A family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.A family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.A family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.
- Director
- Writers
- Steven Spielberg(screenplay by)
- Michael Grais(screenplay by)
- Mark Victor(screenplay by)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Steven Spielberg(screenplay by)
- Michael Grais(screenplay by)
- Mark Victor(screenplay by)
- Stars
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 4 wins & 8 nominations total
Videos6
JoBeth Williams
- Diane Freelingas Diane Freeling
- (as Jobeth Williams)
Lou Perryman
- Pugsleyas Pugsley
- (as Lou Perry)
Clair E. Leucart
- Bulldozer Driveras Bulldozer Driver
- (as Clair Leucart)
Joseph Walsh
- Neighboras Neighbor
- (as Joseph R. Walsh)
- Director
- Writers
- Steven Spielberg(screenplay by) (story by)
- Michael Grais(screenplay by)
- Mark Victor(screenplay by)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHeather O'Rourke kept the pet goldfish Carol Anne has in the film.
- GoofsMany viewers have pointed out that only one of the houses in the neighborhood is affected by ghosts even though the whole neighborhood and many other houses were built on the same ground. However, there are two sections of the movie that explain this discrepancy: one in which Steven tells a prospective buyer that his family was one of the first to move into their neighborhood, and another in which Steven's boss mentions that Carol Anne was born in the house. The novelization makes the connection more explicit: because Carol Anne was born in the burial ground, the spirits gravitated toward the Freeling household, attracted by her life force.
- Quotes
Carol Anne Freeling: They're here.
- Crazy creditsAfter the credits and the logo of the MGM lion is shown, we hear children laughing. Fans of the film have assumed that the laughing children are those who have been released from the beast and have crossed over the threshold into the next life.
- Alternate versionsFor ABC's 1985 network television premiere, Marty's hallucination is altered so instead of him ripping his own face off, he sees his face rapidly deteriorate briefly.
- ConnectionsEdited into Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)
- SoundtracksThe Star-Spangled Banner
(1814) (uncredited)
Music based on "The Anacreontic Song" by John Stafford Smith
Arranged by Arturo Toscanini
[Played as TV sign-off music several times]
Top review
Better than a 7.1
Horror films often do not get their do, and the 7.1 rating for Poltergeist shows that this trend will most likely continue. Clearly an influential film by Chainsaw director Tobe Hooper, Poltergeist reached for, and achieved, everything that the earlier Amityville Horror failed to be; namely, scary, credible, and well acted.
Poltergeist, in a nutshell, is a story of suburban California family that discovers the darker side of the American Dream when their youngest daughter, Carol Ann, makes contact with evil spirits through the family television set. "They're here", never fails to send chills down my spine as I recall seeing this film for the first time as a teenager.
Perhaps 10 to 15 more years will finally lend the credibility to this film to finally place it among the classics in modern horror cinema.
Poltergeist, in a nutshell, is a story of suburban California family that discovers the darker side of the American Dream when their youngest daughter, Carol Ann, makes contact with evil spirits through the family television set. "They're here", never fails to send chills down my spine as I recall seeing this film for the first time as a teenager.
Perhaps 10 to 15 more years will finally lend the credibility to this film to finally place it among the classics in modern horror cinema.
helpful•16553
- tornado-10
- Oct 25, 1999
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $10,700,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $77,177,301
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,896,612
- Jun 6, 1982
- Gross worldwide
- $77,177,301
- Runtime1 hour 54 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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