Series Overview:
The Poltergeist movies, as a whole, seem to be about the strength of a family bond. Most haunted house pictures, at least moderns ones, tend to skew toward themes about the dissolution of domestic perfection, so heavily sold to America in the 1950s. By the 1980s, divorce rates had skyrocketed, and the nuclear family exploded. Steven Spielberg, the rank sentimentalist that he is, stepped in at this point with a fistful of hearty optimism. The family, he says, is not only okay, but will be the thing to save us from America’s dark past. As a nation we have committed genocide and created several bizarre twisted versions of Christianity that have harmed people. But we have also hung onto old notions of homes and families and love, and that will ultimately be our salvation.
This is an odd message from a series of films whose primary reputation seems to be associated with childhood trauma and actors dying. Poltergeist is still, to this very day, utterly terrifying. Even as an adult, it gives me the jibblies. The first sequel is fair, and the second one is just bad. But the themes of family are always in place, and never seem force or lazy. Well, at least not until Nancy Allen begins weeping.
Can one call Poltergeist a “classic?” Maybe. Many people know it, and many kids have been scared by it, and it does seem to possess a good deal of pop culture clout. But that doesn’t mean it has cultural heft the same way, say, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial does? Here’s my theory: E.T. and Poltergeist are dark mirrors of one another. One, only written and produced by Spielberg, and features a happy suburban family who is invaded by malevolent and evil forces. The other was directed by Spielberg, and features a very similar suburban family being invaded by a wholly benevolent and empathetic creature. Similar in tone, similar in senses of humor, similar characters. One is Hell and the other is Heaven.
And, satisfyingly, the family survives in both movies. The family unit is strong enough to survive Hell and to contemplate Heaven.
Just my analysis. What do you think?
Be sure to come back next week, for The Series Project will start down the month-long path of all of the Halloween movies. The time has come, my little slashers.
Witney Seibold is a featured contributor on the CraveOnline Film Channel, co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. You can read his weekly articles Trolling, Free Film School and The Series Project, and follow him on “Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind.
