A typical family—a mother, father, and three children—is living an ordinary life in their house beside a cemetery when strange occurrences begin. Objects around the home start moving seemingly on their own; doors open and close, chairs slide about, and lights flicker with a will of their own. At first, the Freeling family views these events as amusing quirks, but things take a dark turn when their daughter Carol Anne…

I have a real fondness for this film. I’ll admit, considering what we expect now, the special effects aren't quite up to snuff—though having seen the updated version, it's clear that newer isn’t necessarily better. This is precisely what appeals to me in a horror film and seems appropriate for older children too. While I do enjoy more mature horror films, I prefer PG-13 because movies like this one tend to priorit…

I share with many people my memories of childhood nights spent watching AMC’s Halloween horror movie marathon—it was either a week or the entire month of October—and witnessing the Freeling family experience some original paranormal events; their home transforming into an entryway for spirits, leading to the disappearance of their youngest child. However, unlike others I know, my feelings about this film are quite…

Everyone knows it by that name. The Freeling family seemed perfectly normal and content until their youngest daughter declared one night, while watching television, that supernatural forces had arrived. Poltergeist really divides horror fans; those who like gore find the events uninteresting, whereas people like myself who enjoy ghostly supernatural stories feel it missed a chance to be something special. But i…

Seeing _Poltergeist_ for the first time when I was seven remains one of my most vivid childhood memories. I watched it on an old DVD in my parents’ bedroom, shortly after my mom returned home from surgery. My dad brought some DVDs back from the library one night, and that's how I ended up watching it. I put the disc into the player without a second thought; I had been wanting to see it since I was five years old. …