Poltergeist

They say you should never remake a classic. The original Poltergeist from 1982 was written by Steven Spielberg who also seemed to have had a hand in how it was directed.

The 2015 remake is a soulless movie that brings nothing new to the table except a few jump cuts.

If it was an innovative reimagination whose reach could not exceed its grasp I might had been more forgiving.

Sam Rockwell is an out of work father, Eric Bowen who with his wife Amy Bowen and three young kids move into a new home. The house was built in an old cemetery and the bodies were supposed to have been moved but only the headstones were.

The youngest daughter Madison feels a presence, the spirits below the house need a guide and Madison is sucked in and disappears.

The Bowens call on paranormal psychics Dr Brooke Powell (Jane Adams) and Carrigan Burke (Jared Harris) to get her back.

The only thing to note is London born Jared doing an impression of his Irish father Richard Harris.

This movie startet actually pretty okay, at least way better than I expected. For around 45 minutes I said to myself "This isn't so bad. That's a solid 6.5." Okay, there wasn't happening much, but that's not a bad thing. You keep the pacing slow and than some strange things start to happen, until the girl disappears and the family decides "to call someone". But instead some freaky, weird and maybe creepy lady showing up, there just came this drunk fella, pissing me in the face for 45 minutes. This became so absurd in a bad way, so dumb dialogue, so unnecessary scenes, so never ending stoned / drunk Sam Rockwell, that I can't imagine how this was green lit in the first place. Filmed. Produced. Showed in cinemas. I mean: What the heck? Did someone even bother to read through the entire script?!

But there's one good thing about this pile of horse rubbish. I realised what is the problem with all those (remakes of) modern horror films: They don't take the subject seriously. They don't buy their own stories. There isn't the same sense of wonder and believe in occultism, that has been in the late 60s, 70s and maybe early 80s. That's why they produce such mindless bull crap.

Seriously - don't watch this.

Horror movies are my favorite, but I'm not the type of horror movie fan that will simply judge a movie on its horribly photoshopped cover or generally hold holier than thou attitudes toward technique, execution, writing, and cinematography (although I will bask in the glory of these done well), especially when it comes to remakes. I like to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Poltergeist (2015) was no different. I had wanted to see it for quite awhile but wasn't convinced that it was a movie I needed to buy for $14.99 (thanks iTunes for your options, btw). After watching it tonight (for free, streaming online) the only two things that keep resounding in my head are "Thank you inner voice for telling me not to hit the purchase button" and "OMG. Worst. Remake. Ever." In fact, I will go as far as to say that it's probably one of the worst horror attempts I've ever seen.

I don't need to include spoilers here. If you've seen the original, you know the story. This "remake" definitely assumes you have and gives not even a second thought to the story, nor does it even pretend it cares. It's an afterthought, at best. Actually, this whole movie seems and comes off as an afterthought. This remake was not made by someone wanting to expand upon or do any service artistically to the original. No, this is a pure, unadulterated cash grab at best. At its worst, this is a slap in the face to the horror genre for a quick buck, to fans of horror and to the original altogether.

I won't pretend the original Poltergeist is the best horror movie ever made, it's definitely always been cheesy in its own way. Yet, it managed to make me squirm, creeped me out, and kept me entranced whethercwatching it as a child or as an adult. The original Poltergeist is everything that this film is not....

This "remake" is sloppy, careless, poorly executed and poorly written, all while the actors struggle to pull out performances (even a talented actor like Sam Rockwell comes off disengenuous). It is lazily shot with more early 2000s-esque CGI than anyone should be asked to swallow for 2015...and is as scary as a wet dish towel.

There are exactly two moments in this film that I was slightly taken aback, but most definitely not scared, shocked, or surprised in the least. Mostly, I laughed or shook my head in embarrassment or dismay from how awful what just happened on screen actually was. Definitely not a crowning achievement.

Yes, the young newcomer actress is cute, and does her best...but you're not given an opportunity to care about what happens to her character or her family.

My husband fell asleep 7 times (I counted), and afterward said "People standing around in a white sheet have been scarier and more interesting". I agree.

Some remakes are good, most are bad, and unfortunately for Poltergeist and horror fans this trainwreck is the latter. It's a shame in a way because if it had been done well, it could have been pretty awesome.

Watch it, or don't, just don't buy it. You'll regret it. I promise. And most of all, do not expect to be satiated, scared or impressed in the least.

Director Gil Kenan is relatively new in the director's chair, and unfortunately it shows. This modernized telling of the classic original is neither scary nor convincing. The acting was merely ok and the effects so-so. I'd rather watch the original ten times over than to watch this remake a second time.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Poltergeist" (2015) is a poor remake of a good original movie, but it is not the worst flick on it's own. That said, "Poltergeist" (2015) is kinda nicely acted, although i didn't buy Sam Rockwell's performance - he was miscast or maybe he new this is going to be poor movie so acted just for fun, but it is clear that this wasn't his favorite job to say the least. Kinds did OK job, especially one who played Griffin, and Rosemarie DeWitt's performance was probably the best in this movie.

As a horror movie, "Poltergeist" (2015) features tons of clichés, and there aren't true scary moments, you can see "jump scare" scenes from a mile. What i enjoyed about this movie was not the horror elements, but simply family scenes especially during first hour of this movie, but when so called "horror" starts, movie started to drag and by the end i was watching left time like each 5 min.

Overall, "Poltergeist" (2015) isn't good, but it isn't particularly bad. If you loved the original, it is nice for seeing it once just for nostalgia, but if you are looking for a decent horror movie, this isn't the one.