was probably done on purpose to make the family and neighborhood seem as close to real life as possible, and it works for the beginning. But when the plot actually does start rolling and the scares begin, everything still looks the same, so it feels like the film is stuck in a weird state between looking realistic and looking like a horror film...but it's still scary!Then there's the choice to not have the ghosts just be ghosts. There's a scene where a gigantic tree outside of one of the kid's bedrooms comes to life and picks him up. This, along with many other scenes presented, seem a lot more fantastical than actually horrifying...but it's still scary.
Okay, there are two things I can easily describe that are great about this film. One of them is not playing the ghosts as straight vengeful and murderous. How I mentioned some scenes seemed more like they were too lighthearted to be in a horror movie, well there are actually some scenes that play the ghosts as more playful and even beautiful throughout, and they work very well. I particularly remember one scene when they have people who can connect with the spirit world in their house, and they see the physical ghosts themselves float down the staircase. The scene moves slowly, almost majestically, and all of the characters behold in awe at this paranormal site. I do like that there was actually some tenderness shown toward the spirits, and some dimension given to them beyond just being angry antagonists, that there was still something beautiful to be found there.
And while in some instances, I can't explain why the potentially silly fantasy angle works to scare us, there are some instances in which I do know why. If you've ever seen the film, you should remember being scared by that clown and that face peeling. Otherwise, there must be something wrong in your head if that doesn't faze you at all. Cause the boy in the film, he has this creepy clown sitting in a rocking chair by his bed, and it just sits there throughout the whole movie. Your'e watching it, you know the film wouldn't waste that clown, they'd use it eventually. But then, the movie comes to a resolution. The ghosts are vanquished, the family is happy, there little girl is safe...and then it happens. It scared me to death at 10 years old, and that face still does scare me to this day. Also, a guy peels off his own face over the sink because he thinks there are maggots crawling under his skin. I'm not even going to go into that.
So sorry this review wasn't as descriptive into why I love this as much as the others have been. Poltergeist really is such a weird film, because it should be goofy and hokey, to me there are a lot of scenes that should be unintentionally hilarious...but it's still scary.
Tomorrow: Sharks, Jets, and fabulous music numbers...involving gangs.
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