ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

George Wright Poltergeist is an entertaining movie with good acting, a pleasant family and touches of humour but the horror scenes didn't deliver much impact.The storyline of a real estate agent, his homemaker wife, and three kids in a new suburban development built over a cemetery is the perfect setting for a horror movie. Unfortunately, the movie just didn't register on the fright meter. Beatrice Straight, the woman scorned in the movie Network, was the main paranormal. Excellent theatrical voice and expressive eyes.The whole movie had an undercurrent of humour and human warmth typical of writer Stephen Spielberg's early movies. I find it hard to watch a movie today with Craig Nelson without cracking a smile. Together with Jo Beth Williams, they reminded me of 1950's TV parents, the Nelsons or the Cleavers.There is a certain nostalgia about the movie as I look back at middle class parents in the era just before mobile phones, the internet and other shifts in the social landscape. That is what stayed with me after viewing this movie. An interesting period movie but not quite up to expectations.

paulclaassen This is a true classic. The haunting starts innocently and is initially seen as 'fun' by some of the family members, but then soon turns dangerous and scary. This is a very effective set-up that prepares us for what is to come. The characters a very likable, especially Craig T. Nelson as the cool and collected Dad; and Heather O'Rourke was equally good as the film's main victim. The visual effects were really good. The film did get quite weird towards the end, but it was all good and well within the film's theme.

zaremskya-23761 This movie was eerie to watch. Spielberg is usually about big, dramatic things and loud noises but this movie was subtle, creepy, and disturbing. He did it all very well too.A house is haunted, and a little girl and her family are harassed by malevolent spirits. Pretty standard horror, but Spielberg adds his own style to the mix and the result is pretty good.The family element adds a lot to the film too. In lots of horror films, it's usually just one or two people being haunted. Here it's a whole family. Maybe that does happen a lot, but Spielberg makes movies for the whole family quite a bit so maybe that's why it works well here.Horror fans should like this. Haunted house fans too. Spielberg fans will enjoy the auteur working outside his normal range.

alfCycle This is a fairly fun, entertaining movie. It has lots of memorable moments that many will have seen referenced throughout pop culture. I did not see this film as a kid. If I had, I probably would have been pretty freaked out by it. However, watching for the first time as an adult, I can't really say that any part of this movie was particularly scary or creepy to me. It came across more like a fun spookfest than a horror movie. I would say this is closer in tone to something like Beetlejuice than it is to The Exorcist. I guess it's somewhere in the middle, which probably makes me give it a lukewarm review. Not creepy enough to be that scary. Not goofy enough to be that funny. I felt the beginning had that sense of wonder that you get from a Spielberg film. I know he didn't direct it, but you can definitely notice his influence on the direction of this movie. However, that feeling seemed to disappear along with the daughter. Overall, this is a pretty good movie that you can have fun with. Just don't go in expecting something scary.6/10************SPOILERS************Recommended for those that enjoy creepy children, creepy clowns, creepy trees, creepy tvs, creepy meats, creepy self stacking furniture, spontaneous face melting, spontaneous grave popping, spontaneous house folding, inter-dimensional closet portals, giant closet heads, ectoplasmic mud baths, remote control feuds......but that's just like, my opinion, man# Of Times Watched: Once