10 Great Movies That Were Almost Ruined By Bad Editing

As far as bad editing goes, this one takes some topping. Spielberg produced horror classic Poltergeist is the story of middle-class Californian family the Freelings, who find themselves beset by terrifying happenings in their suburban home. Tightly written and smartly directed, Poltergeist was one of the iconic horrors of the '80s, though the editing technique ranged from questionable to confounding at times.

The most perplexing moment comes 35 minutes into the film when a scene in which Diane and Steven discuss the so-called sliding phenomena in their kitchen and suddenly, with Diane actually mid-line, they appear on their neighbors' doorstep. It is a jarring, massively confusing cut that takes the viewer right out of the movie, though there is an explanation for the poor editing.

The original scene had Steven questioning Diane over the unexplained moving of objects, asking what the gag was and suspecting her of using magnets, though within the dialogue he happens to mention that he hates Pizza Hut. While it has never been officially confirmed, the assumption is that Pizza Hut were not happy about being bashed by the Freelings and complained, which lead to the scene being cut halfway through.

Even if this is true, there really is no excuse for how awfully edited this moment is, done with such a lack of tact that you can only imagine that it was changed at the very last minute. Fortunately, the film had enough about it to pull viewers right back in to the story before they lost interest, the movie going on to become a generation-defining hit.