This remake clearly wants to be good. Having Sam Raimi in the producers seat shows that they want to guarantee the scares. After all, this is the guy who brought us the Evil Dead films and even produced the decent remake of that film. Sounds great. Except Poltergeist isnt The Evil Dead. Not at all. In the original Poltergeist a typical suburban family gets an unpleasant surprise when they find out that their home is haunted. To make matters worse, their adorable but creepy youngest child is abducted by the ghosts and taken to the other side. Desperate for help they turn to an even creepier medium played by the legendary Zelda Rubinstein. Needless to say the ghosts arent too keen about this. The original Poltergeist is the cinematic equivalent of the best haunted house attraction youve ever been to. When all hell breaks loose, you strap in and go for the ride. But behind people ripping their faces off in the bathroom theres a real heartfelt story about a family coming together to face the unknown. If theres one person who knows family its original Poltergeist producer and co-writer Steven Spielberg. Say what you will about the Spielberg, the guy knows how to juxtapose that rollercoaster intensity with sincere sentimentality like nobody else does. Can Sam Raimi really say the same? Sadly, the Poltergeist remake is in real danger of becoming just another horror film and stands to lose the heart and soul that made the original a classic.
