Poltergeist (1982)

A family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Steven Spielberg (screenplay by), Michael Grais (screenplay by)

Stars:

JoBeth Williams, Heather O'Rourke, Craig T. Nelson

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Craig T. Nelson	...	Steve Freeling
JoBeth Williams	...	Diane Freeling (as Jobeth Williams)
Beatrice Straight	...	Dr. Lesh
Dominique Dunne	...	Dana Freeling
Oliver Robins	...	Robbie Freeling
Heather O'Rourke	...	Carol Anne Freeling
Michael McManus	...	Ben Tuthill
Virginia Kiser	...	Mrs. Tuthill
Martin Casella	...	Marty
Richard Lawson	...	Ryan
Zelda Rubinstein	...	Tangina
James Karen	...	Mr. Teague
Lou Perryman	...	Pugsley (as Lou Perry)
Clair E. Leucart	...	Bulldozer Driver (as Clair Leucart)
Dirk Blocker	...	Jeff Shaw

Storyline

A young family are visited by ghosts in their home. At first the ghosts appear friendly, moving objects around the house to the amusement of everyone, then they turn nasty and start to terrorise the family before they "kidnap" the youngest daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

ghost | haunting | paranormal investigation | poltergeist | cult classic | 

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Taglines:

Mommy, Daddy, where are you?

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steven Spielberg's fourth film as a producer. After "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," "Continental Divide," and "Used Cars."

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Goofs

When the chair slides across the floor ... Carol Anne yawns putting her hand over her mouth but before and after the chair moves she is clearly holding a helmet and a snoopy toy in both hands.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Carol Anne Freeling: Hello? What do you look like? Talk louder, I can't hear you! Hey, hello! Hello, I can't hear you! Five. Yes. Yes. I don't know. I don't know.

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Crazy Credits

After 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.

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Alternate Versions

The 1997, 1999 MGM, and 2000 Warner DVDs of "Poltergeist" feature an entirely different end credits sequence. The credits begin roughly 15 seconds earlier, over the tracking shot of the Holiday Inn, and the sequence in which they appear is different entirely, including some re-arranging on the cast list, and Martin Casella's name being changed to "Marty Casella." The 25th Anniversary DVD and Blu-ray Disc restore the original theatrical credits sequence, henceforth making it a more accurate representation of the film's theatrical exhibition than previous DVD releases.

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

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Soundtracks

It Knows What Scares You
(uncredited)
Written, Music and Performed by Jerry Goldsmith

User Reviews

Eerie

This movie was eerie to watch. Spielberg is usually about big, dramatic things and loud noises but this movie was subtle, creepy, and disturbing. He did it all very well too.

A house is haunted, and a little girl and her family are harassed by malevolent spirits. Pretty standard horror, but Spielberg adds his own style to the mix and the result is pretty good.

The family element adds a lot to the film too. In lots of horror films, it's usually just one or two people being haunted. Here it's a whole family. Maybe that does happen a lot, but Spielberg makes movies for the whole family quite a bit so maybe that's why it works well here.

Horror fans should like this. Haunted house fans too. Spielberg fans will enjoy the auteur working outside his normal range.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 June 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Poltergeist

Filming Locations:

4267 Roxbury Street, Forest Hills, Simi Valley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,896,612, 6 June 1982

Gross USA:

$77,142,388

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$77,142,388

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), SLM Production Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min 120 min (original cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1