10 Things You Didn't Know About Poltergeist
3. The Original Movie Was Ever Scarier
Originally, when Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper were plotting out the screenplay, they had envisioned for a much darker storyline. Carol Anne was going to be killed off in the first act and then haunt the house for the rest of the movie. The producers felt this was slightly too much, so they opted for her to be kidnapped by ghosts instead.
This was just the beginning of watering down the horror elements of the script in order to net a PG certificate for the film, so that it could run as a double feature in theatres with the concurrently released E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982). In fact, so much was removed that there were no deaths at all (apart from Tweety the Bird) in the final movie, and only a couple of light injuries.
It is surprisingly how the final product remained so terrifying, with moving steaks and trees, whilst all being under the umbrella of a PG rating. You can only imagine just how horrifying the film could have been if Spielberg wasn’t so concerned about the viewing certificate…