Day 361: Poltergeist

Poltergeist

"I love you, TV"

When we think of haunted house movies, we inevitably picture an old, gothic mansion harkening back to the Vincent Price days. There's usually an evil spirit involved making all sorts of scary sounds, but staying hidden for most if not all of the movie. They're all fairly standard affairs with just a few differences thrown in. Even most modern-day haunted house movies still revolve around the same basic haunting tenets. The ones that don't tend to veer off into the exorcism genre. The select few that take place in modern times, but blaze their own trail are far more interesting and entertaining, but also riskier. When you have Steven Spielberg writing and producing with Tobe Hooper directing, you're off to a good start.

Poltergeist is a 1982 horror movie starring Craig T. Nelson (Coach, The Incredibles) as Steven Freeling and JoBeth Williams (Baby M., Dutch) as his wife Diane. The Freelings live in the nice planned community of Cuesta Verde in California with their children Dana, Robbie, and Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke). Steven is a successful realtor, selling houses in the community while Diane has her hands full with three very active children. One night, while everyone is asleep, Carol Anne wakes up and begins talking to the television which is only transmitting static. The same happens the next night and an apparition leaps from the television and vanishes through the wall behind her. Knowingly, Carol Anne states, “They're here.” Throughout the next day, strange paranormal events occur, such as a glass breaking and chairs in the kitchen inexplicably moving. That night, during an intense storm, an old tree comes to life and grabs Robbie through window. As Steven frees him, a portal opens in a closet and pulls in Carol Anne. With her physically missing, the family is able to hear her through their television calling for help. Steven reaches out to a group of parapsychologists at the local college who investigate the paranormal activity in hopes of finding Carol Anne. They discover that is not one ghost, but many ghosts in the house. Steven meets with his boss Lewis Teague (James Karen, The Return Of The Living Dead, Congo) who reveals that they are planning to build new houses on top of a cemetery. Teague reassures Steven that they will move the bodies down the road before construction. Dana and Robbie are sent away for their safety and Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein, Picket Fences, Teen Witch) a spiritual medium, is brought in to help rescue Carol Ann. She explains that the spirits in the house are not at rest and are attracted to Carol Anne because of her life force. This attraction is keeping the spirits from crossing over while a demon referred to as the “Beast” is keeping Carol Anne in order to manipulate the spirits. Will The Feelings be able to get their daughter back and what horrible secret does the house hide?

Are we sure she's not from the Village Of The Damned?

Poltergeist is certainly different from most other haunted house movies up to it's release. Gone is the musty and dark mansion with the eccentric owner. Instead we have a healthy and happy family living in a house that oozes 1980's in a cozy suburb. The inclusion of a cute and precocious little girl as the victim makes the horror much more real than, say, an older socialite trying to win money by staying at a haunted house. We see the family in their everyday lives, much like our own, and truly feel along with them when their daughter disappears. Director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Salem's Lot) is no stranger to scares. The same could be said for Steven Spielberg, though the horror in Jaws and Duel are much more cerebral. Poltergeist gives us a few different things to scare us. The most memorable scene involves a creepy looking clown that comes to life and starts to choke Robbie while his mother is being dragged across the ceiling. I didn't quite understand the scene where the tree comes to life and grabs Robbie. No one else seemed to be concerned that a plant was suddenly moving around and stealing children. It really bothered me that it was never addressed or came up again. Some of the special effects are good for the time while others are embarrassingly cheesy by today's standards. Apparently, they used actual skeletons in the movie rather than plastic ones because it was cheaper. That raises so many questions that I don't even want to know the answers. The movie has occasionally great atmosphere, but it doesn't sustain throughout the entire film. This becomes evident towards the end when it appears to be a happy ending only for the movie to continue an extra 20 minutes with the best scares of the entire movie. They would have been better off switching things around instead of hurting the movie's horror momentum.

"Crap Yourself the Clown"

Despite having two young children in the film, Poltergeist manages to mostly avoid the “annoying child” trope that plagues so many horror movies. JoBeth Williams is great as the loving mother and Craig T. Nelson is solid as the distraught father. One small thing in the movie that I found funny was when he was reading a book in bed about Ronald Reagan. Craig T. Nelson is a staunch conservative and generally made an ass out of himself when on Glenn Beck's show, talking about no one helping him while he received food stamps. Zelda Rubinstein is also very good, exuding a loving confidence that one may not expect in a haunting movie, but will appreciate. Tobe Hooper gets some very good shots throughout the film and Spielberg's hands-on approach is evident. 

Shout! Shout! Shout at the Devil!

Poltergeist took the haunted house genre from the drab far-off mansions and stuck them right into suburban America. It was risky move, but for the most part, it paid off. We still see references to Poltergeist in pop culture today. Whether it's in South Park, the Scary Movie franchise, or The Simpsons, iconic lines and scenes always manage to spring up. It's even the subject of The Misfit's song "The Shining". The story in Poltergeist is decent, if a bit predictable. There are elements of tradition haunted house movies as well as some fresh takes. There are some good scares, but the movie's momentum is frequently cut off. What should have been a pulse-pounding thrill ride was instead a disjointed and occasionally jumping ghost movie. The movie has a lot of special effects, some very good and some laughably bad. The acting is good throughout and the direction is fairly solid. Some like to shower praise on Poltergeist, but I feel there were some things that could have and should have been better. Overall, it's a decent horror movie with some fun scares and good acting.

7/10

Day 337: It

It

From the makers of "Is" and "A"

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns. Thankfully I don't suffer from such a phobia. Clowns never bothered me. I remember looking forward to seeing them on a trip to the circus when I was little. I can understand, though, why someone would be terrified of a person in white makeup, brightly-colored baggy clothes, and a crazy grin. There's something slightly unnatural about their appearance and in-your-face approach to entertainment that doesn't sit right in people. It may also have to do with the fact that John Wayne Gacy was a clown. Whatever the reason may be, clowns have a tendency to show up in horror movies like House Of Fears, Masters Of Horror: We All Scream For Ice Cream, and Killer Klowns From Outer Space. But there's one movie where a clown is the epitome of fear.

It (also known as Stephen King's It) is a 1990 television movie based on the novel by Stephen King (Cujo, Misery). The two-part movie stars Tim Curry (Ritual, The Rocky Horror Picture Show) as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. In the small town of Derry, Maine a six-year old boy named Georgie Denbrough is playing with a toy boat when it was down into the sewer. A clown named Pennywise (referred by the characters as “It”) is down in the sewer and tempts Georgie to get closer. He grabs Georgie, tearing his arm off and killing him. Georgie's older brother Bill (Jonathan Bradis, Sidekicks, SeaQuest) blames himself for his brother's death and begins to stutter due to the trauma. Bill has a group of friends, Ben, Eddie, Beverly, Richie (Seth Green, Austin Powers, The Italian Job) and Stan who all encounter and are subsequently harassed by It. They are also bullied by Henry Bowers, a sadistic schoolmate who constantly threatens to kill them. Henry and his gang chase after Mike, an African American boy in their class, but Bill and his friends defend him. They vow to always stick together and protect each other. With their newfound courage, the group bands together to avenge the deaths of children killed by It. They discover his lair out in the woods and plan to kill him. Henry, who followed the group into the lair, sees his friend killed by It, causing his hair to turn white. After an intense fight, Beverly is able to hit It in the head with a piece of silver. The wound opens up, exposing light from his head before he escapes down a drain. A traumatized Henry confesses to It's murders and is institutionalized. Thirty years later, murders begin to happen again in Derry. An adult Mike (Tim Reid, Sister, Sister, WKRP In Cincinnati) calls everyone in the group, telling them that It has returned. A terrified Stan, unable to face the monster again, commits suicide. It begins to mentally torture the now-adult group of friends (Ben is played by John Ritter, Three's Company, and Richie is played by Harry Anderson, Night Court). He also frees Henry from the asylum who attacks Mike with a knife. Will the group be able to come together again and stop It for good?

I didn't know Pennywise was British

Despite only coming out twenty two years ago, it seems that It has managed to really become part of horror lore. It's surprisingly because, honestly, it's nothing particularly special. It's not bad, but it's not as good as one may be expecting. Part of the problem lies in the fact that the movie was made for television and not for the big screen. Being on TV handcuffs the movie in more ways then one. Obviously, the movie never reaches the proper amount of violence and true terror needed for the story. There are a few scares and eery moments, but it should have been much more. The television format also hurts the movie, fading to black multiple times for commercial breaks. When It first premiered, it was split over two days with a total run time of close to three hours. Stretching the movie out that long causes some unnecessary scenes and a lot of recapping and generalization. When watched straight through, it tends to wear on the audience. The story is just OK and the long, dawn-out scenes stretch it out way too far.

The biggest reason for It's breakthrough into notoriety is because of Tim Curry. He is utterly fantastic as the evil clown, mixing irreverent glee and general wackiness with utter terror. This is the man who was deemed “too scary” to voice the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series. By just using his voice, Curry manages to terrify and haunt multiple generations of horror fans. The first half of the movie focusing on the children is much better than the second half. The kids are all likable and it's fun to see a young Seth Green in action. When they become adults, the movie becomes a slow slog to the end. All of the characters are messed up and rightly so. The problem is that they're all incredibly fragile and no one character stands out. I also never quite understood why all the characters forgot about It. Didn't really make sense to me. When It's true form is revealed, stop-motion special effects and green screen are used, making the scene look like a reject from Jason and the Argonauts. When they get up close to the monster, it looks much better. The happy ending still manages to be depressing, which was unfortunate, but expected from King.

Clowning around

Over the past twenty years, It has managed to become a pop culture staple thanks largely to Tim Curry's turn as Pennywise. Without him, the movie wouldn't be nearly as good. His mixture of fun and evil is quite scary even for television in 1990. The story is decent, but is stretched far too thin. The movie has a long run time and lacks the necessary violence and fear to create a truly scary movie. The acting is good and there are some really fun scenes. The movie takes a long time to watch and some may come away disappointed, but It still manages to be entertaining.

6.5/10

Day 75: Nite Tales

Nite Tales

Nooooooo booooy!

I like movie anthologies. You get a few different stories all rolled into one. If you don't like the first movie, you can just skip over it and watch the rest. Sometimes you're lucky and get to enjoy a few good stories. Of course, you do run the risk of sitting through multiple movies that weren't good enough to be made into feature length films. And on that rare occasion, you have to sit through Flavor Flav prattling on about nothing. Welcome to Karma and Storm, two horror stories in Nite Tales.

Karma

Karma tells the story of 4 criminals that rob a small-town bank. One of the criminals is shot by a security guard and they high-tail it out of town. Out in the country, their car breaks down. The ringleader orders one of the thugs to kill the wounded criminal. They then travel to a house down the road in hopes that they can steal a truck. With no way to get inside the truck, they approach the house in hopes of finding car keys. They are let in by a strange old country man, who shares the house with his silent wife and mentally-handicapped brother. Each of the three criminals explore the house in search of keys, only to be knocked out by an unseen force. They awaken to find themselves being chained-up and tortured. The old man informs them that they do not like thieves and plan to eat plan to eat the thugs. He offers them a deal that will allow when of them to go free. Will they be able to decide or will they all become dinner?

Sorry, can't stay for dessert

Karma is a very basic story, one that I feel I've heard many times. The plot of black criminals terrorizing white people and then white people eating African-Americans in revenge makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable. And why do they have to be criminals? If they were just 4 guys riding down a country road, the story would have been essentially the same. I couldn't understand exactly what the story tellers were going for. We're told these guys are killers and thieves, but their tortuous punishment makes us feel sympathetic. The acting is fine, although for whatever reason, this version was edited, so all the curse words were silenced. There were times where I could not even hear entire conversations because of all the silencing. There is a good effect on screen right before each person is knocked out, something I really haven't seen in too many movies, so that was a creative touch. Beyond that, Karma isn't anything special.

2.5/10

Storm

Storm is about 5 friends playing Bloody Mary on a stormy night. The ritual is interrupted by a knock at the door. They are shocked to see a clown standing outside. James the Clown (Tony Todd, Candyman, Final Destination) claims his car broke down and he just needs to use the phone. The kids are terrified because the clown is so odd and creepy and are relieved when a policeman shows up. Things are not what they seem and one by one, the young friends are brutally murdered. A game of whodunit begins, with each person being a suspect. Is this cop really a cop? Is The Clown actually an undercover police officer? Is Bloody Mary real and slitting people's throats?

Corpsey the Clown

Storm is a very confused and convoluted story full of plot holes. It's hard enough just looking past the fact that the “teenagers” look like they're in their late 20s. Then you throw in a story about a cop who's not really a cop and a clown that's really a cop with a side story of Bloody Mary. And if James is really a police officer, why was he acting so creepy to being with? Why bother having Bloody Mary at all when it's just pushed to the fringes of the story? And then why try to tie it to the first movie? It makes no sense. NO SENSE! Also, there was one scene where faucets are turning on by themselves. I could clearly see string pulling the lever. Helpful reminder, don't use black string. Tony Todd is awesome as the clown, but unfortunately even he couldn't save the muddled mess.

2/10

When I watched Nite Tales, I was hoping for something like Tales From The Hood; fun urban horror stories. I thought Flav might be funny as hyper Crypt Keeper-like MC, but he just rambles on about nothing. It's like they forgot to write him lines and just had him huff out of a mysterious paper bag before shoving him out in front of the camera.Unfortunately, I got a confused jumble of half-baked ideas with poor follow through. Throw in an unnecessary intro and outro by the ever-annoying Flavor Flav, and you've got yourself a disappointing movie.

4.5/10

Day 31: House of Fears

House of Fears

Tears for House of Fears

I don't think I've ever been to a house of horrors or a funhouse. I've seen them on TV and in movies plenty, but never in real life. It just never appealed to me to have a guy in funny clothes jump out at me. I could go into the city to have that happen and I'm free to take a swing at them. While I may have little interest in going to one of these places in real life, when they're in a horror movie, I'm willing to take a look.

House of Fears follows teenager Samantha, her step-sister Hailey and 4 other teens wandering a Halloween funhouse called, you guessed it, the House of Fears. While exploring, they all reveal their personal fears. Soon, each of their fears comes to life and they start dying one by one. It is revealed that an ancient African statue is the cause. The embodiment of their fears seemingly cannot be stopped. How can you conquer your fears if your fear can never die?

Funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you?

House of Fears is your typical supernatural teen slasher movie. Running through a maze of corridors, things jumping out at you, you know. The usual. You've seen one, you've seen them all. The important part, though, is that you are still entertained. House of Fears still managed to have some entertainment value to it, despite being a bit cliched. The house of horror setting is definitely different and the constant change of scenery kept me interested. I do give them credit for having both physical fears (clowns, scarecrows) and more psychological fears (being buried alive, suffocating). The problem with that is the physical, chasing-you-down fears are far more exciting than a room filling with sand. To some, the latter is far more terrifying, but in terms of viewing enjoyment, the physical fears win. One thing that bothered me was that one of the fears was “being stabbed.” I was hoping to see a giant knife with eyes chasing people down, but the stabbing happened off-screen.

The acting is fine, but certainly nothing great. The look and budget of the movie is better than your average direct-to-dvd fair, but doesn't beg to be released in theaters. The underlying story of step-sisters coming to terms with each other and all that feels a bit forced, especially because these girls are clearly not teenagers. Some good violence and decent blood keep you watching and the changing embodiment of fears will have you guessing what will happen next.

Hey Ladies. My fear is "this" big

Ultimately, House of Fears comes off as a movie you've seen before with some different details and scenery. The movie has it's moments with some creative scenes and kills. Overall, the movie did not particularly offend or annoy, so that's a positive. If you enjoy chase-down slashers with some of the supernatural thrown in, you might enjoy this. If you're looking for something special, though, House of Fears is not your movie.

6/10

Day 20: Masters of Horror: We All Scream For Ice Cream

Masters of Horror: We All Scream For Ice Cream

Who ordered the Clown Ripple cone?

A horror movie about ice cream? Sweet! Yeah, I went there. Deal with it. A horror movie starring William Forsythe? Extra sweet. Some people are scared what ice cream will do to their figure. But what if that ice cream did something far worse? What if that ice cream was meant to kill you?

We All Scream For Ice Cream stars Lee Tergesen (Oz, Wayne's World) as Layne Banixter and William Forsythe (Raising Arizona, Boardwalk Empire) as Buster the Clown. Layne has recently returned to his old home town to settle down with his family. When he was younger, Layne was part of a local group of kids called The West End Bunch. Members of the group are now slowly starting to disappear under mysterious circumstances. At the same time, Layne's children are walking out of the house late at night, under some sort of spell. We learn that when Layne was younger, there used to be an ice cream man/clown named Buster, who would perform tricks and sell ice cream. Egged on by group bully, Verne, the bunch pull a trick on Buster that accidentally kills him. Now Buster is back, picking off each member one by one, using their children to eat voodoo-style ice cream bars to kill them. It's up to Layne to stop him before he becomes a puddle of ice-cream goo.

Yeah, he's standing right behind you

A fun story, good atmosphere and solid acting really make WASFIC a great watch. William Forsythe is absolutely fantastic in what is essentially two roles. You love him as the friendly ice cream selling clown and fear him as the revenge seeking monster. Basically a supernatural revenge movie, you want Layne to survive but also want Buster to gain his revenge for being killed. That can be attributed all to Forsythe. Atmosphere is also a big factor in making the movie work. The slow-motion ice cream truck rolling through the fog while a creepy version of the ice cream song plays sets the right tone. Anything else would just come off as silly.

WASFIC is one of those sneaky horror movies that, on the surface, doesn't scare you, but deep down it unnerves you. If you are scared of clowns, you are going to be terrified of this movie. Luckily, I don't have a problem with face-painted merrymakers (excluding Insane Clown Posse). WASFIC's creepy moments also come from the emotionless children that want ice cream. Nothing quite as scary as a child standing silently by themselves. Effects are sparse, but when they're used, they have a serious impact and can get downright gruesome.

 This is what happens when you see Newt Gingrich naked

We All Scream For Ice Cream is a solid movie all around. The pacing worked and never dragged or felt rushed. The hour-long format for Masters of Horror worked to the movie's advantage. A fun story, good effects, and great acting made this a really enjoyable watch. As long as you're not scared of clowns (or ice cream), this movie is definitely worth viewing.

9/10