Review: “Poltergeist (2015): C+”

Mainly spoiler-free….

So, I watched the remake of the 1982 movie “Poltergeist” an hour or so ago. There are a few small, and a couple of mid-level, changes from the original movie to this one but the basic premise is the same: Eric Bowen (a recently laid off employee for John Deere Headquarters), his wife, Amy Bowen (a writer with a book on hold), and their kids – Kendra, eldest daughter and a teen with an attitude, middle son Griffin – who is afraid of everything, including this post – and youngest daughter Maddie (who did a pretty good job of capturing the essence of Carol Ann from the original) – move into a quiet, nice-looking subdivision to start over. Things soon become VERY-less-than-quiet for the Bowens in their new home.

I don’t think it quite matched the level of the original, in terms of overall creepiness. If you are expecting to be scared constantly or blown away for the 80 minutes or so that the movie runs, you may end up disappointed. However, it was an enjoyable movie for me. There were some pretty intense and creepy scenes, especially once the paranormal activity cranks up. There also some cool nods to the original movie (for example, in the original when the ‘ghost orbs’ are floating down the stairs near the end, that happens upstairs about 25 minutes into the new one, in Maddie’s room). The last 20-25 minutes of the movie were great, especially with the special effects and some of the views of the “Other Side”.

I think that, if you liked the original, you will probably like this one – maybe not as much but it’ll still be an enjoyable night at the movies.