This semester I was lucky enough to be cast in the incredible role of Eleanor Vance in the BU Wandering Minds radio play of The Haunting of Hill House. We’ve been working on the production for a few weeks now, leading up to a live reading on Halloween night (and a podcast after that!). Spending rehearsals acting alternately disturbed and terrified, it hasn’t been hard to get into a spooky mood. With the horrors of that house already on my mind, another “haunted” house came into the picture just a couple of weeks after I was cast. So, here’s the Bitchin’ Bio on Poltergeist.
Release Date: June 4, 1982
Synopsis: A force is disturbed in the Freeling household, and Steve’s (Craig T. Nelson) and Diane’s (JoBeth Williams) youngest child, Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke), begins talking to something in the family’s TV set. Phenomena such as chairs moving into strange configurations on their own escalate to more dangerous disturbances, and Carol Anne is kidnapped into a spirit dimension. With the help of reinforcements, her parents must try to figure out the reason for these occurrences and get their daughter back, while also hoping to keep their son, Robbie (Oliver Robins), and eldest daughter, Dana (Dominique Dunne), free from harm.
How I Watched It: Netflix
Come For: A classic horror movie with an amazing, eerie performance by 7-year-old Heather O’Rourke. Somehow, Carol Anne is even better in the parts when we can only hear her voice. Sadly, the three original Poltergeist movies were O’Rourke’s only feature films before she passed away at age 12.
Stay For: Zelda. Rubinstein. The actress is impeccable as medium Tangina Barrons. Though her character’s explanation of what Carol Anne is experiencing is terrifying, Rubinstein’s performance somehow calms you and makes you trust her implicitly. I don’t think another actress could’ve pulled off the role in the same way.
Had I Seen It? No, it was another one on my long list of movies to watch.
Did I Like It? Yes! Even though I’d had a few of the movie’s most striking special effects moments spoiled for me before I finally saw it, they still did not disappoint. Also, I managed to have forgotten whatever else I’d read about the plot during the years, so I was able to be surprised by most of it.
Since I was younger and read A Wrinkle in Time, I’ve been creeped out by housing developments where all the houses look exactly the same. I must say that Poltergeist’s setting was perfect at solidifying my unease. When big scares aren’t happening, this movie’s general sense of foreboding keeps you aware that something could go wrong at any second, which is so much scarier.
With great acting, a great story, and the Spielberg stamp of approval, Poltergeist is a fantastic movie, perfect for this or any time of year.
For now, keep away from TVs and keep an eye on your clown dolls. Next week, Something Wicked This Way Comes…
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