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You see the famous lion roar gracefully and then the screen goes to and the Star Spangled Banner starts to play and you start to have doubts about whether or not you just rented a horror movie. You know you got in the Horror section, but today's genre standards at video stores are often quite dodgy. |
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But then you get an up close and personal glimpse at the television and as we pull away from the television and get a glimpse of our current location, the living room, being frantically attacked by the violently flickering light, you start to realize that there's something kind of creepy about this, and already you start to realize that there is something special about this movie. If a movie can make the light radiating from a tele- vision seem eerie already in the first two minutes, then it has already beaten the expectations of most of today's assembly line horror movies. |
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The television is the first crucial element we meet in the film. We get to meet the second as we wonder around the house with the faithful golden retreaver, E-Buzz, who wonders around aimlessly scavenging for things to eat. E-Buzz is the vessel we use to discovery, one by one, our surragate family for the next couple of hours as they are far along in their nightly slumber. But one family member wakes, little Carol Anne Freeling, who we follow back to the television we saw moment ago. She begins striking up a loud conversation with the white noise on the tv, waking up the various family members, who get up and watch this strange event. |
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Now that we met the family, while simaltaniously learning the geography of the house, it's time to meet the suburban neighborhood, Cueste Verde. We follow an unnamed character as he transports beer on his bicycle. Some pesky kids sitting on the curve decide to gang up on the man and sabotage his mission via two remote cars which pass in front of him, causing him to crash on his bike. The man grabs what's left of the beer and runs inside the Freelings' household where Steve Freeling is holding a football party. |
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Once again, in a lesser film, we'd establish the characters through a down to earth style. We'd probably meet them at the table eating breakfast, a scene we'll get later after we've already met and got to know the Freelings. But instead, the filmmakers treat the simple, early, non-horror sequences with excitement and humor, giving you the proud feeling that you are watching something fresh and not the run of the mill horror gorefest. It's also noteworthy that we meet the Freelings years after they've settled into their home, which is in the middle of the ever so safe suburbs. Wait a minute! Shouldn't we be meeting the characters as they are just now purchasing the house, which is normally a spiderweb-infested scary place with loose nails, and human shaped chalk markings galore? I guess that old, victorian house was plowed over years ago to make way for new, super duper shopping center, so the Freelings had to settle for a normal, every day home. Sorry, Dr. Fankenstein, your house is now a Wal-Mart! |
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Right from the get-go, we get the feeling that this whole mundane setting is sort of smiling through it's teeth, and that in all actuality, something is wrong. Carol Anne's pet bird Tweetie (yes, it's a yellow bird) has just died and we get to see a tender little funeral for Tweetie. As this occurs, we are introduced to the next antagonist, and old tree, which accepts the part as one of little Robbie Freeling's two arch nemesises. In daylight Robbie is not afraid to climb it, but in a nightly storm, Robbie is pretty soiling his pants at the sight of it. With that tree, the storm, and his toy clown, we get the sense that the brave Robbie Freeling would jump at the sign of his own shadow. "It knows we live here," Robbie tells his father. But we soon learn that Robbie has a reason to fear those things. |
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He and Carol Anne end up sleeping in their parents' bed where we are yet again treated to the closing anthem of a daily programming's end. This time, when the white noise pops up, we hear voices and Carol Anne a pproaches the television once again. This time,a ghostly arm exits the television and shoots towards the wall causing the ground to quake, waking up the parents, to whom Carol Anne announces "They're Here!" At this point, we are wondering, who are "they"? And when mama Diane Freelings asks Carol Anne, we get the obscure answer "the TV People." And as, at this point, we don't really know whats going on, we start to wonder if "the TV People" got bored with cable programming and moved on to breaking glasses, bending forks, and re-arranging chairs for fun. |
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When she experiences the ghouls' antic first hand, Diane actually turns an open mind to the situation and has a bit of fun with it, before letting her husband, Steve, in on it. Steve is a bit bewildered and cautious towards the idea of chairs and little blonde girls sliding across the kitchen floor. He orders Diane not to let anybody in the kitchen, but it's too late. Another storm rolls in, and the scary tree smashes through the window and grabs Robbie. His parents rush out to save him from being digested by the seemingly harmless old tree while huge tornado is rolling past them. We soon discover that the tree is just a huge misdirection so "the TV People" can snatch Carol Anne for their own purposes. Carol Anne and all her stuff is sucked into the closet as Robbie is pulled out the tree just in time as it is sucked into the eye of the tornado, which now dissipates. The family realizes that Carol Anne is gone and go searching for her and while the family goes searching throughout the house and it's pool, it's Robbie that discovers that Carol Anne's voice is echoing from within the television! Now we realize that we are dealing with more than just our average peek-a-BOO! ghosts. If these guys can make trees eat you and kidnap you away to the unknown, then we are in serious, deep trouble! |
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It's time to get help. Steve Freeling goes and meets the experts, three parapsychologists led by Dr. Lesh, who looks more like your loving aunt than she does a ghostbuster, but she is ready to believe you. Her comrades are Ryan, a slight optimist with the tech-knowledge, and Marty, who seemingly has the worse luck with ghosts. During their initiation with the Freeling's household guests, they encounter bedrooms filled with floating memorabilia, have a touching moment where they encounter Carol Anne's ambient voice in the living room, introduced to the inivisible entity that is holding her captive, and poor Marty gets bitten when he goes to check on the kids' bedroom. Not to mention, random objects come raining down from the ceiling. What's going on here? |
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Later that night, Ryan and Marty speculate that the empty channels on the television is free to pick up roamng signals, including Carol Anne's voice coming from "inner space" (a.k.a the other side) and that there is a "bi-location" point (an entrance portal and exit portal to the other side) inside their house. As the Freelings are camping out in their living room, Dr. Lesh tells Diane and Robbie her theory on death and that there is a light that you are supposed to go through when you die and that some ghosts don't realize they are dead and find themselves lost. |
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While the others are sleeping, Marty go searching for food and encounters a living steak. When he shines a light on it, it tears itself from the inside. Marty then drops his half-eaten chicken leg on the kitchen floor and sees worms all over it. Marty runs into the kitchen and starts tearing the skin off of his face. Suddenly the ordeal is over, and turns out to be one big hallucination. |
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Meanwhile, in the living room, the camera starts moving on it's own and aims its sights on the main staircase, where ghostly apperitions hover down the staircase as the everybody watches the spectacle in complete awe. It is a beautiful and fascinating sight that quickly ends. Everybody gathers around the moniters and watches the playback and we get a good look at several spirits wondering down the staircase. |
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The next day, after Robbie is hauled off to his grandma's house and Dr. Lesh and Marty have left, Steve Freeling goes for a walk with his boss, Mr. Teague, up in the hillside above Cueste Verde. Mr. Teague attempts to sell Steve the idea of a new house right where they standing and full partnership as if he's selling him a toaster oven. Steven kind of chuckles over Teague's offer and we notice that the picket fence they are walking next to is actually the boundaries of a local cemetery. Teague adds that they are moving to "Phase 5" and that they already have plans to move the cemetery five miles down the road. Steve questions the morality of moving it, and Teague adds that they've done it before to make way for the Cueste Verde estates. It is here where we start to get a good picture of what's going on. |
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Back at the house, Dr. Lesh returned with Tangina Barrons, a psychic woman who might be able to help them. After displaying her talent, she tells them all that Carol Anne is "alive and in this house." She then educates them that there is actually no death at all, but a transition into another plain of existence and that the evil entity, now given the name of "The Beast", is confusing Carol Anne and using her control the other spirits and that the entrance point is up in the kid's bedroom. They move up to the upstairs hallway and Tangina instructs Steve to call out to Carol Anne and use threats of punishment to reach out to Carol Anne psychologically to get her to respond, and it works and Diane is instructed to tell her run towards the light, which hurts Diane to say. Afterall, our instincts and logic are telling us that Carol Anne should not go into to light, but notice how Tangina told her to say "run towards the light" not "go into the light." Her plan is seemingly to not only make it easier to grab Carol Anne but to guide the lost entities into the light by having them following her towards it. |
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She then instructs everybody to clear their minds as the Beast knows our deepest and darkest fears and won't hesitate to use them against us, as we've seen earlier in the film. With their minds clear, Tangina is able to open the room without floating record players and horse-galloping Incredible Hulks, and we are treated to an excellent display of bright lights. They carry with them two balls, numbered 1 and 2, and a rope. Ryan is told to go downstairs and wait, and Diane is told to instruct Carol Anne to stop and stay where she is. And to give the audience a clear unerstanding of whats about to happen, Tangina performs a visual test by throwing the tennis ball into the bright light in the closet. The ball then shoots out of the exit point on the ceiling of the downstairs living room where Ryan catches it. The ball is now covered in pink ooze, known as ectoplasm. |
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They then switch the balls out for the rope, tossing it into the portal. Holding the rope on both sides are Steve at the top end and Ryan at the bottom. Diane raps the rope around her waste and share romantic moment with Steve before going off into the unknown. Tangina uses her psychic abilities and calls upon the spirits, designating them to go into the light with idea that there is peace and serenity in the light. Thinking that she is directing Diane and Carol Anne into the light, Steve starts realing them back in. Tangina breaks comminication and shouts "Steven, not yet!" Steve pulls out something, but it's not his loved ones, but in fact a great, big, ghastly face which scares the crap out of Steve. Luckily, Diane falls out the other end, unconscious, covered in ectoplasm, and holding Carol Anne. They rush them into the bathroom and rinse them off and in a tender, tearjerking moment, both Carol Anne and Diane awaken. It's another good sign of a good horror movie when you actually care about the characters and hold an emotional investment, which brings you closer to the story and makes you fear what may or may not happen to them through the coarse of the movie. Dr. Lesh shuts the door, and Tangina announces that "the house is clean." All is seemingly well. |
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The next day, the Freelings are packing up and ready to leave the house and the events behind them. Steves to go quit his job. Later that night, Robbie wakes and finds that the clown doll is missing. Robbie starts looking for it, but the clown doll finds him first and as Robbie is struggling with it, lights starts shining through the closet. In the parents' bedroom, Diane is attacked and dragged up the walls by an unseen force. She is able to get away from the force and run out to hallway and the Beasts shows itself. She tumbles down the stairs and gets shocked with she tries to run back up them. In the bedroom, the closet starts morphing into a throat and Carol Anne is left sitting there in shock, chanting "No more." Luckily, by now Robbie was able to get revenge on that horrid clown. |
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Diane runs outside, calling for help, and stumbles into the hole that would be their pool, and encounters skeletons. She is pulled out by their neighbors, who are then shocked by the scar sounds coming from within the house. Diane asks them to help, but they hesitate. She runs in the house a lone and runs up the steps and is able to make it to the kids bedroom where she pulls out the kids right in the nick of time, before they get sucked into the throat. |
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Steven arrives at the house and runs inside where coffins start rising through the floor. He runs to Mr Teague, who for some reason was there at the house, and starts shouting at him. The full picture has come into spectrum. "You moved the headstones but you didn't move the bodies!" Steve shouts. Diane and the kids come running out of the house, and in a very familiar scene, they get in the car and drive away without looking back. What they miss, but everyone else in the neighborhood gets to see is their house sucking itself through the portal from the inside and disappearing. Mr. Teague is left in tears as he's now most likely out of a job, and probably has a few lawsuits lining up. After all, how can you sell a house if your product has a history of up and disappearing? The family checks into the Holiday Inn, kicking the tv to the curb. The credits start to roll, with not one single casualty depicted in the film, and with one scene of gore, and a whole lot of fantasy, making Poltergeist one of the most exciting films that you can find in the horror genre. |
