Poltergeist

It's Baaaaaaack!! Can you believe it!? Another reboot? In the summer season? No way! Yes way! How mant reboots do we have to see before we, the audience, says, "I mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore"? Well, at least one more and it's in the form of "Poltergeist". Yes, that reboot based on the 1982 classic which spawned many sequels.

This is a comtemporized version of the 1982 classic tale about a family, couple--Eric Bowen (Sam Rockwell) and Amy Bowen (Rosemarie DeWitt) and kids, Kendra (Saxon Sharbind), Griffin (Kyle Catlett) and Madison (Kennedi Clements) whose suburban home is invaded by angry, mischievous spirits otherwise known as poltergeists. When the terrifying apparitions escalate their attacks and take the youngest daughter, Madison, the family must come together to rescue her. How do they achieve this? First they contact a paranormal group from the town's university headed up by Dr. Brooke Powell (Jane Adams) and when they continue having problems, the family decides to contact a TV ghost hunter, Carrigan Burke (Jared Harris) to assist in this venture.

Others to round out the cast are Susan Heyward as Sophie, Nicholas Braun as Boyd, Karen Many as Mrs. Stoller and Patrick Garrow as Mr. Stoller.

This was executed with precision by Gil Kenan ("Monster House" '06, "City of Ember" '08). I say precision, because he was able to copy Spielberg's original style of direction as though he was standing behind Spielberg back in '82 watching him direct the original. Kenan's job with "Monster House" was so scary that also watching this, it's not tough to believe that he could pull this off. It was written by veteran screenwriter, David Lindsay-Abaire ("Robots" '05, "Inkheart" '08, "Rabbit Hole" '10, "Rise of the Guardians" '12, "Oz the Great and Powerful" '13). Even though he is a seasoned writer, why he took this on is beyond my comprehension. It's a reboot! With his talent as a writer, one would think he would want to produce something more original. He probably wrote this in his sleep. Don't get me wrong, this isn't bad, it's just not great, but one that's a nifty homage to the original if one is either too young or if you never watched the original on the big screen. Truly, as with the original, the real stars are the visual effects supervisors and sound effects designers. This film, as also with the original, pulls out all the stops and throws everything at you especially nearing the end. It's kind of like watching a 4th of July fireworks display, and at the end they throw all the rest of the fireworks up in the sky simultaneously.

If you were a fan of the original, you will be in poltergeist heaven. This new family is equally believable as the Bowen family. But even if this story is not your cup of tea, the visuals and sound effects will keep you on that proverbial edge of the seat.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                   Rated: PG-13                                   93mins.