Poltergeist

Many people are willing to claim that that 1980s churned out the best horror movies, Indeed, the likes of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Evil Dead emerged but after less than successful sequels and remakes, they might become trite as time wears on. (There's a reason why there's a constant debate between original works and their remakes.)

With Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist, it spawned two sequels and more recently a remake. But none of them even remotely compare to the original. Even after numerous parodies, it still packs one hell of a punch (emphasis on "hell").

Mind you, there's still an ongoing debate as to whom was the one running the show: Hooper or produced Steven Spielberg. Yes, there are aspects throughout Poltergeist that are also found in various Spielberg titles but bear in mind he had a hand in the script so that could possibly explain away some things.

That doesn't make Poltergeist any less scarier, not in the least. This is one of several horror films to have a lasting legacy, the kind that endures homages and parodies in the years to come. Usually such an impact weakens the original work because of said homages and parodies. But that's not the case here.

Poltergeist most definitely has had an impact on both Hollywood and those who have seen it. (There's a reason for why the PG-13 rating came about a few years after its release.) And be honest, show of hands: how many of you saw this at a young age and were basically scarred for life afterwards?

My Rating: ****1/2