What do you love about Poltergeist? If you're looking for more scary movies, I won't be waiting until next October to do more! Coming up: Train to Busan, John Wick, Jaws 2, & Aliens!
#RememberToBreathe: recent subscriber here... so appreciate your genuine and well-edited reactions so far, especially to horror flix... Can't wait for "Train to Busan" & "Aliens"! 🤗😁😘
One of the things that makes this film so good is of course the little sweet Carol Anne, without a doubt! BUT I feel like Jobeth Williams role as the mom was just as incredible if not more! You really get a sense of how much this family loves each other. And that is why this is such a standout horror film for me.
Bring on Aliens and Train to Busan!!! Thank u! (Also, John Wick is totally fine, but I'm not sure I think of it as scary, speaking for myself) All good picks.
Ooh cool, Aliens, that was going to be part of my suggestions - because I'm a terrible person: In the Mouth of Madness (1994) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) The Exorcist (1973) The Omen (1976) Rosemary's Baby (1968) The Fly (1986) Saw (2004)
If you want some interesting 'not your usual horror'-horror movies, think about watching "It Follows" and "The Babadook" (if you haven't already seen 'em).
There are few horror movies where no-one dies. Poltergeist (1982, as one must now always state it thanks to the 2015 nonsense) manages to be scary by exploiting our fears of the unknown rather than implying death at every turn. There are references to The Wizard of Oz (1939) - the alive tree with a mouth and a face, the tornado, 'Which side of the rainbow are we working tonight Dr. Lesh?', the munchkin seer (Tangina - yes I know the politically correct term is 'little person' but I'm making a point). It's almost like Carol-Anne has been sucked off to Oz and, instead of going with her, we're watching from her family's point-of-view while they wonder where she is and if she will ever come back.
You probably have someone else telling you this. But the swimming pool scene. They used REAL skeletons because they were easier and less expensive to get. But,, they didn't tell JoBeth Williams that, her shrieks in the water were pretty much all real.
In the old days at the end of broadcasting for the evening usually between 11 and 12…they would play the national anthem then it went to static for the rest of the night.
Second fun fact. Back in the day forming and casting skeletons was more expensive then buying real human skeletons. So the bodies in the pool at the end were REAL skeletons. And nobody told the actress until after the shot was completed.
👋 hi!! I’m a new subscriber. Two things: The “snow” on the tv was actually pretty Soothing. That’s why they have sound machines that still have that Noise. I would geek out like that. Been around ghost my whole life and I still jump up and laugh when something crazy happens.
I was 12 years old when this came out. I think it's super scary and has stayed with me. Love the Star Wars references!! As to your question regarding if this has ever happened in real life...look up Denver Colorado- Cheesman Park. Cemetery converted to public park.
I agree that the white noise/snow on the TV always felt "off" to me. It didn't help that years later I found out about electronic voice phenomenon, i.e. the dead was speaking to us through that white noise. Creeped out yet?
♥️♥️♥️🤗🤗♥️😊😄😄👍 This movie scared the pants off me. I slept in my parents bed, 3 nights in a row. Born in 74, so the ratings for movies were PG and Rated R. So I saw it. Lol if course I love it now.
I love that you loved this movie. You are spot-on about the acting in this, and the "taking time with moments" being so important to what makes this movie work. I first saw Poltergeist on cable in the 80's, maybe a year or two after it's theatrical release, and I was afraid to go to sleep that night. P.S. You are 100% my favorite new RUclipsr: your reactions are so perfect, and funny.
Thanks so much, Ken! I’m definitely trying to create enjoyable content, that is also authentic and honest. I can’t promise every reaction will be as spastic, but I can guarantee it’s my real reaction. Thankfully no nightmares! Of course I am an adult. I did find myself turning off the noise cancellation on my headphones and shining my light in the middle of the night though 🤣
Graveyards get moved sometimes. The law forbids moving the graves and bodies without the approval of a relatives. There are even a couple grave markers cast in the concrete of a runway in the Hilton Head International Airport Savannah, Georgia because the family said their relatives wanted to be buried on the land they lived on. You can see pictures of them on Atlas Obscura.
"Why are they not at a hotel???" Because....their daughter is trapped in this house....As a Mom, I can tell you, I'd NEVER leave my child if I thought they could be alive. And, YES, graveyards get "relocated" all the time (there are rules that are supposed to be followed if that happens). "Is she gonna come out the living room ceiling all covered in goo? Is something amazing gonna happen? Is something terrifying gonna happen?" Yes. Yes. and Yes.
Thank you! That makes sense, I definitely wasn’t considering that. I had no ideas graveyards got relocated. I imagine there are strict rules. Hopefully they include moving the bodies. 😳
Late to comment, but she could've sent the other kiddos away right away. Just as I would never leave the house where a loved one was trapped, I wouldn't let any other loved ones (including the dog) meet the same fate.
I love that you're old enough to know what the "snow" on the TV was. Yes, there was a time when the TV actually signed off for the night. I grew up in the suburbs outside NYC so even in the 50s we had more channels than most of the country. I would keep the tv on through the night as white noise. So I heard the Star-Spangled Banner many a night. Love your reaction!!!
I think you're right. The stellar acting by all involved is what really sells "Poltergeist"...my fave is JoBeth Williams as the mom and thought Zelda Rubenstein's turn as Tangina (the 'house cleaner') was wonderfully 'scenery chewing' at It's most fun! Poor Heather O'Rourke (Carol Ann), passed away tragically about 7 years after this came out. Another Great reaction! 👻🎃
@@CasualNerdReactions yea that was so sad wth HEATHER, and poor DOMINique DUnne the older sister - she was killed by a an ex boy/f who stalked her and killed her at 22 yrs old. HER brother was Griffin DUNNE who was in few films like american WEREwolf in LONDON and AFTER hours
JoBeth Williams should have been nominated for this. Classic case of certain genres not being taken seriously where acting is concerned. But Williams is the heart and soul of this story and should have been recognized.
Fun special effect fact, Poltergeist used real skeletons for the end scenes. They bought them from a local medical supply house because it was cheaper to buy real skeletons rather than build them. The supply largely came from India.
And the supposed Poltergeist curse gets attributed to that use of real skeletons. Yes, this movie is supposedly cursed. Whether you believe it or not, it is well documented.
@@CasualNerdReactions it actually is- when people die they can donate their bodies for reasons like this, and I know this because in middle school I had a VERY eccentric teacher who happily told us the skeleton in his classroom was a real skeleton, and that when he died he was going to donate every organ they could get from his body, then his skeleton was going to be used to educate after he was gone (he even showed us the marks in the skull where they took out the brain!!!). Anatomical skeletons get used as props all the time and they have to come from somewhere. Or, more accurately, someone.
Your last comments about wanting a film to affect you in just the way the director intended is so heart warming. I have found there is a groundswell of people who tend to watch films with a cynical attitude - eager to pick holes and defy to be affected by the nature of the movie. That just doesn't make sense to me. You watch a film to be a part of it and to experience something you wouldn't normally get to experience in your life. Whether it's happy or sad, scary or euphoric it should enrich you and make you feel alive. Of course this only works with films that are well made and have the audiences expectations first and foremost catered for. Sometimes you can watch a film which you admire and appreciate technically but you realise it was made just for the director or the studio perhaps so whilst a good film it doesn't necessarily connect with you, you are outside looking in. The best films are the ones that immerse you in their universe and you totally empathise with what is going on. This film is the latter. Yes it looks dated now but at its centre it is all heart and presented with such conviction you are swept along with it. Please don't bother with the remake. Everything this film has the remake is devoid of. The sequels are worth a watch - especially Poltergeist II, neither reach the peaks of the first film but it was nice to go back to this world and revisit the characters again. Recommendation: The Haunting - 1963
I was just about to recommend that he watch, "The Haunting" (1963, of course - the 1999 remake is an embarrassment) , when I read your comment. The moment that he said he appreciated when a film didn't need to show "too much"; that the real fear was created by what we couldn't see - as in real life - I thought of it. When you know what you're up against; when it has physical form, your mind can at least try to formulate a battle strategy. When you're fighting something that you can't see or begin to understand - that's what's truly terrifying. "The Haunting" is one of the best ghost stories ever brought to film.
Ahhh, one of my favorite scary movies from my childhood! Still scares me all these years later. JoBeth Williams and Craig T Nelson were excellent along with all the supporting cast. Tragic what happened to Heather O'Rourke and Dominique Dunne. Sometimes it's hard to watch this one knowing how talented they were and how we were all robbed of it.
My favorite movie ever. I saw it when I was nine and have been researching the paranormal since. I’m a nurse, but I have a paranormal team and we’ve traveled all over the country to help people who have no one else to call. I am a Christian and very firm in my faith. I am also studying to be a religious demonologist. This is a fantastic movie but the name is wrong. This is the demonic, the “beast.” They often trick children into inviting them in. I’ve seen things I that are impossible but they do happen. It’s very satisfying to work with the Church and help families with demonic activity; however it is very rare. Most hauntings are human spirits who are lingering for whatever reason. The paranormal TV shows glorify the “demonic” and give viewers misinformation. It’s not to be played with and is a calling, a ministry that is very serious.
About what you said regarding building over a cemetery...I don't remember the specific names but there have been towns that were formerly cemeteries, 'course in those instances they actually bothered to move the bodies along with the headstones. I agree that the whole thing is all kinds of awful and disrespectful. I also think it might be illegal since the boss in the movie didn't properly move the dead when doing construction.
I love your reactions, you’re absolutely adorable. Poltergeist was the first horror movie I ever saw. I think I was like 8 years old. It didn’t scare me then I think because I didn’t understand everything going on. I saw it again when I was 20 and it terrified me. Go figure!
There'd debate even among the cast who directed the film with some actors saying they were only ever directed by Tobe Hooper (whose Salem's Lot is one of my top 3 favorite vampire films of all time and his Texas Chainsaw Massacre is, of course, a horror legend) while other cast members indicate they were almost exclusively directed by Spielberg. One thing is clear, Spielberg has been publicly insistent that the director's credit belongs to Hooper. It's likely a mystery we'll not have definitively untangled. The acting, as you point out, is stellar with the MVPs being JoBeth Williams (who stars in one of my favorite fun comfort films - the little seen comedy adventure mystery American Dreamer) and Zelda Rubinstein (Tangina - the "cleaner"). Interesting fact, Rubinstein was among the very first public figures to embrace the fight against HIV/AIDS in the early 80s at the very beginning of the fight against the virus. She was a real one of a kind performer and a woman of genuine character, grit, and empathy.
@@CasualNerdReactions Gremlins and Goonies are two other films that look like Spielberg directed, though he only produced. I guess he was just insistent on a "house style".
Back in the day, before 24/7 television, they had a time limit. They would play the national anthem 🇺🇸 before fading to the fuzzy snow. Nothing would be on until the next morning.
In those days, the National Anthem signaled the end of the programming day, followed by the "snow". Usually, people would turn off the TV at that point!!
16:27 --- uhhh.. wellllll.... It' d be nice if our final resting areas were... final... But it happens more often than you think. I believe it's the Brooklyn Queens Expressway that cut it's way through a cemetery here in NY. They moved the stones and as many bodies as they could.. But there's been stories about work crews having to stop every time they hit another casket. Also stories about workers looting the graves... Unmarked graves and ones they didn't want to bother moving being paved over.. Frankly, horrifying.. And not the last "road construction" story I'd heard either. Down in Florida there's a stretch of either I-10 or I-75 that went through an old abandoned town and I don't think they bothered moving the bodies..
As a kid... TV's all stopped broadcasting about 2..3am. Then the anthem would play and the TV would switch to snow (the dead air / static).. So if you fell asleep with TV on you would wake up to anthem to turn TV off and go back to sleep.
Those skeletons were real. I heard the production was sued over using the footage of mom in the muddy pool with all those real skeletons during the storm.
I totally agree with you- when I watch a movie, I want total immersion. I don't want to have seen fifty trailers, interviews with everyone and behind the scenes stuff. Watch LIFEFORCE next- same director but an even crazier concept. A great movie to get lost in.
Thanks for sharing your reaction to this. I saw this when I was a 7 or 8 (I remember seeing part 2 at the drive in a couple years later) and several more times over the years. It really is just a great movie and it actually gets scarier as Ive gotten older as I now identify with the parents and not the kids. It's rare to find a scary movie that still manages to feel pretty wholesome.
The people who did the special effects in this film, left to start their own SFX company, and two years later, worked on another film with almost exactly the same ideas that they used in this film, and that movie went on to do better than this film did. It was Ghostbusters 👻
8:03 To answer your question, I assume the father dug his fingernails into the eyes that had appeared on the tree. The tree would've likely loosened its bite due to the pain, enabling the father to then pull his son out. And the director was Tobe Hooper, the same guy who directed the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre eight years prior to Poltergeist.
This was a box office and critical success, making $122 million dollars against a $10 million dollar budget. The movie is now Considered cursed as most of the actors listed died after the films release: Dominique Dunne, Dana, was strangled by her ex boyfriend, leaving her Braindead at the age of 22. Heather O'Rourke, Carol Anne, died from Crohn's Disease at the age of 13 during filming of Poltergeist 3. Will Sampson, whom plays Taylor in Poltergeist 2 The Other Side, died from open heart surgery in 1987. Julian Beck, Reverand Kane, died from cancer in 1985, a year before Poltergeist 2 was released.
I thoroughly enjoyed your reaction to this movie. This is one of my favorite Spielberg movies. Just watched Top Gun and am so pumped for the new one opening May 27 so excited for that. Have you ever seen Witness with Harrison Ford. Awesome I think you will love
I grew up with a strict Christian family too and wasn’t allowed to watch Pokémon, read Harry Potter or draw dragons. Now, I’m absolutely fascinated by spooky creepy things but am a complete chicken so watching reactors like you is how I watch scary movies. Thanks for one for the team!
i agree. this is one of the reasons i didnt like the remake. i HATED the family, seemed like they were always at each other and the kids always had to have the last say and mouthy, especially the older sister, her sisters missing and shes all happy theres a tv personality in her house, like wtf? and the fx sucked, the part where the kids in the tree looked so cartooney, in the theatre so many laughed through this movie. they should not allow directors to helm a movie if they dont like the genre.
Back in the day before all channels were 24 hours, All local channels would play the National Anthem before going off air at the end of their broadcast day. That allows the ghosts to communicate to Carol-anne through the now "open" channel.
@@okeefe757 I was born in 1961 so I remember every channel (all 3 then later all 6 of them) doing this every night. Nothing but dead air from midnight to 6 am and we didn't even have VCR's yet so nothing to watch after midnight at all. Good thing I always loved to read.
The actress who played the older sister was murdered by her abusive boyfriend shortly after this movie came out and the girl who played carol Ann died after making the second poltergeist. They used real skeletons in the pool scene because they were cheaper then fake ones but they neglected to tell the actress who played the mom until after she filmed the scene. In those days some tv stations would stop broadcasting at like 2 or 3 am and it would be static until they started broadcasting again at 5 or 6 am. There have been incidents where towns or cities have relocated cemetery’s to build parks or buildings, I saw a video recently about a haunted park that was the site of a cemetery and apparently they didn’t move a lot of the graves just the headstones.
I read about that, a true tragedy. I can’t believe they used real skeletons, but even more that they didn’t tell the actress?! I feel like even on a film set you should be informed about encountering human remains.
I highly recommend watching the rest of the trilogy. Not all at once, but save it for the Halloween season. Fun Fact: During all the horrors that proceeded while filming, only one scene really scared Heather O'Rourke: that in which she had to hold on to the headboard while a wind machine blew toys into the closet behind her. The young actress fell apart. "Producer" Steven Spielberg stopped everything, took her in his arms, and said that she would not have to do that scene again.
Spoiler Alert....there are more Poltergeist movies and they remade it a few years ago too. Never watched any of them. That swimming pool scene scarred me for life.
Enjoyed your reaction. I was 10 when one of my older sisters took me to see this movie. Gave me nightmares and really angered my parents when they found out. 🙂 I still love this movie so much. I didn't much care for the sequels or the remake.
Settle back and I'll tell you a story about a radio station I used to work for out here on Long Island.. The station used to go off the air at 11pm, but no one had access to the transmitter room so the station would stay "on" 24/7. Now, when you have nothing being broadcast, they call that "dead air". Because you are essentially a dead spot on the dial. Sitting IN the station at the base of the antenna, it should be impossible to hear ANYTHING on that frequency unless we were sending it out. -- 2:30am, Wednesday... I am the only person in the station since we went off the air and everyone went home. I'm sitting in one of the recording studios and thought I was going to be cute and pull a prank. So I get this "phantom broadcast" / "pirate radio takeover" all cued up and go live. For 60 minutes, I ran an unauthorized show, played whatever I wanted, violated a couple of FCC rules... Basically had a good time. 3:30am, I end the broadcast with a pre-recorded bit of the FCC breaking down the door, angry yelling, gunshots, and then SILENCE. -- Of course, none of that actually happened.. It was all a prank. What happened next... Still makes my hair stand up.. During the portion where there was nothing going out over the air, I still had my headphones plugged in and was listening to the master mixing board signal.. Slowly, and among the background hiss that you would normally hear from FM radio.. I started hearing shifts in the static. At first, I didn't know what it was. Figured maybe atmospheric disturbances or power fluctuation in the station or transmitter... --- That was until I slid the volume pot all the way up.. Voices.. Layered voices.. Like a small crowd of people having conversations just barely on the edge of hearing.. I couldn't make out words or distinct voices.. They weren't whispers. More like what you would hear in an auditorium before the show starts.. --- Most people would say, "oh that's just overlapping frequencies from stations far away." --- And normally I would agree. But that isn't possible when you're in a station underneath an active transmitter. There should have been NO possible way to hear anything getting through on that frequency. I was suddenly VERY aware, that I was alone, in an isolated radio station, in the middle of the night, with conversations taking place all around me... Just me, two million dollars worth of electronic gear, and the ghosts...
'Some people die but they don't know that they've gone.' and we just witnessed the birth of M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Sixth Sense'. Still love this movie, and I still can't (but also still can) believe that this was a kids movie, and that 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' 's director Tobe Hooper did this one, no wonder it was so freakin' scary.
I Watch 4, or 5 different reaction channels on a regular basis, and this might be the best reaction I've seen. It is certainly the best reaction to Poltergeist. I really liked what you said at the end about feeling what the people in the movie are feeling, and not trying to outsmart the movie.
What an enjoyable & very loud reaction! but it's understandable, because Poltergeist is a great movie. It's not strictly a horror film, it's more of a spooky film that's really about family and how the family bond saved them. It's definitely a film that stays with you, with some great acting, a great script, and some excellent paranormal research by Mr Spielberg ;) Pt 2 has more depth & backstory. It's different, but definitely worth watching... but pt3 is a big no, no & should be avoided.
This is probably a bit more scary for you, the film in a weird way predicted Heather O’Rourke’s death here is what I mean. The movie was released in 1982 yet in the kid’s bedroom there is a kids poster of the 1988 Super Bowl and the channel they listen to her on is channel 12. Now at the start of the actual 1988 Super Bowl Heather O’Rourke became very ill she was miss diagnosed with crones disease and she would die in February of that year aged 12. RIP Heather dec 1975 to feb 1988 Her death was a burst intestine leading to septic shock.
A long time ago, I had a guy friend (I'm female) who moved into one of these cookie-cutter neighborhoods in Riverside (we were from L.A.), so when I went to see his house for the first time, I was going to stay over because I didn't think I'd feel like driving back to L.A. late at night. EVERY house looked the same and I teased him (immediately upon my arrival) that he bought a house in a "Poltergeist" neighborhood. Strike One. That night, we went to go see one of the "Hellraiser" movies. Strike Two. (For the record, "scary" movies have never affected me like they do some people). His bedroom was at one end of a long hallway, and I chose to sleep in the bedroom at the opposite end (two others in the middle). Strike Three. To this very moment, I don't know what really happened that night. If it was just a nightmare, it was the most vivid one I've ever had - including childhood night terrors. I had the physical sensation of some sort of entity LITERALLY throwing me around the room. Somehow, I had the weird twist on reality - in the midst of the horror - to think that if I can wake my friend up, he can then come and wake ME up, so this torturous experience could end. I mustered up all of my strength to scream, and... nothing. I hit the wall again, and felt physical pain in my back. I was determined to try again to awaken my friend (but I'd heard him snoring like a lawnmower when I was still completely awake), so I really didn't like my chances. But I still pulled every ounce of energy I could find from my toes on up in an effort to scream. I only managed a pitiful whimper, but it was enough for me to break free of whatever had a hold on me (something real or my own mind that seemed hellbent on tormenting me). Needless to say, I didn't go back to sleep and took off for home as soon as the sun came up lol. And my back hurt. I didn't visit that friend at his home again until he moved 😆.
As a professed trained Christian, you are probably not aware of the nuances of Ghosties. This movie is actually misnamed. While early appearances are like a Poltergeist, it isn't one. Poltergeist, or noisy ghost, are almost always movement, sound, or even smell. They are like random outbursts of energy, usually with little or no intelligent purpose. They center on a person, who most often in the one doing it. Maybe not knowingly, or on purpose, but the energy comes from them. You find there are types that tend to draw them. The Pubescent child and the Neurotic woman, but there is more to it than that. The child can be very young, or almost grown, male or female. The Neurotic woman, can be a man, usually with a more passive personality. This show has the two older kids that could fit this, but they are actually NOT the Locus, as Dana is most often not there, and Robbie serves a different use. Dad doesn't fit the profile, he is a strong, self assured person. Neither does Mom. There are little signs of neuroses in her, another strong person. Carol Ann is also out if this was a Poltergeist. But, this isn't one, it is a Traditional Haunting. A ghost, tied to the place, the graves. An Intelligent Haunting too, being attracted to her life force.
As a mom of multiple children if one was being eaten by a tree and another being sucked into a closet void.. Like really where would you go to help. Forsake one for the other. The hell. I love this movie.
I think it was Kubrick who joked that all ghost stories are inherently optimistic, because they suggest the possibility of life after death. I remember the two Poltergeist sequels being decent, but it's a long time since I've watched them. Did you know that "I'm ready for my close-up" is a line from the classic film Sunset Boulevard (1950)?
Speilberg is one of the Greatest of all times for his action thriller and scary movies. It's totally wonder to be an 80s kid, times were so different back then and I really miss a lot from some things we've pushed by the wayside. Hope remains, I really love this film. Parts 1&2 are my absolute favorites! Back in the day movies lines were extremely developed, thereby creating the most memorable movies of ALL TIMES till this day. Our films were more than technicality and formulas. No "easy answers" and fake reactions. These actors took us on a journey back in the day. Characters and casts were picked from the best of the best! They also were amazing to watch and instilled values in us! Even the scary movies. Cinema moved us, made us laugh and made us cry and all that's in between. And That is GREAT!!! Glad to have been alive during these times and so happy to see how the movies are still some of the greatest to this day with new generations!
Hey, there! It’s Mr. Trivial again! Yes, Spielberg did ghost direct this. He was doing principle photography on E.T. He originally hired Drew Barrymore for Poltergeist and Heather O’Rourke for E.T. He was determined he was going to use both actresses and switched them. Wise choice. Heather was way more vulnerable than Drew and so it makes you hurt to see her go through these bad things. Every night, Spielberg would go over to the Poltergeist production and watch the rushes from that days filming. He didn’t like what he was seeing from Tobe Hooper, so he micro-managed the filming. He would,every night, go over to Poltergeist and TOLD Hopper to reshoot this scene that way and that scene this way. Spielberg has a unique style of shooting and you can see his signature shots all over the film. (The kids racing their remote controlled cars to crisscross in front of the man on the bike is classic Spielberg… low shot filming eye level of the action of the cars, for example.) Because Steven wasn’t there for principle photography every day, there are A LOT of blatant gaffs. (At Carol Ann’s abduction into the closet, you see the door open and light come in with a lot of wind blowing. Then Carol Ann’s body is airborne while she holds on with two hands to her bed’s white, wicker headboard. Left hand comes loose and she’s now holding on with the right hand only. Close up shot of her right hand slipping off, so her hands are empty. Cut to Carol Ann flying into the closet, screaming, as she has both hands firmly clutching the top of the white, wicker headboard.) There are quite a few more gaffs that wouldn’t have happened if Spielberg had been there everyday, but E.T. was his baby. and YES… those were true, real human skeleton’s with Diane in the swimming pool sequences. JoBeth Williams was not told they were real until all of the shots were complete. If you would like more back stories, just let me know, after you wake up from my droning on with all of my backstories! 🙃
'nother film directed by Tobe Hooper (yeah, he did Texas Chainsaw) is Lifeforce, written by the cat who wrote Alien. I'll just point out that the actress who plays naked-space-vampire-lady was terrified to film her numerous nude scenes, but said that Tobe Hooper was super respectful and put her at ease throughout filming so props to the Hoop. The film'll blow your mind btw; it's quite cray.
Fun fact. 1% of that "snow" on the TV you used to see back in the day is actually the CMB, AKA the cosmic microwave background. In other words when you see static on the TV you are looking at the echo of the big bang and the creation of the universe.
The actress who played the older daughter was strangled by her boyfriend shortly after the film, and the younger daughter died of septicemia from peritonitis (IIRC, due to a burst appendix) when she was 12. And two of the stars of Poltergeist II died shortly after filming.
It’s hard to get scared for characters you don’t recognize as real, and don’t care about. The first thing this movie does is get you comfortable with the characters and the setting, before placing them in jeopardy. At heart, this is a movie about a family in crisis. Replace the haunting with a serious illness or major family financial crisis, and this would still be, at core, compelling, in many of the same ways. No haunted-house movie before this had been set in a modern post-WWII housing tract. That was also unsettling.
Great reaction. I loved this movie when it came out. I agree so much with your comment about the power of not seeing everything. There are several modern movies I could do without because they want to show me every single detail of something horrific...and I really don't need to see that! there is something to be said for leaving something to the imagination. Less really can be more. Especially in horror.
No, it's never happened in real life, because people have died absolutely everywhere on our planet. So there is nowhere you can go where someone hasn't died and has been buried/left to rot there. If it comes down to dead Earthlings being killed/upset burials etc. Don't you think that other Earthling animals we treat as food would have some sort ghostly afterlife grudge ? Welcome to Humanism.
This is loosely based on a true story. A suburb outside of Houston, Texas moved the headstones and left the bodies. A book about it is called "The Black Hope Horror." This one was a cemetary of African-American slaves.
This film Really Sucks you into it, notice the alien poster doesnt move NOT even the ghosts can make that poster be afraid, And yes those are REAL human Skeletons in the pool, which led to the possible Curse
I have read conflicting accounts as to whether Spielberg actually directed most of this or not. As others have mentioned, it certainly does seem like he did... especially to get the acting from the kids that they did, which has always been a hallmark of his directing. The score is one of my favorite Jerry Goldsmith scores (he also did Alien, btw). Poltergeist 2 is actually scarier in my humble opinion, though a little bit contrived and not the classic this one has become. .
I love that! I was actually going to watch this a few weeks ago, but chose to watch close encounters first because of John Williams. 🤣 they’re both great!
What do you love about Poltergeist? If you're looking for more scary movies, I won't be waiting until next October to do more! Coming up: Train to Busan, John Wick, Jaws 2, & Aliens!
#RememberToBreathe: recent subscriber here... so appreciate your genuine and well-edited reactions so far, especially to horror flix... Can't wait for "Train to Busan" & "Aliens"! 🤗😁😘
One of the things that makes this film so good is of course the little sweet Carol Anne, without a doubt! BUT I feel like Jobeth Williams role as the mom was just as incredible if not more! You really get a sense of how much this family loves each other. And that is why this is such a standout horror film for me.
Bring on Aliens and Train to Busan!!!
Thank u!
(Also, John Wick is totally fine, but I'm not sure I think of it as scary, speaking for myself)
All good picks.
Ooh cool, Aliens, that was going to be part of my suggestions - because I'm a terrible person:
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
The Exorcist (1973)
The Omen (1976)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
The Fly (1986)
Saw (2004)
If you want some interesting 'not your usual horror'-horror movies, think about watching "It Follows" and "The Babadook" (if you haven't already seen 'em).
There are few horror movies where no-one dies. Poltergeist (1982, as one must now always state it thanks to the 2015 nonsense) manages to be scary by exploiting our fears of the unknown rather than implying death at every turn. There are references to The Wizard of Oz (1939) - the alive tree with a mouth and a face, the tornado, 'Which side of the rainbow are we working tonight Dr. Lesh?', the munchkin seer (Tangina - yes I know the politically correct term is 'little person' but I'm making a point). It's almost like Carol-Anne has been sucked off to Oz and, instead of going with her, we're watching from her family's point-of-view while they wonder where she is and if she will ever come back.
Imagine watching this when you're six years old. That shit messed up so many kids in the 80's.
I have no doubt that it did. PG in the 80s really meant you needed parental guidance!
You probably have someone else telling you this. But the swimming pool scene. They used REAL skeletons because they were easier and less expensive to get. But,, they didn't tell JoBeth Williams that, her shrieks in the water were pretty much all real.
In the old days at the end of broadcasting for the evening usually between 11 and 12…they would play the national anthem then it went to static for the rest of the night.
Second fun fact. Back in the day forming and casting skeletons was more expensive then buying real human skeletons. So the bodies in the pool at the end were REAL skeletons. And nobody told the actress until after the shot was completed.
At the time this was made. Some TV stations signed off at midnight. In the USA the stations played THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.
You get me every time with some one liner... "Alright, Star Lord, pay attention!" LMFAO!
👋 hi!! I’m a new subscriber. Two things:
The “snow” on the tv was actually pretty Soothing. That’s why they have sound machines that still have that Noise. I would geek out like that. Been around ghost my whole life and I still jump up and laugh when something crazy happens.
I was 12 years old when this came out. I think it's super scary and has stayed with me. Love the Star Wars references!! As to your question regarding if this has ever happened in real life...look up Denver Colorado- Cheesman Park. Cemetery converted to public park.
After this movie, several of the actors died from this movie and other Spielberg movies within a few years.
I agree that the white noise/snow on the TV always felt "off" to me. It didn't help that years later I found out about electronic voice phenomenon, i.e. the dead was speaking to us through that white noise. Creeped out yet?
I am sufficiently creeped out, yes.
♥️♥️♥️🤗🤗♥️😊😄😄👍 This movie scared the pants off me. I slept in my parents bed, 3 nights in a row. Born in 74, so the ratings for movies were PG and Rated R. So I saw it. Lol if course I love it now.
I would have been wrecked if i’d seen this as a kid, haha.
I am a 42 yo woman and to this day I can't watch that face ripping scene... sorry, nope. Can't do it.
It is quite a shocking scene for a PG film. I know this predated PG-13 by a bit, but I. think that would still be pretty shocking tbh.
I love that you loved this movie. You are spot-on about the acting in this, and the "taking time with moments" being so important to what makes this movie work. I first saw Poltergeist on cable in the 80's, maybe a year or two after it's theatrical release, and I was afraid to go to sleep that night. P.S. You are 100% my favorite new RUclipsr: your reactions are so perfect, and funny.
Thanks so much, Ken! I’m definitely trying to create enjoyable content, that is also authentic and honest. I can’t promise every reaction will be as spastic, but I can guarantee it’s my real reaction.
Thankfully no nightmares! Of course I am an adult. I did find myself turning off the noise cancellation on my headphones and shining my light in the middle of the night though 🤣
Graveyards get moved sometimes.
The law forbids moving the graves and bodies without the approval of a relatives.
There are even a couple grave markers cast in the concrete of a runway in the Hilton Head International Airport
Savannah, Georgia because the family said their relatives wanted to be buried on the land they lived on.
You can see pictures of them on Atlas Obscura.
"Why are they not at a hotel???" Because....their daughter is trapped in this house....As a Mom, I can tell you, I'd NEVER leave my child if I thought they could be alive. And, YES, graveyards get "relocated" all the time (there are rules that are supposed to be followed if that happens). "Is she gonna come out the living room ceiling all covered in goo? Is something amazing gonna happen? Is something terrifying gonna happen?" Yes. Yes. and Yes.
Thank you! That makes sense, I definitely wasn’t considering that. I had no ideas graveyards got relocated. I imagine there are strict rules. Hopefully they include moving the bodies. 😳
Late to comment, but she could've sent the other kiddos away right away. Just as I would never leave the house where a loved one was trapped, I wouldn't let any other loved ones (including the dog) meet the same fate.
I love that you're old enough to know what the "snow" on the TV was. Yes, there was a time when the TV actually signed off for the night. I grew up in the suburbs outside NYC so even in the 50s we had more channels than most of the country. I would keep the tv on through the night as white noise. So I heard the Star-Spangled Banner many a night. Love your reaction!!!
Same here. The late movie would end around 2am, and then Oh, Canada would play and then snow and static until, I dunno.... 5am?
I think you're right. The stellar acting by all involved is what really sells "Poltergeist"...my fave is JoBeth Williams as the mom and thought Zelda Rubenstein's turn as Tangina (the 'house cleaner') was wonderfully 'scenery chewing' at It's most fun! Poor Heather O'Rourke (Carol Ann), passed away tragically about 7 years after this came out.
Another Great reaction! 👻🎃
Glad you enjoyed it. The acting was so good! JoBeth was my favorite. But I am so sad that Heather passed away. That’s a real loss.
@@CasualNerdReactions yea that was so sad wth HEATHER, and poor DOMINique DUnne the older sister - she was killed by a an ex boy/f who stalked her and killed her at 22 yrs old. HER brother was Griffin DUNNE who was in few films like american WEREwolf in LONDON and AFTER hours
JoBeth Williams should have been nominated for this. Classic case of certain genres not being taken seriously where acting is concerned. But Williams is the heart and soul of this story and should have been recognized.
Honestly, YES. She was the standout for me.
"Why would you leave the bodies?"
Welcome to corporate America.
Heartless.
Fun special effect fact, Poltergeist used real skeletons for the end scenes.
They bought them from a local medical supply house because it was cheaper to buy real skeletons rather than build them.
The supply largely came from India.
😳 It is possible I should have screamed more. I mean, is that even ok? I’m all for saving money though 🤣
And the supposed Poltergeist curse gets attributed to that use of real skeletons. Yes, this movie is supposedly cursed. Whether you believe it or not, it is well documented.
@@CasualNerdReactions it actually is- when people die they can donate their bodies for reasons like this, and I know this because in middle school I had a VERY eccentric teacher who happily told us the skeleton in his classroom was a real skeleton, and that when he died he was going to donate every organ they could get from his body, then his skeleton was going to be used to educate after he was gone (he even showed us the marks in the skull where they took out the brain!!!). Anatomical skeletons get used as props all the time and they have to come from somewhere. Or, more accurately, someone.
I think my Parent's overprotectiveness and the fact I was scared of my own shadow as a kid really enhanced my love of Horror films as an adult.
Your last comments about wanting a film to affect you in just the way the director intended is so heart warming. I have found there is a groundswell of people who tend to watch films with a cynical attitude - eager to pick holes and defy to be affected by the nature of the movie. That just doesn't make sense to me. You watch a film to be a part of it and to experience something you wouldn't normally get to experience in your life. Whether it's happy or sad, scary or euphoric it should enrich you and make you feel alive. Of course this only works with films that are well made and have the audiences expectations first and foremost catered for. Sometimes you can watch a film which you admire and appreciate technically but you realise it was made just for the director or the studio perhaps so whilst a good film it doesn't necessarily connect with you, you are outside looking in. The best films are the ones that immerse you in their universe and you totally empathise with what is going on. This film is the latter. Yes it looks dated now but at its centre it is all heart and presented with such conviction you are swept along with it. Please don't bother with the remake. Everything this film has the remake is devoid of. The sequels are worth a watch - especially Poltergeist II, neither reach the peaks of the first film but it was nice to go back to this world and revisit the characters again.
Recommendation: The Haunting - 1963
Thank you for this comment! I completely agree. Adding the haunting to my list. :)
I was just about to recommend that he watch, "The Haunting" (1963, of course - the 1999 remake is an embarrassment) , when I read your comment. The moment that he said he appreciated when a film didn't need to show "too much"; that the real fear was created by what we couldn't see - as in real life - I thought of it. When you know what you're up against; when it has physical form, your mind can at least try to formulate a battle strategy. When you're fighting something that you can't see or begin to understand - that's what's truly terrifying. "The Haunting" is one of the best ghost stories ever brought to film.
Ahhh, one of my favorite scary movies from my childhood! Still scares me all these years later. JoBeth Williams and Craig T Nelson were excellent along with all the supporting cast. Tragic what happened to Heather O'Rourke and Dominique Dunne. Sometimes it's hard to watch this one knowing how talented they were and how we were all robbed of it.
My favorite movie ever. I saw it when I was nine and have been researching the paranormal since. I’m a nurse, but I have a paranormal team and we’ve traveled all over the country to help people who have no one else to call. I am a Christian and very firm in my faith. I am also studying to be a religious demonologist. This is a fantastic movie but the name is wrong. This is the demonic, the “beast.” They often trick children into inviting them in. I’ve seen things I that are impossible but they do happen. It’s very satisfying to work with the Church and help families with demonic activity; however it is very rare. Most hauntings are human spirits who are lingering for whatever reason. The paranormal TV shows glorify the “demonic” and give viewers misinformation. It’s not to be played with and is a calling, a ministry that is very serious.
About what you said regarding building over a cemetery...I don't remember the specific names but there have been towns that were formerly cemeteries, 'course in those instances they actually bothered to move the bodies along with the headstones. I agree that the whole thing is all kinds of awful and disrespectful. I also think it might be illegal since the boss in the movie didn't properly move the dead when doing construction.
I love your reactions, you’re absolutely adorable. Poltergeist was the first horror movie I ever saw. I think I was like 8 years old. It didn’t scare me then I think because I didn’t understand everything going on. I saw it again when I was 20 and it terrified me. Go figure!
That’s crazy that it scared you more as an adult than a kid! Thanks for sharing.
That friggin clown. Why did it have to be a friggin clown?😂
Seriously, though.
“You can’t have more than one weird thing happen at a time!”
*me staring awkwardly at the rest of the movie…*
I didn’t know was I was getting into 🤣 this movie was so heightened, both in it’s quiet and in its action.
There'd debate even among the cast who directed the film with some actors saying they were only ever directed by Tobe Hooper (whose Salem's Lot is one of my top 3 favorite vampire films of all time and his Texas Chainsaw Massacre is, of course, a horror legend) while other cast members indicate they were almost exclusively directed by Spielberg. One thing is clear, Spielberg has been publicly insistent that the director's credit belongs to Hooper. It's likely a mystery we'll not have definitively untangled.
The acting, as you point out, is stellar with the MVPs being JoBeth Williams (who stars in one of my favorite fun comfort films - the little seen comedy adventure mystery American Dreamer) and Zelda Rubinstein (Tangina - the "cleaner"). Interesting fact, Rubinstein was among the very first public figures to embrace the fight against HIV/AIDS in the early 80s at the very beginning of the fight against the virus. She was a real one of a kind performer and a woman of genuine character, grit, and empathy.
Yes! I suspect that it was primarily Tobe Hooper with a lot of input and occasional moments with Spielberg.
@@CasualNerdReactions Gremlins and Goonies are two other films that look like Spielberg directed, though he only produced. I guess he was just insistent on a "house style".
Now check out the movie "The Haunting", from 1963. Since you like mystery and unseen. As a child this movie scared the crap outta me.
You must watch 1408. I'm not a big fan of this genre, yet Poltergeist and 1408 are among my favorite movies.
Back in the day, before 24/7 television, they had a time limit. They would play the national anthem 🇺🇸 before fading to the fuzzy snow. Nothing would be on until the next morning.
I'm not sure what's better. This or the Family Guy parody of it. Easy answer. "looks like I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque" he he he
In those days, the National Anthem signaled the end of the programming day, followed by the "snow". Usually, people would turn off the TV at that point!!
16:27 --- uhhh.. wellllll.... It' d be nice if our final resting areas were... final... But it happens more often than you think. I believe it's the Brooklyn Queens Expressway that cut it's way through a cemetery here in NY. They moved the stones and as many bodies as they could.. But there's been stories about work crews having to stop every time they hit another casket. Also stories about workers looting the graves... Unmarked graves and ones they didn't want to bother moving being paved over.. Frankly, horrifying.. And not the last "road construction" story I'd heard either. Down in Florida there's a stretch of either I-10 or I-75 that went through an old abandoned town and I don't think they bothered moving the bodies..
As a kid... TV's all stopped broadcasting about 2..3am. Then the anthem would play and the TV would switch to snow (the dead air / static).. So if you fell asleep with TV on you would wake up to anthem to turn TV off and go back to sleep.
Moved the headstones but left the bodies - probably done to cut costs of labour. Sometimes, it all comes down to the mighty dollar ... unfortunately.
The film was nominated for 3 Oscars:
Best Visual Effects
Best Sound Editing
Best Original Score, but lost all 3 to ET The Extra Terrestrial.
That’s some tough competition, right there! It’s been a while since I’ve seen E.T. but surely they could have given at least one to poltergeist.
Those skeletons were real. I heard the production was sued over using the footage of mom in the muddy pool with all those real skeletons during the storm.
Back then it was cheaper to use real bodies than have to make fake ones.
I totally agree with you- when I watch a movie, I want total immersion.
I don't want to have seen fifty trailers, interviews with everyone and behind the scenes stuff.
Watch LIFEFORCE next- same director but an even crazier concept. A great movie to get lost in.
Thanks for sharing your reaction to this. I saw this when I was a 7 or 8 (I remember seeing part 2 at the drive in a couple years later) and several more times over the years. It really is just a great movie and it actually gets scarier as Ive gotten older as I now identify with the parents and not the kids.
It's rare to find a scary movie that still manages to feel pretty wholesome.
Can you please react to the horror classic movie Stigmata with Patricia Arquette
Please
I haven’t heard of it, but I’m adding it to the list, thanks!
This movie gets you… it’s AWESOME
The people who did the special effects in this film, left to start their own SFX company, and two years later, worked on another film with almost exactly the same ideas that they used in this film, and that movie went on to do better than this film did. It was Ghostbusters 👻
It Has Happened In Real Life..Especially If You're Native American Like Myself.
Honestly, that’s so terrible.
8:03 To answer your question, I assume the father dug his fingernails into the eyes that had appeared on the tree. The tree would've likely loosened its bite due to the pain, enabling the father to then pull his son out. And the director was Tobe Hooper, the same guy who directed the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre eight years prior to Poltergeist.
I didn’t realize! I have that one planned to watch in a week or two I. Preparation for a late august release.
"Should my guard not be all the way down?"
😈
This was the only movie that scared me immensely. No
This was a box office and critical success, making $122 million dollars against a $10 million dollar budget. The movie is now Considered cursed as most of the actors listed died after the films release:
Dominique Dunne, Dana, was strangled by her ex boyfriend, leaving her Braindead at the age of 22.
Heather O'Rourke, Carol Anne, died from Crohn's Disease at the age of 13 during filming of Poltergeist 3.
Will Sampson, whom plays Taylor in Poltergeist 2 The Other Side, died from open heart surgery in 1987.
Julian Beck, Reverand Kane, died from cancer in 1985, a year before Poltergeist 2 was released.
Wow really? That’s definitely quite a few deaths, so sad!
I thoroughly enjoyed your reaction to this movie. This is one of my favorite Spielberg movies.
Just watched Top Gun and am so pumped for the new one opening
May 27 so excited for that.
Have you ever seen Witness with Harrison Ford. Awesome I think you will love
Thanks so much Donna!
I grew up with a strict Christian family too and wasn’t allowed to watch Pokémon, read Harry Potter or draw dragons. Now, I’m absolutely fascinated by spooky creepy things but am a complete chicken so watching reactors like you is how I watch scary movies. Thanks for one for the team!
Haha happy to help. 😅
the couple/family were completely believable. The mom was cool and the dad was hip. My parents were square.
i agree. this is one of the reasons i didnt like the remake. i HATED the family, seemed like they were always at each other and the kids always had to have the last say and mouthy, especially the older sister, her sisters missing and shes all happy theres a tv personality in her house, like wtf?
and the fx sucked, the part where the kids in the tree looked so cartooney, in the theatre so many laughed through this movie. they should not allow directors to helm a movie if they dont like the genre.
Back in the day before all channels were 24 hours, All local channels would play the National Anthem before going off air at the end of their broadcast day. That allows the ghosts to communicate to Carol-anne through the now "open" channel.
Yep, every night before they’d go off air, they’d play it. Yes, I’m old enough to remember it too! 🤣
I definitely knew they went off air, but had no idea they played the national anthem. I was rarely up that late when I was kid
@@CasualNerdReactionsI was born in 1975 so I remember them playing it starting around 1985, but only on the weekends.
@@okeefe757 I was born in 1961 so I remember every channel (all 3 then later all 6 of them) doing this every night. Nothing but dead air from midnight to 6 am and we didn't even have VCR's yet so nothing to watch after midnight at all. Good thing I always loved to read.
Some unfortunate tragedies associated with this film 😢
The actress who played the older sister was murdered by her abusive boyfriend shortly after this movie came out and the girl who played carol Ann died after making the second poltergeist.
They used real skeletons in the pool scene because they were cheaper then fake ones but they neglected to tell the actress who played the mom until after she filmed the scene.
In those days some tv stations would stop broadcasting at like 2 or 3 am and it would be static until they started broadcasting again at 5 or 6 am.
There have been incidents where towns or cities have relocated cemetery’s to build parks or buildings, I saw a video recently about a haunted park that was the site of a cemetery and apparently they didn’t move a lot of the graves just the headstones.
I read about that, a true tragedy.
I can’t believe they used real skeletons, but even more that they didn’t tell the actress?! I feel like even on a film set you should be informed about encountering human remains.
I highly recommend watching the rest of the trilogy. Not all at once, but save it for the Halloween season.
Fun Fact: During all the horrors that proceeded while filming, only one scene really scared Heather O'Rourke: that in which she had to hold on to the headboard while a wind machine blew toys into the closet behind her. The young actress fell apart. "Producer" Steven Spielberg stopped everything, took her in his arms, and said that she would not have to do that scene again.
I will consider continuing the series, not sure yet, but it’s on the list of options!
That’s the best. I love Stephen Spielberg even more now.
@@CasualNerdReactions Part 2 is good but not as great as part 1. Part 3 is SO BAD it not worth your short time here on earth. I truly mean BAD!!!
@@CasualNerdReactions 2 is good, but different. It's worth watching, but 3 is a bad movie entirely, don't even bother!
Spoiler Alert....there are more Poltergeist movies and they remade it a few years ago too. Never watched any of them. That swimming pool scene scarred me for life.
Good to know! I’m on the fence about continuing, but I may eventually watch the second.
Get the tissues for Train to Busan. Just trust me. I know you are thinking..what? But trust me.
I really hope I need them! Watching tomorrow.
The scene with the steak and the follow-up in the bathroom where the man pulls off his face was a formative movie trauma for me.
Oh yes! I never expected a scene like that in this movie.
Yes, moving a cemetery but not the bodies has happened multiple times, probably more than we know.
Scared outta my mind when I first saw this 🤣🤣🤣!!
I'm not the only one? 🥺
Enjoyed your reaction. I was 10 when one of my older sisters took me to see this movie. Gave me nightmares and really angered my parents when they found out. 🙂 I still love this movie so much. I didn't much care for the sequels or the remake.
Thanks for watching! If I had seen this movie as a kid I think I would have sure had nightmares too.
Part 2 is actually good and gives more understanding to the first one. Give it another try. I love Parts 1&2
Settle back and I'll tell you a story about a radio station I used to work for out here on Long Island.. The station used to go off the air at 11pm, but no one had access to the transmitter room so the station would stay "on" 24/7. Now, when you have nothing being broadcast, they call that "dead air". Because you are essentially a dead spot on the dial. Sitting IN the station at the base of the antenna, it should be impossible to hear ANYTHING on that frequency unless we were sending it out. -- 2:30am, Wednesday... I am the only person in the station since we went off the air and everyone went home. I'm sitting in one of the recording studios and thought I was going to be cute and pull a prank. So I get this "phantom broadcast" / "pirate radio takeover" all cued up and go live. For 60 minutes, I ran an unauthorized show, played whatever I wanted, violated a couple of FCC rules... Basically had a good time. 3:30am, I end the broadcast with a pre-recorded bit of the FCC breaking down the door, angry yelling, gunshots, and then SILENCE. -- Of course, none of that actually happened.. It was all a prank. What happened next... Still makes my hair stand up.. During the portion where there was nothing going out over the air, I still had my headphones plugged in and was listening to the master mixing board signal.. Slowly, and among the background hiss that you would normally hear from FM radio.. I started hearing shifts in the static. At first, I didn't know what it was. Figured maybe atmospheric disturbances or power fluctuation in the station or transmitter... --- That was until I slid the volume pot all the way up.. Voices.. Layered voices.. Like a small crowd of people having conversations just barely on the edge of hearing.. I couldn't make out words or distinct voices.. They weren't whispers. More like what you would hear in an auditorium before the show starts.. --- Most people would say, "oh that's just overlapping frequencies from stations far away." --- And normally I would agree. But that isn't possible when you're in a station underneath an active transmitter. There should have been NO possible way to hear anything getting through on that frequency. I was suddenly VERY aware, that I was alone, in an isolated radio station, in the middle of the night, with conversations taking place all around me... Just me, two million dollars worth of electronic gear, and the ghosts...
Well, the show sounded like a blast! Umm the voices would be enough to freak anyone out. I would be outta there so fast.
@@CasualNerdReactions Never really looked at the place the same way again.🙂
I loved this on the big screen when I was a kid. It's still a good film, definitely more about story than gore and such.
That’s why I loved it. This movie is exactly the type of movie that could have EASILY lost me, yet it kept me engaged and I really enjoyed it.
A lot cheaper to move headstones than exhume an entire graveyard.
That’s true… but if the cost is what happens in this movie is it worth it?
'Some people die but they don't know that they've gone.' and we just witnessed the birth of M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Sixth Sense'. Still love this movie, and I still can't (but also still can) believe that this was a kids movie, and that 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' 's director Tobe Hooper did this one, no wonder it was so freakin' scary.
I Watch 4, or 5 different reaction channels on a regular basis, and this might be the best reaction I've seen. It is certainly the best reaction to Poltergeist. I really liked what you said at the end about feeling what the people in the movie are feeling, and not trying to outsmart the movie.
Thanks so much for your comment! Incredibly appreciated.
What an enjoyable & very loud reaction! but it's understandable, because Poltergeist is a great movie. It's not strictly a horror film, it's more of a spooky film that's really about family and how the family bond saved them. It's definitely a film that stays with you, with some great acting, a great script, and some excellent paranormal research by Mr Spielberg ;)
Pt 2 has more depth & backstory. It's different, but definitely worth watching... but pt3 is a big no, no & should be avoided.
I love your reactions, your so darn cute!!
🤣 glad you’re enjoying the journey.
Actually Ghostbusters is 1984, this movie is Spielberg's 1982 hit
This is probably a bit more scary for you, the film in a weird way predicted Heather O’Rourke’s death here is what I mean.
The movie was released in 1982 yet in the kid’s bedroom there is a kids poster of the 1988 Super Bowl and the channel they listen to her on is channel 12.
Now at the start of the actual 1988 Super Bowl Heather O’Rourke became very ill she was miss diagnosed with crones disease and she would die in February of that year aged 12.
RIP Heather dec 1975 to feb 1988
Her death was a burst intestine leading to septic shock.
A long time ago, I had a guy friend (I'm female) who moved into one of these cookie-cutter neighborhoods in Riverside (we were from L.A.), so when I went to see his house for the first time, I was going to stay over because I didn't think I'd feel like driving back to L.A. late at night. EVERY house looked the same and I teased him (immediately upon my arrival) that he bought a house in a "Poltergeist" neighborhood. Strike One. That night, we went to go see one of the "Hellraiser" movies. Strike Two. (For the record, "scary" movies have never affected me like they do some people). His bedroom was at one end of a long hallway, and I chose to sleep in the bedroom at the opposite end (two others in the middle). Strike Three. To this very moment, I don't know what really happened that night. If it was just a nightmare, it was the most vivid one I've ever had - including childhood night terrors. I had the physical sensation of some sort of entity LITERALLY throwing me around the room. Somehow, I had the weird twist on reality - in the midst of the horror - to think that if I can wake my friend up, he can then come and wake ME up, so this torturous experience could end. I mustered up all of my strength to scream, and... nothing. I hit the wall again, and felt physical pain in my back. I was determined to try again to awaken my friend (but I'd heard him snoring like a lawnmower when I was still completely awake), so I really didn't like my chances. But I still pulled every ounce of energy I could find from my toes on up in an effort to scream. I only managed a pitiful whimper, but it was enough for me to break free of whatever had a hold on me (something real or my own mind that seemed hellbent on tormenting me). Needless to say, I didn't go back to sleep and took off for home as soon as the sun came up lol. And my back hurt. I didn't visit that friend at his home again until he moved 😆.
19:05 "Don't smell it! Ew, weirdo." Dying!! 🤣
It is so much fun watching movies with you!
As a professed trained Christian, you are probably not aware of the nuances of Ghosties. This movie is actually misnamed. While early appearances are like a Poltergeist, it isn't one. Poltergeist, or noisy ghost, are almost always movement, sound, or even smell. They are like random outbursts of energy, usually with little or no intelligent purpose. They center on a person, who most often in the one doing it. Maybe not knowingly, or on purpose, but the energy comes from them. You find there are types that tend to draw them. The Pubescent child and the Neurotic woman, but there is more to it than that. The child can be very young, or almost grown, male or female. The Neurotic woman, can be a man, usually with a more passive personality. This show has the two older kids that could fit this, but they are actually NOT the Locus, as Dana is most often not there, and Robbie serves a different use. Dad doesn't fit the profile, he is a strong, self assured person. Neither does Mom. There are little signs of neuroses in her, another strong person. Carol Ann is also out if this was a Poltergeist. But, this isn't one, it is a Traditional Haunting. A ghost, tied to the place, the graves. An Intelligent Haunting too, being attracted to her life force.
As a mom of multiple children if one was being eaten by a tree and another being sucked into a closet void.. Like really where would you go to help. Forsake one for the other. The hell. I love this movie.
I think it was Kubrick who joked that all ghost stories are inherently optimistic, because they suggest the possibility of life after death.
I remember the two Poltergeist sequels being decent, but it's a long time since I've watched them.
Did you know that "I'm ready for my close-up" is a line from the classic film Sunset Boulevard (1950)?
Speilberg is one of the Greatest of all times for his action thriller and scary movies. It's totally wonder to be an 80s kid, times were so different back then and I really miss a lot from some things we've pushed by the wayside. Hope remains, I really love this film. Parts 1&2 are my absolute favorites! Back in the day movies lines were extremely developed, thereby creating the most memorable movies of ALL TIMES till this day. Our films were more than technicality and formulas. No "easy answers" and fake reactions. These actors took us on a journey back in the day. Characters and casts were picked from the best of the best! They also were amazing to watch and instilled values in us! Even the scary movies. Cinema moved us, made us laugh and made us cry and all that's in between. And That is GREAT!!! Glad to have been alive during these times and so happy to see how the movies are still some of the greatest to this day with new generations!
Another one you should watch is the omen, an absolute classic
Yes, definitely! But not the version made in the 2000's. The original, made in 1976 is much better.
@@coxmosia1 totally agree, the remake was awful
Hey, there! It’s Mr. Trivial again! Yes, Spielberg did ghost direct this. He was doing principle photography on E.T. He originally hired Drew Barrymore for Poltergeist and Heather O’Rourke for E.T. He was determined he was going to use both actresses and switched them. Wise choice. Heather was way more vulnerable than Drew and so it makes you hurt to see her go through these bad things. Every night, Spielberg would go over to the Poltergeist production and watch the rushes from that days filming. He didn’t like what he was seeing from Tobe Hooper, so he micro-managed the filming. He would,every night, go over to Poltergeist and TOLD Hopper to reshoot this scene that way and that scene this way. Spielberg has a unique style of shooting and you can see his signature shots all over the film. (The kids racing their remote controlled cars to crisscross in front of the man on the bike is classic Spielberg… low shot filming eye level of the action of the cars, for example.) Because Steven wasn’t there for principle photography every day, there are A LOT of blatant gaffs. (At Carol Ann’s abduction into the closet, you see the door open and light come in with a lot of wind blowing. Then Carol Ann’s body is airborne while she holds on with two hands to her bed’s white, wicker headboard. Left hand comes loose and she’s now holding on with the right hand only. Close up shot of her right hand slipping off, so her hands are empty. Cut to Carol Ann flying into the closet, screaming, as she has both hands firmly clutching the top of the white, wicker headboard.) There are quite a few more gaffs that wouldn’t have happened if Spielberg had been there everyday, but E.T. was his baby.
and YES… those were true, real human skeleton’s with Diane in the swimming pool sequences. JoBeth Williams was not told they were real until all of the shots were complete. If you would like more back stories, just let me know, after you wake up from my droning on with all of my backstories! 🙃
'nother film directed by Tobe Hooper (yeah, he did Texas Chainsaw) is Lifeforce, written by the cat who wrote Alien. I'll just point out that the actress who plays naked-space-vampire-lady was terrified to film her numerous nude scenes, but said that Tobe Hooper was super respectful and put her at ease throughout filming so props to the Hoop. The film'll blow your mind btw; it's quite cray.
Fun fact. 1% of that "snow" on the TV you used to see back in the day is actually the CMB, AKA the cosmic microwave background. In other words when you see static on the TV you are looking at the echo of the big bang and the creation of the universe.
Also just so you are aware, the director Tobe Hooper also directed The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).
I’ll have to check that one out at some point. I think it’s on the list, I’ll make sure.
@@CasualNerdReactions If Poltergeist was hard you should wait for Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
I can’t approve this, but I think I can handle that kind of movie better then goes in demons. But only time will really tell 😰
The actress who played the older daughter was strangled by her boyfriend shortly after the film, and the younger daughter died of septicemia from peritonitis (IIRC, due to a burst appendix) when she was 12. And two of the stars of Poltergeist II died shortly after filming.
It’s hard to get scared for characters you don’t recognize as real, and don’t care about. The first thing this movie does is get you comfortable with the characters and the setting, before placing them in jeopardy. At heart, this is a movie about a family in crisis. Replace the haunting with a serious illness or major family financial crisis, and this would still be, at core, compelling, in many of the same ways. No haunted-house movie before this had been set in a modern post-WWII housing tract. That was also unsettling.
To restore your faith in the potential of a backyard pool, it's time for Encino Man (Brendan Fraser, Pauly Shore, Sean Astin).
Great reaction. I loved this movie when it came out.
I agree so much with your comment about the power of not seeing everything. There are several modern movies I could do without because they want to show me every single detail of something horrific...and I really don't need to see that! there is something to be said for leaving something to the imagination. Less really can be more. Especially in horror.
No, it's never happened in real life, because people have died absolutely everywhere on our planet. So there is nowhere you can go where someone hasn't died and has been buried/left to rot there. If it comes down to dead Earthlings being killed/upset burials etc. Don't you think that other Earthling animals we treat as food would have some sort ghostly afterlife grudge ? Welcome to Humanism.
This is loosely based on a true story. A suburb outside of Houston, Texas moved the headstones and left the bodies. A book about it is called "The Black Hope Horror." This one was a cemetary of African-American slaves.
This film Really Sucks you into it, notice the alien poster doesnt move NOT even the ghosts can make that poster be afraid, And yes those are REAL human Skeletons in the pool, which led to the possible Curse
17:13 -- apply that to people who are in comas... Neither awake, nor asleep. (well, not in the way we normally think of sleep.) --- A perpetual limbo.
Great reaction, great movie that keeps you jumping off your seat. I loved it.
dont tell this guy that a lot of people died that worked on this film included some of the main charcters.........
This movie came out when I was 12, some parts of the movie scared the shit out of me, then.
I grew up as a Christian. I watched horror all the time. My parents weren't ......
Carol Ann saying "Hi Daddy" just destroys me.
Yeah I heard that some dummies actually built something on top of a cemetery it's just so horrible
I have read conflicting accounts as to whether Spielberg actually directed most of this or not. As others have mentioned, it certainly does seem like he did... especially to get the acting from the kids that they did, which has always been a hallmark of his directing. The score is one of my favorite Jerry Goldsmith scores (he also did Alien, btw). Poltergeist 2 is actually scarier in my humble opinion, though a little bit contrived and not the classic this one has become. .
I did realize it was the same composer from alien, I’m so impressed by his work and excited I watched two of his back to back.
@@CasualNerdReactions he and John Williams ran neck-and-neck for my favorite composers of the 1970s and 80s.
I love that! I was actually going to watch this a few weeks ago, but chose to watch close encounters first because of John Williams. 🤣 they’re both great!
The part where they were walking down the stairs at the beginning was filmed backwards.