The original Poltergeist is a surrounded by Hollywood myths and legends. I'm going to dismiss any talk of a curse right here and now, but it is interesting how different stories go back and forth about Steven Spielberg's involvement in the film. Was Tobe Hooper fit to direct the picture? How much did Spielberg take the reigns? Google reveals a world of different accounts. But however it came into being, the first film is definitely much loved and the new remake has its work cut in convincing audiences it's not just a cash-in. I'll admit that I'm already feeling quite warm towards the film. I'm a big fan of David Lindsay-Abaire, the Pulitzer winning playwright who has written the screenplay; and director Gil Kenan did an excellent job with his debut feature, Monster House. If I'm going to see a remake of anything, I want to know the creatives are smart and ambitious, and with Poltergeist I trust there are. Here are the first images from the film, ahead of tomorrow's trailer, courtesy of USA Today. Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie Dewitt are the parents this time around, and that too is encouraging. Kenan apparently searched high and low for his young lead before settling on Kennedi Clements as the young girl snatched away to the other side by forces that lurk inside the TV set. Also in the film, though nowhere to be seen in these preview pics, are Jared Harris and Jane Adams as a TV personality with an interest in the supernatural and his ex-wife, a parapsychologist at the local university. There's over 2 minutes worth of trailer tomorrow so hopefully we'll see them then. And I shouldn't wrap this up without mentioning the clown doll. The one in the original film is just about the most unsettling thing I can think of, and this new one looks utterly hideous. I tend not to get scared by horror films, but clown dolls... they're enough to get me looking through my fingers. Poltergeist will be released this July 24th in the US, and sometime around there - I hope - in the UK. It's going to be in 3D, so expect a new riff on the original's corridor-stretching effect.
Brendon Connelly has been a film writer since the early 90s, with time on the staff of Orbit Magazine, Slashfilm, Bleeding Cool, Den of Geek and many more. He's a long time teacher of film studies and practical filmmaking classes, and has directed music videos, commercials, short films and more. His favourite film is Terry Gilliam's Brazil, his favourite food is pancakes or crepes, and he tries to live his life by the teachings of Kermit the Frog.
