Review of Poltergeist (2015) by Thequietgamer — 18 Feb 2016

Most horror movie remakes are downright awful. They usually fail to capture any of the magic of the original or bring any worthwhile new ideas to the table. That isn't so much the case here. It's got a few cool new ideas. but ultimately it's definitely not as good as the original. However rather than being awful what we have is more of a boring affair.

It's most exciting moments are when it is recreating scenes from the original with it's own twists. These scenes bring back fond memories of the original, but don't really make much of an impression on their own, with the exception of the clown scene.

Part of what made the original Poltergeist so fantastic was the characters. They were likable, real, and made us care about them. There are some talented actors playing these new interpretations of them, and they do have some real world problems and interactions. The problem is that they feel just like the average modern horror movie protagonists. By that I mean they feel like faceless character types with no depth created for the sole purpose of screaming at scary stuff.

Considering this is a horror movie, one of the most important aspects I need to touch on when reviewing it is whether or not it is scary. It's not. Creepy specters show their ugly faces and people get grabbed, but there's never a sense of fear or urgency from the film. This might be partly due to the fact that many of us have seen the original. This remake doesn't deviate too far from it so those of us who have seen it already know what's going to happen.

That being said, I doubt those experiencing Poltergeist for the first time this way are likely to be frightened. It's pretty tame and by the numbers. At least it doesn't rely on jump scares, so there's that.

Honestly I just recommend watching the original. This remake isn't bad and has a talented cast. Some of the original's humor finds it's way here as well. None of that changes the fact that this is still a pretty boring horror movie that's devoid of any frights. It's not as bad as most horror movie remakes, and honestly it isn't really that bad at all. However none of that changes the fact that there are plenty of more entertaining options out there, as well as the infinitely superior original. If you've already exhausted your other options though, this isn't that bad.