Craig T. Nelson – Steve Freeling
JoBeth Williams – Diane Freeling
Beatrice Straight – Dr. Lesh
Dominique Dunne – Dana Freeling
Oliver Robins – Robbie Freeling
Heather O’Rourke – Carol Anne Freeling
Summary
“What a combo! Tobe Hooper, the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, teamed up with family-oriented producer Steven Spielberg to make Poltergeist. The film is about a haunted suburban tract home in a development very much like the Arizona one in which Spielberg was raised. (Because it came out the same summer as Spielberg’s E.T., it was tempting to see both movies as representing Spielberg’s ambivalent feelings about childhood in suburbia. One was a fantasy, the other a nightmare.) Spielberg also cowrote the screenplay, which taps into primal, childlike fears of monsters under the bed, monsters in the closet, sinister clown faces, and all manner of things that go bump in the night. At first, some of the odd happenings in the house are kind of funny and amusing, but they grow gradually creepier until the film climaxes in a terrifying special-effects extravaganza when 5-year-old Carole Anne (Heather O’Rourke) is kidnapped by the spooks and held hostage in another dimension. Though not nearly as frightening as Hooper’s magnum opus, or the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, which came along two years later, Poltergeist is one of the smartest and most entertaining horror pictures of its time. –Jim Emerson”
– From Amazon.com
Review
This was a very….interesting movie. It was rated PG but this movie is about 30 years old and I would say it definitely was not PG. It was more like PG-13. The movie was not scary when you compare it to todays standards, but it did have its moments which were definitely not PG moments. There was a scene where The Beast made one of the ghost hunters hallucinate that something really gruesome was happening to his face and it was creepy. It would not be considered that to todays standards but the rest of the movie was so harmless that it was not expected and made you jump.
Then there was the clown. Don’t get me started on the clown. I hated clowns to start with but this just did it.The clown was there and then it wasn’t. I HATE clowns. Except Bello and Grandma.
But I hate these clowns.
Never have and never will.
This is a definite movie to watch as it is a classic (along with Nightmare on Elm Street (not seen that yet )) but I would definitely wait until you are at least 13 years of age to see this one. Just for a few reasons.
As Halloween is just around the corner I thought that I would start watching some Halloween movies. So, the other night I saw this DVD beckoning me, and it was an interesting one. So, I decided that it would be a great Halloween movie. Scary, exciting, with a little undead. So here we goooo…..
Starring Hugh Jackman – Van Helsing
Kate Beckinsale – Anna Valerious
Richard Roxburgh – Count Vladislaus Dracula
David Wenham – Carl
Summary “Legendary monster hunter Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is summonded to mysterious Transylvania on a mission that will thrust him into a sweeping battle against the forces of darkness. With non-stop action and electrifying special effects, VAN HELSING is an adrenaline-powered monition picture even Roger Ebert calls “Spectacular!””
-Back of Movie Box
Review
This is the classic Dracula story with a nice twist. It had Frankenstein, it had werewolves, and other demonic creatures as well. This story is about Count Dracula and his mission to make his kind thrive, but then Van Helsing, his old enemy, arrives to make his life just a tad more difficult.
This is an amazing Halloween movie. The action was non-stop, there were some things which made you jump, but it was not too scary – for teens. This is the perfect movie for younger teens and up (14+.) There was some gore but it was not too bad. The monster got cut and the blood spurted but it was literally a frame and that was it. Some of the creatures in this movie were a little scary, like Dracula’s brides. I though that Richard Roxburgh was the perfect actor for Count Vladislaus Dracula. He looked like a Dracula to me and he played the part extremely well. Hugh Jackman was the hero of this film and he played his party of Van Helsing very well. He made his character come alive with his subtle jokes now and then. Then Kate Beckinsale played the beautiful Anna Valerious. She was not your ordinary woman. She would kick butt along side Van Helsing.
This story is perfect for a family with older teens. There is nothing sexual in this at all and there is only mild language like “godda**” and words like “oh my God.” Nothing too extreme at all. I loved this movie and I recommend watching it as it is a perfect Halloween movie, and Halloween is just around the corner.
I hope that you all enjoy it and tell me what you think!!
Just as the season of the seriously creepy has arrived with darker nights, billowing leaves, sighing in the trees the nights are longer, lonelier….. in case you are stuck for something seasonal to read Book Riot has just the answer with a list of Spooky Reads. There are some great suggestions to keep everyone happy – including wimps! Be sure to check out their piece on Dracula. A classic tale – reviewed here.
Karen invites her friend Ann-Marie to stay at her dad’s apartment over-looking the beach. They plan to party all summer, enjoying the sun, sea, and sand. The fun starts for Karen when she meets two new guys. But which one should she choose, Jerry who is so handsome, or Vince, so deliciously dangerous?
-Amazon.com
Review
I personally don’t like R.L. Stine. A lot of younger readers enjoy it because it gives them a scare and a thrill. But for me, a teen, I find that these books border on horrible. They have no story line, no point to them, and don’t scare the reader. The Goosebump series is in the juvenile section of my library, but the other books by R.L. Stine (The Babysitter series, Point Horror series) are in the YA section. But these books are definitely for the younger end of YA, like the 12 year olds. If you pick this book up hoping for a scare, you should just put it down. This book is not worth your while. If teens want a really good thrill, try reading Stephen King. I read Misery and if you want scary, Stephen King is the thing for you. They are what I would call horror. These books are not. They don’t have anything scary happening. The book is also really easy as I read it in about 5 hours (not even).
Younger readers might find this book “scary” as they have not read a lot of things like this. But once you get to YA and you have read all of the other books out there, and have watched those scary movies, you don’t get scared at all and it is just a read. Yes it may be a good beach read because you don’t have to concentrate and it is quick.
There are people who like it but I am just not one of them. This is a good book for reluctant readers because it is easy and it would keep them interested.
But this is my opinion. Pick it up and give it a try if you want, but this is not a book for scares.
