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Heather O'Rourke in Poltergeist (1982)

Parents guide

Poltergeist

Content rating

  • Sex & Nudity:
    Mild
  • Violence & Gore:
    Moderate
  • Profanity:
    Mild
  • Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking:
    Mild
  • Frightening & Intense Scenes:
    Severe

Sex & Nudity

Mild
115 of 242 found this mild
A ghost lifts a woman's shirt up, exposing her panties as she tries to pull it down.
Diane hangs onto a door to prevent being sucked in a closet; her skirt blows up and reveals her underwear.
A 16 year old girl is cat called by construction workers as her mother watches and does nothing; the girl gives them the finger and her mother laughs. Nothing is ever said to the men about their inappropriate behavior.

Violence & Gore

Moderate
87 of 159 found this moderate
A tree comes to life, breaks a bedroom window and tries to drag away a small child, but he is saved in time.
A man is seen tearing his face apart. We see bloody chunks of flesh fall into a sink, and his completely mangled face is seen several times. A flash of light reveals that it was only a hallucination, and he is completely unharmed. This is the goriest scene in the movie.
A young girl is sucked screaming into a portal.
Several decaying corpses and skeletons are seen towards the end of the film.
A woman falls into a muddy swimming pool and several skeletons appear. They are very grotesque looking.
A woman is attacked by spirits and flung around a room. She is unharmed.
A creepy clown doll pops out and attacks a child. It wraps its arm around his neck and strangles him, before dragging him under the bed. The child is able to get the upper hand and he escapes, tearing up the clown doll.
A mouth-like portal tries to suck two children into it. They scream in terror, but are unharmed.

Profanity

Mild
103 of 159 found this mild
Dana flips off construction workers. This is done in response to their inappropriate catcalls (Dana is sixteen).
  • 4 uses of Shit.

Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking

Mild
70 of 137 found this mild
The parents are seen smoking marijuana. They discover it in a drawer at home, and decide to smoke it together. It is implied that it was hidden there long ago and forgotten about; a remnant of the couple's younger "hippie" days rather than something they still do.
Adults are seen drinking beers while watching a football game.
Steve can be seen in Dr. Lesh's office with a cigarette that you never actually see him smoke.

Frightening & Intense Scenes

Severe
102 of 190 found this severe
There are many prolonged sequences of strobing lights in this movie that may trigger seizures to people with photosensitive epilepsy or any other photosensitivity.
The fact that the reveal of the skeleton pool uses ACTUAL skeletons can make some people uncomfortable. *However, this fact is never revealed in the movie, so why bother putting it here, if you think it might make people uncomfortable?* (you just made people uncomfortable)
This movie features some scary clowns that have menacing laughs and creepy movements.
Don't be fooled by the PG rating! It's to intense for little kids.
One scene has a tree attacking and attempting to swallow a young boy. The tree crashes through a window and actually pulls the kid outside with its branches.
A scene has a man hallucinating that he is pulling the skin and flesh off of his face. The bloody chunks fall into a sink.
One scene in a closet has a man angering a demonic spirit. The spirit's grotesque face manifests in the doorway.
One scene has a woman trapped in an unfinished swimming pool and discovering that it is filled with rotting skeletons.
Although no deaths are evident in the film, it has many scenes that place children in threatening conditions.
A jump scene where a woman opens a door and a deafening shriek occurs, and another where a loud thunder and an explosion of wind comes down the stairs, knocking people to the floor.

Certifications

Edit
  • Argentina
    • 14original rating
    • 162009, re-rating
  • Australia
    • M
  • Brazil
    • 14
  • Canada
    • 14AAlberta
    • PGBritish Columbia
    • 14ACanadian Home Video rating
    • PAManitoba
    • 14Nova Scotia
    • AAOntario
    • GQuébec, Déconseillé aux jeunes enfants
    • 13+original rating, Québec
    • RSaskatchewan
  • Chile
    • 14
  • Denmark
    • 15
  • Ecuador
    • TPself-applied
  • Finland
    • K-16
  • France
    • 16
  • Germany
    • 16
  • Hong Kong
    • Not Rated
    • IIBBlu-ray
  • Hungary
    • 16
  • Iceland
    • 16
  • India
    • A1983
  • Ireland
    • 15
  • Israel
    • 13self-applied
  • Italy
    • VM14
  • Japan
    • 13+self-applied
  • Mexico
    • B
  • Netherlands
    • 16
  • New Zealand
    • PG
  • Norway
    • 152019, cinema rating
    • 161982, cinema rating
  • Peru
    • 14
  • Philippines
    • R-13new rating
    • R-18original rating
  • Poland
    • 16self-applied
  • Portugal
    • M/16
  • Russia
    • 18+
  • Singapore
    • PG
    • PG13re-rating
  • South Korea
    • 182000, DVD rating
    • 121991, theatrical rating
  • Spain
    • 14original rating
    • 162014, re-rating
    • 131987, re-rating
  • Sweden
    • 15
  • Taiwan
    • 18+DVD and Blu-ray rating
  • Thailand
    • u 18+self-applied
  • Turkey
    • 18+self-applied

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