Review of Poltergeist (2015) by Kate H — 29 Nov 2015

I give you the text book example of "I was expecting this unnecessary remake to be absolutely abhorrent. Fortunately it was not that bad but it was not good either. Remind me why this exists again?".

It was an acceptable way to kill an evening. There's nothing new or different done (of course) to have this remake have a reason for existing but it's almost like being on a semi-decent roller coaster: the name is dumb but hey it wasn't so bad for you to stick in your memory nor is it good enough either.

We've changed the plot enough to give a bit of tension in the house - father has been laid off and for some reason is really, really against his wife looking for work as well. The kids are pretty cookie cutter. Oldest daughter is disinterested and snotty, younger sister (the 'Carol-Ann' character) is adorable. The brother's role is more fleshed out here than in the original, which adds a nice little touch as the film hits its climax. But overall, the major landmarks are hit in pretty predictable ways or in ways that are mediocre variations of it.

Yes, I really love the original so I'm being quite harsh here. I'm really just more thankful that it wasn't an utter travesty.