This was destined to be a classic from the moment Steven Spielberg began putting this down on paper. He doesn't direct, only write and produce (still not an easy feat), and the direction of Tobe Hooper is outstanding at keeping Spielberg's vision alive. It's the story of a modern southern California home built over a gravesite which leads to the ghostly experiences occurring that result in young Heather O'Rourke disappearing inti the abyss. Mom JoBeth Williams and pop Craig T. Nelson bring in a group of paranormal experts (lead by Beatrice Straight) but it's poltergeist expert Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) who seems to have the power to deal with it and get O'Rourke's Carol Ann back.
For anyone who's ever gone into a park late at night and thought that the trees looked like evil beings, that began to believe that their toys were possessed or found old cemeteries fascinating, this is a magical ride of good vs. evil that they won't soon forget. There's a legend already behind the making of this, and in nearing its fortieth anniversary, that legend is as powerfully spooky as the film itself. Every moment of this film is powerful and feels so modern in the realm of the spirit world and in its making. The timeliness of this hasn't ages at all.
With growing tension from the moment that O'Rourke sneaks downstairs and tries to engage with something in the TV's static (following the end of the broadcast day, the one untimely reference in the film), this builds to something that in spite if the evil involved is breathtakingly beautiful, almost like a ballet in how it is presented. Every prop in the film becomes an element of evil vision, and you'll never look at a clown doll or a walking robot toy or an empty swimming pool covered in muck the same way again.
I only looked away once upon seeing this again for the first time in many years, knowing what was going to transpire with one of the paranormal experts when he went into the kitchen to make a steak. The acting is very natural yet intense with Nelson and Williams play and parents who are actually real people beyond their role as dad and mom, and Oscar winning Straight is quite touching. But the ground breaking performances by O'Rourke and Rubinstein are the heart and soul of the film, although it's haunting for the memory of teen actress Dominic Dunne whose tragic end was just one obstacle the film faced after the conclusion of the filming. The music by Jerry Goldsmith is a plus, and the special effects are simply glorious. This is one horror classic, a triumph in modern cinema, that is worth seeing over and over.
For anyone who's ever gone into a park late at night and thought that the trees looked like evil beings, that began to believe that their toys were possessed or found old cemeteries fascinating, this is a magical ride of good vs. evil that they won't soon forget. There's a legend already behind the making of this, and in nearing its fortieth anniversary, that legend is as powerfully spooky as the film itself. Every moment of this film is powerful and feels so modern in the realm of the spirit world and in its making. The timeliness of this hasn't ages at all.
With growing tension from the moment that O'Rourke sneaks downstairs and tries to engage with something in the TV's static (following the end of the broadcast day, the one untimely reference in the film), this builds to something that in spite if the evil involved is breathtakingly beautiful, almost like a ballet in how it is presented. Every prop in the film becomes an element of evil vision, and you'll never look at a clown doll or a walking robot toy or an empty swimming pool covered in muck the same way again.
I only looked away once upon seeing this again for the first time in many years, knowing what was going to transpire with one of the paranormal experts when he went into the kitchen to make a steak. The acting is very natural yet intense with Nelson and Williams play and parents who are actually real people beyond their role as dad and mom, and Oscar winning Straight is quite touching. But the ground breaking performances by O'Rourke and Rubinstein are the heart and soul of the film, although it's haunting for the memory of teen actress Dominic Dunne whose tragic end was just one obstacle the film faced after the conclusion of the filming. The music by Jerry Goldsmith is a plus, and the special effects are simply glorious. This is one horror classic, a triumph in modern cinema, that is worth seeing over and over.