I hadn’t really intended to focus on films that weren’t currently sitting in my “To Review” pile during the Scare of the Day feature, but given that last night found my wife and I attending a 25th-anniversary screening of “Poltergeist,” it seemed like an appropriate time to revisit that film’s two sequels, which were released as a 2-fer DVD a few years back.
I’ll go into this in more detail when I do a full review of the “Poltergeist” DVD reissue, but, for the purposes of this column, let me just say that, despite having seen the movie probably two dozen times over the course of the last two and a half decades, last night was the first time I’d ever seen the film in a theater. As such, it was the first time I’d really appreciated it as something other than just a string of scary moments and special effect sequences. Oh, it’s still a damned creepy film (even if the face-ripping scene seemed a lot creepier 25 years ago), but I’d never realized that it owes its effectiveness to the fact that it takes its time building an emotional core; by not feeling rushed, you’re given the opportunity to actually care for the characters…and that’s something neither of the film’s sequels allow for.
Given the success of the original film, it was pretty much a given that there’d be a sequel, and the good news was that Jobeth Williams (Diane), Craig T. Nelson (Steven), Heather O’Rourke (Carol Anne), Oliver Robins (Robbie), and Zelda Rubenstein (Tangina Barrons, medium at large) would all be returning for the flick. (Actress Dominique Dunne, who played Dana, was strangled to death by her boyfriend not long after the original film was released.) Although it’s great to see all of the old faces again, the bad news was that producer Steven Spielberg wasn’t constantly hanging around the set this time to help mold things into shape….and it shows.
Funnily enough, I remember really loving the film when it was first released, back in 1986. (Guaranteed, I was in the theater on opening weekend.) Looking at it now, though, it’s obvious that people were sitting on the sidelines, saying, “Okay, so what worked in the first film, and what’s the bare minimum that we can tweak it so that we can re-use it in the second film?” Perhaps that’s phrasing it a bit cynically, but, in particular, the moments of playful romance between Steven and Diane and sibling bickering between Carol Anne and Robbie which were cute and natural in the original feel utterly forced here.
The Freeling family has left Costa Verde and moved in with Diane’s mother (Geraldine Fitzgerald), but that ultimately only serves as a plot device, so that we can meet Carol Anne’s grandma, have her die, and then have Carol Anne use her gifts to speak with her from beyond the grave, and Grandma’s death occurs so abruptly – albeit quietly, no doubt because a lot of kids watched “Poltergeist” on HBO and had their allowance all ready to spend on the sequel – that there’s no virtually no emotional heft to it. There’s a subplot involving an Indian mystic (Will Sampson), but he’s all cliche, so, again, he feels like a plot device, too.
In fact, there’s only one character in this film who succeeds, and that’s why he’s the only thing you remember about this film…and why he’s over at the right, even as you read this line, screaming, “You’re gonna die in hell! All of you! You are gonna die!”
Yeah, the Freeling family really had it bad. Not only was their house built on top of a cemetery, but the cemetery was built on top of a massive underground cavern that, in the 1800s, became the final resting place of a Utopian cult led by Rev. Henry Kane (Julian Beck). Kane had assured his followers that the world was going to end, so he buried both them and himself in the cavern to wait for it; unfortunately, his prophecy didn’t come to pass, and everyone died screaming in the bowels of the earth, trying desperately to claw their way out. Being little more than a bunch of lemmings, however, Kane’s followers still clung to his every move, and the whole bunch of them were still trying to find their way to the afterlife…and it seems that only a little blond-haired angel named Carol Anne can help them.
Julian Beck was deep in the throes of stomach cancer at the time he filmed “Poltergeist II,” and the ravages of the disease on his body combined with his natural dramatic flair (he was a co-director of New York’s famed Living Theater until his death) made for a performance that transcends the movie. In fact, had the film focused exclusively on the terrifying Rev. Kane and his followers and their Jonestown-like demise rather than waste time creating thin characters like Grandma and Injun Joe (yeah, yeah, I know, his name’s actually Taylor, shut up), it’s possible that we’d be ranking “Poltergeist II” as one of the best sequels of all time.
Instead, the movie alternates between attempting to Xerox the feel of the first film and trying to one-up its special effects…and, believe me, seeing Robbie’s braces attack him just doesn’t compare to universal fears like thunderstorms, creepy trees, and clown dolls. Tangina appears here and there, but she doesn’t get used to spectacular effect…well, except for the one bit where Diane hears a knock at door, doesn’t see anyone through the peephole, then hears another knock and, to the tune of ominous music, she opens the door to see Tangina. That’s good stuff, sure, but ultimately we get way too much Indian and not nearly enough Tangina. The film’s worst misstep, however, is the decision to let us see the mysterious interdimensional world into which Carol Anne vanishes; in our heads, it was a disturbing place that’s equal parts shadows, white noise, and ectoplasm, but on screen, it’s just a darkly-colored, low-gravity void that’s just…boring.
Okay, so “Poltergeist II” was disappointing. Still, at least you can understand why it was made; even with the great ending of the first film, you still knew there was more that could be done with Carol Anne and her gift of being able to talk to the dead, and even if it failed as a whole, still, Rev. Kane kicked ass. (21 years later, the dude’s got at least two MySpace profiles; you just can’t argue with immortality like that.) Even the most optimistic fans of the “Poltergeist” franchise, however, would be hard pressed to say that the third film actually needed to be made, especially since the only members of the cast who were willing to return were O’Rourke and Rubinstein.
In “Poltergeist III,” Carol Anne has been shipped off to stay with her aunt Pat, (Nancy Allen), her new husband, Bruce (Tom Skerritt), and his teenage daughter, Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle), in a gigantic new skyscraper in Chicago; left completely unanswered is why on earth Carol Anne’s parents would ever let her out of their sight, let alone ship her thousands of miles away, but we’re led to presume that it’s something to do with having her attend a school in Chicago for gifted children. It’s still not far enough away to escape the demonic reach of Rev. Kane, though, who remains desperate to get his clutches on his little angel and quickly takes possession of the skyscraper – which is part mall, part apartment complex, and, naturally, has a very spooky parking garage as well – in an attempt to make her his own.
Since Julian Beck passed away even before the second film was completed, Rev. Kane appears in person very rarely; he spends the first part of “Poltergeist III” in the distance, slightly out of focus, and when he does finally get some clarity, he looks so markedly different from the previous film that it’s highly disappointing. Despite this, though, there are still a surprising number of moments that manage to capture the feel of the original “Poltergeist,” including a scene in the parking lot which sees Carol Anne, Donna, and her boyfriend all pulled into a puddle and into Kane’s realm, which exists behind every mirror in the building. In fact, the film utilizes mirrors to great effect throughout, showing reflections of things that aren’t actually there, which never fails to result in a shiver. The most impressive moment, however, involves Rubinstein abruptly turning in to a shriveled corpse and having Boyle claw her way out of her chest, which will have you going, “What the fuck did I just see happen?”
Unfortunately, the film still has way more problems than successes, including the absolutely inexplicable change in Pat’s attitude toward Carol Anne; the second the little girl disappears and things start to get weird, her beloved aunt immediately suggests shipping the little brat home to her parents. (Thanks, Aunt Pat!) Of course, she’s back to being the loving aunt when the plot requires it, which makes it even more obnoxious. Also thrown into the mix is a psychologist who, against all reason, spends his entire time in the film claiming that Carol Anne is guilty of committing mass hypnosis against everyone who crosses her path, including the entire city of Costa Verde. The ending, however, may be the most egregious sin of all, offering only a painfully obvious closing line from Allen (“She did it! She saved us!”) followed by a quick cut to the outside of the building, which is struck by lightning as we hear an evil laugh. Cue the credits.
Would there have been a “Poltergeist IV” if O’Rourke had not died? Oh, yeah. I think it’s safe to say that there would’ve been…but, then, I think it’s also safe to say that it would’ve been even less of a must-see than either of these sequels.
