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Poltergeist

Play trailer Poster for Poltergeist PG 1982 1h 54m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 80 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Strange and creepy happenings beset an average California family, the Freelings -- Steve (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), teenaged Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old Robbie (Oliver Robins), and five-year-old Carol Ann (Heather O'Rourke) -- when ghosts commune with them through the television set. Initially friendly and playful, the spirits turn unexpectedly menacing, and, when Carol Ann goes missing, Steve and Diane turn to a parapsychologist and eventually an exorcist for help.
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Poltergeist

Poltergeist

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Critics Consensus

Smartly filmed, tightly scripted, and -- most importantly -- consistently frightening, Poltergeist is a modern horror classic.

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Critics Reviews

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Wendy Ide The Times (UK) 10/23/2023
... A masterclass in creeping suburban horror. Go to Full Review
Kevin Maher The Times (UK) 10/21/2022
4/5
One of the great anti-TV movies, alongside Network and The Truman Show. Go to Full Review
Peter Bradshaw Guardian 10/21/2022
5/5
The keynote of the film is O’Rourke’s eerie, ethereally pale face, illuminated by the unearthly light of the haunted TV. Go to Full Review
Rachel Wagner Rachel's Reviews (YouTube) Oct 28
They do a great job building tension with some effective scares Go to Full Review
Bryce Hanson Horror Movie Talk Sep 18
10/10
It really has something for everyone. It’s accessible enough to general audiences that don’t want to see gore, or be constantly scared out of their gore, but it has enough scares and good special effects to satisfy most horror fanatics. Go to Full Review
Patrick Cavanaugh The Wolfman Cometh Sep 11
4/5
The major scares stuck with audiences for good reason, though it's the family dynamics that really make this one a classic. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Fred 10/13/2024 Man, this is a GOOD movie. Nowadays I only hope for solidly mediocre. No boring parts. Great character development. Freely, but not too gory, we'll except for one dream sequence where a guy tears his own face off. Very California 1980s growing up - R.C. Cars, T.V. remotes new technology, Televisions going off air at night after the National Anthem, etc See more geminielsy 10/13/2024 One of the best movies it still gave me the chills. See more jessie 07/18/2022 Classic 🤌🏽 not too spooky 👍🏽 See more Stanny R @StannyMC 5h The Poltergeist is perhaps the best paranormal film ever made. The insane effects and destruction is fantastic and it’s all throughout which is great. Amazing performances from all involved, particularly a very young Heather O’Rourke who seems natural in the role of Carol Anne, "they’re here" is one of the most iconic lines in horror. Highly recommend, it’s a classic. See more Bret M. @BretM-3 4d A lot of people love this movie. It's pretty good, but I don't like this movie the way most people do. I have one major complaint: IT'S SO SLOW. If you look up slow burn in the dictionary, this movie would be listed under examples. There are such long stretches where nothing happens. No ghosts, no poltergeists, and no hauntings. During one of these long stretches, I almost fell asleep, I was that bored. But the scenes where something is actually happening I thought were really cool. Also, I think it's misleading to call this a horror film. It has horror elements, but it feels more like a spooky movie the whole family can watch. The only part of this movie that was really scary were the clown scenes. Have to admit that the final part of the movie is good. The effects look pretty good for a movie from 1982. The acting is good but nothing to really rave about. The plot reminds me of a simpler version of Insidious. Final thoughts: The movie is good if you can make it past the boring parts. See more Carlos I @carlosFibarra Feb 11 Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist is an absolute classic that remains one of the most effective entries in the horror genre. While film buffs love to debate the behind-the-scenes "creative influence" of producer Steven Spielberg, it doesn't matter who actually directed it; the end result is a solid haunted house film that serves as a better family drama than most non-horror features of its era. See more Read all reviews
Poltergeist

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Movie Info

Synopsis Strange and creepy happenings beset an average California family, the Freelings -- Steve (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), teenaged Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old Robbie (Oliver Robins), and five-year-old Carol Ann (Heather O'Rourke) -- when ghosts commune with them through the television set. Initially friendly and playful, the spirits turn unexpectedly menacing, and, when Carol Ann goes missing, Steve and Diane turn to a parapsychologist and eventually an exorcist for help.
Director
Tobe Hooper
Producer
Frank Marshall
Screenwriter
Michael Grais, Mark Victor
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Rating
PG
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 4, 1982, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 1, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA)
$121.8M
Runtime
1h 54m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo, Dolby
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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