Written by Bill Bodkin and Justin Matchick
Release Date: May 22, 2015
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie Dewitt, Jared Harris, Saxon Sharbino, Kennedi Clements.
Director: Gil Kennan (Monster House, City of Ember)
Pre-Trailer Thought: Sure it may seem pessimistic to write off any horror remake as trash before it even hits the screen, but the Hollywood trend of updating 70s and 80s horror movies has been going on for over a decade now and hasn’t produced a single film worthy of even being mentioned along with the original. Director Gil Kenan did the enjoyable Monster House previously, but in the past 10 years only made the forgettable City of Ember and pretty much nothing else. Hopes are low going into this. – JTM
Pre-Trailer Thought: The original Poltergeist is a classic for a reason – it’s absurdly frightening, but it’s also smartly done. I don’t have a lot of confidence this adaptation won’t be another series of jump out of your seat, cheap thrills with no real substance. However, it does have three things going for it — Sam Rockwell, two strong supporting players and Sam Raimi.
Rate the Trailer: 2 out of 5. This trailer really didn’t do anything to make me any less cynical about horror remakes. From what it seems all they’ve done is taken the original premise to Poltergeist, added some newer looking TVs, and turned up the volume to replace atmosphere with jump scares. Iconic scares from the original involving the television set and the children’s clown doll are replicated here, but don’t seem to offer anything wildly different. -JTM
Rate the Trailer: 1 out of 5. And the crowd goes mild. The jump scares look like the same jump scares I’ve seen in…every horror for the past five years. The creepy doll (Annabelle), the child being taken by a spirit, the weird person in the closet — been there, done that. This is a remake of an all-time classic and it feels like every other horror film. -BB
Theater, Rent, Undecided, No Thanks: No Thanks. At this point I’d just rather watch a re-release of the original film. Even Jared Harris, who plays a paranormal investigator, isn’t enough to pique my interest. With scenes that don’t seem to offer anything new over the original and a penchant for using loud noises to scare over actual mood setting, you really have to wonder what’s the point of all this? (Money, the answer is money) – JTM
Theater, Rent, Undecided, No Thanks: Rent. It’s called morbid curiosity. Sam Raimi. Sam Rockwell. Rosemarie Dewitt. Jared Harris. Between the four of them, there has to be something enjoyable in here. -BB
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