Hey, remember when Hollywood made original films? No? True, it has been awhile. Instead the powers that be continue to recycle and reuse ideas and plot devices from the movie-making days of yore, preferring to spend money on reboots, remakes, and sequels rather than actually come up with something unique. The most recent entry into the ‘unnecessary remakes’ genre is Poltergeist, which finally has a release date for 2015.
The Poltergeist remake will semi-update the original 1982 film from Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg. This time, a family having money troubles relocates to an outdated suburban home, where a spirit kidnaps their youngest daughter. The plot is fairly close to the original, although I suppose we can maybe expect a few new scares. I certainly hope so, otherwise what’s the point?
This new Poltergeist will likely be a bit bloodier and more violent than the original, if the current trend in horror movie-making is anything to go by. With a screenplay by David Lindsay-Abaire, Juliet Snowden and Stiles White, and an impressive cast that includes Jared Harris and Sam Rockwell, there’s a good chance that this one will be worth seeing … if you can get past the fact that the original film is a classic and does not really need an update.
While I’m skeptical about a Poltergeist remake, there’s nothing to do but grin and bear it. We can only hope that a good cast and a good script will keep this one from being tossed onto the heap of other Hollywood remakes that no one ever wanted or needed.
You can let us know what you think about this latest remake by commenting below. Is the new Poltergeist going to be worth the price of admission?
Poltergeist will make its presence known on February 13, 2015 (that’s Friday the 13th, you know).