Poltergeist was Gil Kenan's third directorial after City Of Ember and Monster House. I remember that City Of Ember wasn't fantastic but it was still entertaining. I've never seen Monster House but that was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature for 2006.
So why was Poltergeist so atrocious?
If this movie came out in the 80's, like the original, maybe it would have been more enjoyable.
The whole movie was crippled by so much silliness that it did not belong in this century. Half the time you would be kept wondering why were the characters doing the things they were doing. Nicholas Braun's character was the worst addition and the most guilty of all things silliness. Why would he stick his arm into a hole made by the poltergeist? Why?
And now I know Sam Rockwell does take on project just for the money as well. This was it. His role was undemanding and inconsistent. But I blame this mostly on the director. The whole family were nowhere near distraught as they should have been when their daughter has been taken to another plane of reality. Read that again: Taken to another plane of reality. And yet they went on conversing and joking with no sense of worry.
If I had to find a good performance in here it would have to be Jared Harris. He's got that onscreen presence as a spirit hunter, so to speak. Even though it wasn't a character that needed a spin-off or sequel (read that properly, Ghost House Pictures and Vertigo Entertainment!), at least he didn't put me to sleep.
The story progression was a crawl. The scares and CGI were ho-hum and lame. The best scene in this movie would still be the little girl being dragged up the stairs. The tipping point for the whole family to believe in the poltergeist was unconvincing. There were more questions after watching the movie and that's never a good sign, unless you're Inception and answers could be found in multiple viewings.
This was a horrible remake. And the trailers showed just how bad the movie was going to be.
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