Poltergeist (1982) vs. (2015) - no contest!

Review by Jack Kost

My wife and I are both “arty” souls.
We love to watch movies, and when they’re over we discuss them in depth, probably more in depth than most people.
We also enjoy discussing books, music, art, et al … also in depth.
My wife loves to paint, I love to write and sketch.
Our recent viewings of the 1982 and 2015 versions of Poltergeist turned from a fond, nostalgic chat about the former, to a “why did they bother” rant about the latter.

I’ll start with the original 1982 version, released in the United States on June 4, 1982:

It was produced by Steven Spielberg, based on his own story, and directed by Tobe Hooper.
For us, the 1982 original is a cinematic treat.
Hooper may have helmed the direction, but this has all the heart, feeling, emotion, humor, and suspense of a Spielberg movie.
We – the audience – see the family dynamics, their neighbors, and the history of the ever-expanding housing development.
The movie may be thirty-four-years-old, as of this writing, but it’s still the thrill-ride Spielberg has entertained fans with for decades.
The original is one of the best of the haunted house genre; an eerie and memorable light-show with a perfect end scene.

The high entertainment value reminds us of why we watch movies in the first place.
Spielberg knows how to engage and hold his audience.

Then we experienced the miserable let-down of the 2015 remake:

This was our post-Thanksgiving movie.
As usual, we discussed it after the end credits rolled, our discussion fueled by disdain!
We compared both versions, and shook our heads at how dreary and painful the remake is.
It felt like a by-the-numbers run-through for the actors in it, who seemed content to show up, recite the dismal script, and pick up their pay checks.
Not many movies have actually pissed me off, but this one made the list.
Absent is the charm and quality scripting of the original.
It simply goes through the motions without any of the character development, tension, or suspense of the original.
I watched it feeling bored after the first fifteen minutes, hoping it would pick up, get better, curious as to how it would unfold in a new retelling, being more disappointed as each scene unfolded.
I’m a fan of Sam Rockwell, but this was another example of how even a fine actor can’t save a lousy script.
We see some flashy effects, as we expect to see in this modern CGI-heavy age, but there’s nothing behind it, no depth or reason to care about what we’re being presented with.
The scene with Sam Rockwell regurgitating black goo into the sink, then seeing his reflection in the faucet, sores opening on his face, is a reworking of the scene in the original: Marty (Martin Casella) seeing maggots swarming on a chicken drumstick he’s just taken a bite out of, then his own face coming apart in the mirror.
It’s a great scene, even with the dated animatronics, with far more impact than the insipid 2015 version:

Zelda Rubinstein’s portrayal of Tangina, the psychic brought in to rescue their daughter and “clean” the house, is one of the high points of the story.

Her monologue to the family and investigators about what is really going on is chilling.
The character is also reworked for the 2015 version, changed for the contemporary audience, but giving nothing new or remarkable.
Running at roughly thirty minutes shorter, the remake has omitted the best elements of the original – to its own detriment.
Gone is the steady build-up of the original, as the 2015 version cuts directly to the shock-free plot markers.
Gone also are the comedic elements with the death of the pet canary, and the neighbor’s battle with the TV remote controls, parts of the story that developed the set-up and made us care more about the family and their predicament.

The key scene of the malevolent force entering the home, via the static of the TV set, is also changed, but as animated as the original was - it still had significant shock value to a first-time viewer:

It felt like the 2015 version had been made quickly and rushed out the studio door, nothing more than another vacuous money-making product.

The 1982 original has rightfully earned its place in cinema history – a classic of its genre; the 2015 rehash deserves nothing more than to be ignored and forgotten.

Thanksgiving: a time to give thanks.
Along with everything else we have been blessed with, we gave thanks for the fact that we hadn’t wasted money at the cinema box office for yet-another pointless, lazy, half-assed, cash-grab.

Eudora Welty, on reading, writing and imagination:

Both reading and writing are experiences – lifelong – in the course of which we who encounter words used in certain ways are persuaded by them to be brought mind and heart within the presence, the power, of the imagination.

– Eudora Welty.

Recommended reading - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (novel & book of the movie):

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

by Vonda N. McIntyre, Jack B. Sowards, Harve Bennett.

Filmed as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), directed by Nicholas Meyer.

Published 1982.

ISBN-10: 0671456105
ISBN-13: 9780671456108

Description:

Prepare yourself for warp-10 excitement! The Galaxy's ultimate future is in the hands of James Kirk, Mr. Spock and the indomitable crew of the Enterperprise. The Galaxy's ultimate weapon is in the hands of the evil Khan and his followers. A battle that will shake the universe cannot be avoided ... And the ultimate adventure is about to begin!

 

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – The Making of the Classic Film

by John Tenuto, Maria Jose Tenuto.

Published by Titan Books.
Published 2023.

ISBN-10: 1789099757
ISBN-13: 9781789099751

Description:

An in-depth look at the making of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, featuring rare and previously unseen production art and new and exclusive interviews.

Forty years ago, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan saw Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise crew face one of the greatest foes in Star Trek history, Khan Noonien Singh, as well as the death of Spock. Celebrate this landmark anniversary by taking a deep dive into the stories behind this iconic science fiction classic. This beautiful coffee-table book is full to the brim with rare and previously unpublished archival material, behind-the-scenes photography, production art, cut scenes, script extracts, and much more, alongside new and exclusive interviews with the creatives, including director Nicholas Meyer.

Recommended reading – Poltergeist

Poltergeist

by James Kahn.

Filmed as Poltergeist (1982), directed by Tobe Hooper.

Mass Market Paperback.

Published by Granada Publishing Ltd.
Published 1982.

ISBN-10: 0583136419
ISBN-13: 978-0583136419
 
Description:

Based on a Story by Steven Spielberg with a Screenplay by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais & Mark Victor. From the imageless eye of the tv set, from the flickering snowy light, it calls to Carol Anne, six years old and innocent. From beyond the world of the living, it reaches out in unholy anger, ripping her from the arms of her family into the thrall of the Poltergeist.

Born on this day – Rosalind Russell:

Rosalind Russell

Actress

Comedienne

Writer

Singer

June 4, 1907 – November 28, 1976

Credits:

A Majority of One (1961); A Show Business Salute to Milton Berle (1973); A Woman of Distinction (1950); ABC Late Night (1975); AFI Life Achievement Award (1973); All Star Revue (1952); American Experience (1996); At Long Last Cole (1975); Auntie Mame (1958); Bates Motel (2013); Bicentennial Minutes (1974); Biography (1999); Breakdowns of 1938 (1938); Breakdowns of 1941 (1941); Breakdowns of 1944 (1945); China Seas (1935); Christmas with the Stars (1953); Coming Up Roses (1986); Craig's Wife (1936); Crawford at Warners (2008); Design for Scandal (1941); Evelyn Prentice (1934); Fast and Loose (1939); Film Time (1955); Five Finger Exercise (1962); Flight for Freedom (1943); Forsaking All Others (1934); Four's a Crowd (1938); From the Ends of the Earth (1939); Gable and Crawford (2008); General Electric Theater (1956); Great Performances (1987); Gypsy (1962); Has Anybody Here Seen Canada? A History of Canadian Movies 1939-1953 (1979); Here's Hollywood (1962); Hired Wife (1940); His Girl Friday (1940); Hollywood and the Stars (1963–1964); Hollywood: Style Center of the World (1940); Hollywood: The Fabulous Era (1962); Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter (1982); It Had to Happen (1936); Life Is a Banquet (2009); Live, Love and Learn (1937); Lost Forever (2011); Man-Proof (1938); Mary Pickford: A Life on Film (1997); Meet the Stars #1: Chinese Garden Festival (1940); Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood (2010); Mondo Hollywood: Hollywood Laid Bare! (1967); Mourning Becomes Electra (1947); Mrs. Pollifax-Spy (1971); My Sister Eileen (1942); Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020); Never Wave at a WAC (1953); Night Must Fall (1937); No Time for Comedy (1940); Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad (1967); One Rogue Reporter (2014); Picnic (1955); Pioneers of Television (2014); Reckless (1935); Rendezvous (1935); Rosalind Russell: The Inside Scoop (2000); Rosie! (1967); Rosie! (1967); Roughly Speaking (1945); Roughly Speaking (1945); Salute to Oscar Hammerstein II (1972); Schlitz Playhouse (1951); Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 12 (1936); Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 1 (1936); Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 10 (1939); Screen Snapshots Series 19, No. 9: Sports in Hollywood (1940); Screen Snapshots Series 22, No 10 (1942); Screen Snapshots Series 25, No. 1: 25th Anniversary (1945); Screen Snapshots, Series 19, No. 4 (1940); Screen Snapshots: Famous Hollywood Mothers (1947); She Wouldn't Say Yes (1945); Sister Kenny (1946); Startime (1959); Summer Theatre (1958); Take a Letter, Darling (1942); Tell It to the Judge (1949); That's Entertainment! III (1994); The 16th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1959); The 17th Annual Tony Awards (1963); The 18th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1961); The 1974 Annual Entertainment Hall of Fame Awards (1974); The 1975 Annual Entertainment Hall of Fame Awards (1975); The 19th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1962); The 20th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1963); The 29th Annual Tony Awards (1975); The 30th Annual Academy Awards (1958); The 31st Annual Academy Awards (1959); The 34th Annual Academy Awards (1962); The 37th Annual Academy Awards (1965); The 39th Annual Academy Awards (1967); The 40th Annual Academy Awards (1968); The 41st Annual Academy Awards (1969); The 43rd Annual Academy Awards (1971); The 45th Annual Academy Awards (1973); The Best of Hollywood (2017); The Candid Camera Story (Very Candid) of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures 1937 Convention (1937); The Casino Murder Case (1935); The Citadel (1938); The Crooked Hearts (1972); The David Frost Show (1971); The Ed Sullivan Show (1955); The Fabulous Allan Carr (2017); The Feminine Touch (1941); The Girl Rush (1955); The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947); The Half of It (2020); The Linkletter Show (1964); The Loretta Young Show (1955); The Merv Griffin Show (1971); The Mike Douglas Show (1971); The Miracle of Sound (1940); The Movies (2019); The Movies March On (1939); The Night Is Young (1935); The President Vanishes (1934); The Romance of Celluloid (1937); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1971); The Trouble with Angels (1966); The Unguarded Moment (1956); The Velvet Touch (1948); The Women (1939); The Women (1939); They Met in Bombay (1941); This Thing Called Love (1940); Trouble for Two (1936); Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics (1994); Under Two Flags (1936); West Point of the Air (1935); What a Woman! (1943); What's My Line? (1953); Where Angels Go Trouble Follows! (1968); Women He's Undressed (2015); Wonderful Town (1958); You Can't Fool a Camera (1941).

Born on this day – Helen Wood:

 

Helen Wood

Actress

June 4, 1917 – February 8, 1988

Credits:

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935); Almost a Gentleman (1939); Anna Karenina (1935); Can This Be Dixie? (1936); Champagne Charlie (1936); Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936); Crack-Up (1936); Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935); High Tension (1936); In Caliente (1935); Kid Millions (1934); Mary Jane's Pa (1935); Moulin Rouge (1934); Musical Comedy Time (1950); My Marriage (1936); Roman Scandals (1933); She Married Her Boss (1935); Sing, Baby, Sing (1936); Sis Hopkins (1941); Sorority House (1939); The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950–1951); The Goose and the Gander (1935); The Pilgrimage Play (1949); The Ted Steele Show (1949).

Born on this day – Dennis Weaver:

Dennis Weaver

Actor

June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006

Credits:

10th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards (1974); 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2007); 1993 Environmental Media Awards (1993); 50 Years of Television: A Celebration of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Golden Anniversary (1997); 7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2001); 95th Tournament of Roses Parade (1984); A Man Called Sledge (1970); A Winner Never Quits (1986); AFI Life Achievement Award (1975–1995); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1960); All Star Blitz (1985); All-Star Party for Lucille Ball (1984); Amber Waves (1980); Ancient Secrets of the Bible, Part II (1993); Angel (1999); Bicentennial Minutes (1974); Big Town (1956); Biography (1998); Bloopermania (1987); Bluffing It (1987); Buck James (1987–1988); Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1991–1994); Cavalcade of America (1954); CBS at 75 (2003); CBS: The First 50 Years (1998); Centennial (1978–1979); Cher (1975); Chief Crazy Horse (1955); Citizen Steve (1987); Climax! (1958); Cocaine: One Man's Seduction (1983); Column South (1953); Combat! (1965); Common Ground: Farming and Wildlife (1987); Compression (2024); Dangerous Mission (1954); Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Dennis Weaver (1976); Dennis Weaver's Earthship: Documentary (1990); Dinah! (1975–1979); Disaster at Silo 7 (1988); Don't Go to Sleep (1982); Dr. Kildare (1965); Dragnet (1952–1955); Duel (1971); Duel at Diablo (1966); Duel: A Conversation with Director Steven Spielberg (2004); Earth and the American Dream (1992); Emerald Point N.A.S. (1983–1984); Entertainment Tonight (2000); Escape from Wildcat Canyon (1998); Family Feud (1984); Family Law (2001); Female Artillery (1973); Flip (1974); Gentle Ben (1967–1969); Gentle Giant (1967); Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story (1985); Greyhounds (1994); Gunsmoke (1956–1964); Headin' Home for the Holidays (1986); Hee Haw (1977–1981); Henry (2005); High Noon (2000); Hollywood Squares (2004); Home on the Range (2004); Hopalong Cassidy: Public Hero #1 (2001); Horizons West (1952); Intimate Portrait (2000–2002); Intimate Strangers (1977); Ishi: The Last of His Tribe (1978); It Happens Every Thursday (1953); Jerry Visits (1971); Judd for the Defense (1969); Kentucky Jones (1964–1965); Larry Grayson (1977); Law and Order (1953); Lights, Camera, Monty! (1975); Lola! (1976); Lonesome Dove: The Series (1994–1995); Magnum, P.I. (1985); Mama Mae: The Life and Music of Mae Boren Axton (2015); Mastergate (1992); McCloud (1970–1977); Memories Then and Now (1988); Mission Batangas (1968); Moving Image Salutes Steven Spielberg (1994); Music of the West: A Tribute to America's Singing Cowboys (1993); Navy Wife (1956); On the Go (1960); One on One with John Tesh (1991); Password (1962); Peace Pilgrim in Peace Pilgrim: An American Sage Who Walked Her Talk (2002); Pearl (1978); Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (1962); Philbin's People (1969); Pioneers of Television (2011); Playhouse 90 (1958); Police Story (1979); Politically Incorrect (2001); Rolling Man (1972); Schlitz Playhouse (1955); Seduction in a Small Town (1997); Seven Angry Men (1955); Sex Symbols: Past, Present and Future (1986); Special Collector's Edition (2011); Spielberg (2017); Star's Table (1986); Stolen Women, Captured Hearts (1997); Stone (1979–1980); Storm Fear (1955); Stump the Stars (1963); Subdivide and Conquer: A Modern Western (1999); Submerged (2000); Super Bloopers and Practical Jokes (1992); Super Password (1986); Swing Out, Sweet Land (1970); Television: The First Fifty Years (1999); Telluride: Time Crosses Over (1997); Ten Wanted Men (1955); Terror on the Beach (1973); That Girl (1970); The 11th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1959); The 14th Annual Genesis Awards (2000); The 15th Annual Genesis Awards (2001); The 19th Academy of Country Music Awards (1984); The 23rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1971); The 38th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1986); The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2006); The Beast (2001); The Best of Hollywood (1998 / 2017); The Big Show (1980); The Bob Braun Show (1984); The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954); The Cowboy (2016); The Day the Loving Stopped (1981); The Dean Martin Show (1968–1971); The Don Knotts Show (1970); The Ed Nelson Show (1969); The Ed Sullivan Show (1959); The Everly Brothers Show (1970); The Forgotten Man (1971); The Gallant Hours (1960); he Garry Moore Show (1962); The Global Forum (1990); The Golden Blade (1953); The Great Battles of the Civil War (1994); The Great Man's Whiskers (1972); The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977); The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1969–1977); The Hollywood Squares (Syndication) (1973–1974); The Incredible Hulk (1978); The Islander (1978); The Joey Bishop Show (1968); The John Denver Special (1976); The Juke Box Jury (1959); The Lawless Breed (1952); The Linkletter Show (1970); The Lone Ranger (1955); The Magical World of Disney (1966); The Man from the Alamo (1953); The Match Game (1963); The Merv Griffin Show (1962–1972); The Mike Douglas Show (1964–1979); The Mississippi Gambler (1953); The Movie Game (1971); The Name of the Game (1969); The Nebraskan (1953); The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd (1980); The Ordeal of Patty Hearst (1979); The Pet Set (1971); The Raiders (1952); The Red Rowe Show (1960); The Redhead from Wyoming (1953); The Return of Sam McCloud (1989); The Silent Service (1957); The Simpsons (2002); The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1973); The Toni Tennille Show (1980–1981); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1987); The Twilight Zone (1961); The Val Doonican Music Show (1977); The Virginian (1970 / 2000); The Wildest West Show of the Stars (1986); This Is Your Life (1957); Today (1964); Tom Cottle: Up Close (1982); Touch of Evil (1958); Touched by an Angel (2003); Troy & Priscilla Cory / The Troy Cory Evening Show (1974–1978); TV's Western Heroes (1993); Two-Bits & Pepper (1995); Visions of a New World (1995); Voyeur II (1996); Walking After Midnight (1988); War Arrow (1953); Way... Way Out (1966); Weakest Link (2002); Welcome to the Basement (2012); What About Me? I'm Only 3! (1992); What's My Line? (1962); What's the Matter with Helen? (1971); Where Have All the Children Gone (1980); Wildfire (2005); Wolf Pack (1996); You Don't Say (1964).

On this day in music history - The album Porcelain, by Helen Jane Long (2013)

Porcelain

Album by Helen Jane Long,

Released June 4, 2007.

Track list:

Porcelain; Release; Echo; Stars; Expression; Lost Wind; Doll; Out of It All; Rockerbye; Broken; Eclipse; Turn Away; Through the Dark.

On this day in movie history - Poltergeist (1982)

Poltergeist

directed by Tobe Hooper,

written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais and Mark Victor,

based on a story by Steven Spielberg,

was released in the United States on June 4, 1982.

Music by Jerry Goldsmith.

Cast:

JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Dominique Dunne, Oliver Robins, Heather O’Rourke, Zelda Rubinstein, Beatrice Straight, Richard Lawson, Martin Casella, James Karen, Michael McManus, Virginia Kiser, Lou Perryman, Clair E. Leucart, Dirk Blocker, Allan Graf, Joseph Walsh, Helen Baron, Noel Conlon, Robert Broyles, Sonny Landham, Jeffrey Bannister, William Vail, Craig Simmons, Phil Stone, Dana Gendian, Jaimi Gendian, Danny Nero, Paula Paulson.