One of my favorite horror movies growing up in the 80s (and one of the first ones I saw) was Poltergeist. There’s just something creepy about an angelic looking five year old getting sucked into another realm filled with purplish-pink ectoplasm and evil spirits, while her brother almost gets eaten by a tree and strangled by a clown. Of course, seeing JoBeth Williams with her Nancy-gray (a la A Nightmare on Elm Street) is one of the funniest scenes in a movie more filled with horror than anything else.

During the 1980s, Hollywood’s top directors delved into the horror genre. Oliver Stone took on horror with, The Hand. Stephen Spielberg chose to do so with, Poltergeist, and what both of these directors have managed to do is create cult classics that remain true horror favorites even today, over 20 years after they were originally made. Despite, The Hand being an excellent film, Spielberg was more successful with, Poltergeist.

Release Information:
This is the 25th Anniversary edition of Poltergeist. It is hard to believe that it has been 25 years since the film was first released, but it’s true. Poltergeist debuted in 1982. In April of 1997, the first DVD release of this movie was made by Turner Entertainment. This is the second release of the film on DVD, which was released by Warner Bros. Home Video on October 9, 2007. Much to the chagrin of fans of the series, this edition is only available in a single disc edition DVD.

Poltergeist Plot:
While this story was directed by Tobe Hooper (Salem’s Lot, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Steven Spielberg, who wrote the screenplay and produced the movie, had a major hand in the making of this film, from the casting to the storyboards. In fact, how much of a hand he had in this movie is often disputed and seems quite controversial. Nevertheless, credit for direction goes to Hopper by both Spielberg himself and the Hollywood production community at large.

Poltergeist explores the life of a young family, the Freelings. There are the parents, Steve (Craig T. Nelson) and Diane (JoBeth Williams. It is pretty obvious the two were teenage parents to their older, teenage daughter, Dana (Dominique Dunne). They also have two younger children, Robbie (Oliver Robins), who appears to be around the age of ten, and five year old Carol Ann (Heather O’Rourke). The Freelings seem like a normal, loving family, but their life in a house that just happens to sit on an Indian Burial Ground is about to get unusual very quickly.

Whenever the television set goes to static, Carol Ann can talk to the ones she calls the TV people. While her brother, Robbie is afraid of everything, Carol Ann seems resilient and unafraid of anything. While Robbie fears clowns and spooky looking trees outside his window (something Steven Spielberg admits was inspired from his own youth), you have to wonder how that is going to play into this movie. What better way is there to scare someone then to exploit their weaknesses?

When strange things start happening around the house, Diane thinks it’s great. She even puts little Carol Ann in a football helmet and sends her shooting across the floor by the force of these other-worldly beings. However, when these entities turn evil and kidnap Carol Ann, the Freelings must do something to bring their daughter back and escape the house before it destroys them.

Another major player in this movie is the supernatural psychic of sorts, Tangina (Zelda Rubenstein). Tangina is out to help Carol Ann and does so in more than one of the Poltergeist flicks. She becomes one of Carol Ann’s greatest allies against the forces that want Carol Ann for whatever reason they have.

Audio/Visual:
This is supposed to be the 25th Anniversary edition of Poltergeist. I own the original DVD release version as well and frankly, I think the original DVD has better quality with its anamorphic widescreen format at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. This DVD for Poltergeist has an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, which I think transferred differently and is not in as good in quality as the former release. Compared to the first version of Poltergeist, in the visual department, this one fails.

As for the audio, I had to constantly turn the sound up and down to keep it from getting too loud or too soft in certain parts. The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound could have been transferred better from the original mixes created for this film. Overall, I found the quality inconsistent with what should be released with any 25th Anniversary edition of a DVD.

There are more language options with this Poltergeist DVD, which is the only redeeming quality of the audio. There is Dolby Digital 5.1 also available in Spanish and French. Both the film and the bonus features are subtitled, as well, for those who have trouble hearing.

Note: For those who have never seen this movie, be prepared for an editing glitch in the scene where they are talking about going to Pizza Hut and Carol Ann is in the football helmet. This glitch has been in the film since nearly the beginning. You can thank Pizza Hut for it, since they complained about a line in which Steve mentions he hates Pizza Hut. Instead of redoing the scene, it has been cut in parts and there is no transition before Steve and Diane are standing on the front porch of their next door neighbor’s house. This is intentional. This is not your DVD player skipping!

Bonus Features:
When you think of Anniversary releases of films, you usually imagine the DVD is going to be filled with extras and might even have additional DVDs to hold all the goodies. Warner Bros. held out. While there are rumors this release was to “test the waters” and see how well Poltergeist did selling-wise before releasing an ultra-bonus feature packed DVD set, people were psyched this DVD would contain these features anyway. It was a major disappointment to those who purchased this disc, to find out just how bare bones it was.

While a much deserved tribute to the now deceased members of the cast (particularly Heather O’Rourke and Dominique Dunne) would have been fitting, the only extras included on the 25th Anniversary Edition release of Poltergeist are featurettes in two parts. The total air time of this featurette is 30 minutes and both parts are about the art of ghost hunting and psychic phenomenon with little focus on the movie Poltergeist.

Bottom Line:
The 25th Anniversary Edition release of Poltergeist is a disappointment. With little to nothing in the way of extras and worse quality four audio and video then the original release of the movie, it hardly seems worth the purchase if you already own the original DVD. The actual story for Poltergeist is amazing and if you do not own a copy of Poltergeist, you need to purchase one. I just recommend you find the earlier release and I hope Warner Bros. gets the message that a better release needs to come out soon.

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Technorati Tags: Poltergeist, child, Carol Ann, Heather O’Rouke, Steven Spielberg, Horror, DVD Review

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