And there’s a new project on Kickstarter that is the first I’ve felt compelled to support. Harbinger Down is a practical effects creature film that aims to be completely free from CGI and praise the old-school practical effects and it’s being created by the guys behind the effects in Alien, Tremors, Terminator, Monster Squad, and more. Check out their video. If you like practical effects and creature films like I do, this will probably be funded very quickly. One can hope.

Indiewire is now reporting that Jaws is the best Spielberg movie of all time according to those who voted in their poll. Does that really mean anything? I’ll leave you on your own to answer that question, but I’m always happy when Jaws keeps being relevant. Check out the full article here.

Color choices in film can often be very important to set the mood, keep in line with a certain theme, hint at dream or past sequences, or tell us what the characters are thinking or feeling. Not every detail in every shot is hand picked to match every intention, but it’s fun to think about and explore a bit. I stumbled upon a website called Movies in Color while I was looking for samples of Roger Deakins’ cinematography. It’s a simple site that just takes a still from a film and analyzes the color palette. That’s it. I said it was simple. But it’s the good kind of simple. Below is an example, but if you’re interested at all, head over to the site and see what else there is.

Site: Movies In Color

I have no idea how old I was when I first watched Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist. It’s likely my first horror film experience because it’s one of my earliest movie memories, along with ET. Perhaps my mother will chip in here…

Now that the film is over 30 years old, I’m surprised every time I watch it how much it holds up. Sure, the effects are dated, but by no means bad. The film hits all the right notes, and while it isn’t the scariest film around, it makes up for it with character, mood, and atmosphere. Instead of following the typical Love Affair outline, I’m just going to list, in no particular order, what I love about this film.

1. Suburbia

The setting is distinctly Spielberg. Seriously, some of the exterior shots of the neighborhood had me looking for Elliot on his bicycle. All the houses are the same. All the yards look alike. There are kids playing out in the street (I remember being one of those…), and there’s something both off-putting and a little comforting about the whole thing. Of course there is a message with all of this sameness, which is done to essentially save a buck, which begs the question; what else was compromised to save a few dollars?

But even without the whole morality tale bubbling at the surface, a kid like me could still understand that something isn’t quite right. It’s not just that your neighbor is so close that his remote is controlling your television. The most horrifying thing of all is that your family could be under assault from evil spirits and your neighbors won’t even know anything is going on. The close proximity paired with alienation is chilling.

2. Initial Wonder

The whole chair stacking sequence is great. Carrol Anne is bored with it by the time her father comes home, while mom Diane is having a blast watching some force move the chairs around, even using her own kid as a guinea pig (to her credit, she did strap a football helmet to her head). Of course she explains in detail to her husband how it feels to be moved by this force that she started playing with after breakfast and apparently taken up her whole day. Instead of being completely freaked out, they have a little fun with it. The adults are treated more like kids in this scene while Carrol Anne never really paid much attention. I absolutely love JoBeth William’s acting here; she was fun to watch and completely endearing. Her character was completely lost on me as a kid, which makes me so completely happy to be able to revisit films and find new things to love.

3. Quick Acceptance

So there’s an earthquake and a charred hole in the wall above the bed and your youngest child declares, “They’re here” in the middle of the night. This is a strange thing to wake up to, for sure, and Steve (Craig T. Nelson) is out asking questions about earthquakes the next day. It’s clear something strange has happened, but there’s nothing obvious enough yet to really think you’re in danger, right? But the next night, during another storm, a giant ass tree breaks through the bedroom glass and snags your son and tries to eat him. Both parents witness this and never question it. They don’t have time to. As soon as they’re back in the house, Carrol Ann is gone with the room’s belongings piled up against the closet like a black hole existed there momentarily. But then Carol Anne’s voice is heard through the television and we cut to Steve meeting with paranormal specialists (hobbyists, really). There is no dialog with the main character trying to come to grips with what’s going on. There’s no second doubts as Steve admits he had zero intentions of getting the police involved.

Modern films might assume that the audience wouldn’t be able to buy into the characters freely accepting what just happened. Think of most modern day television or film where something crazy happens and I bet there’s almost always someone there to act the skeptic. That shit kills me! How many times have I yelled at Scully for deliberately playing dumb in the X-Files? Unless you’re deliberately trying to set up a mystery, and the possibility of doubt is essential, don’t assume your audience can’t make the jump along with your characters. This is a film called Poltergeist, the audience is already primed. Thanks for not wasting our time.

4. Zelda

Freaky little Zelda Rubinstein. She may or may not have been critical to saving Carrol Anne, but she sure as hell screwed the pooch when she declared the house was clean. Regardless of her inability to fully do her job, she’s one crazy fun character who provided some great atmosphere. She delivers her lines perfectly and pulls you in to the moment. This is Poltergeist at its greatest, with Zelda whispering about the alternate planes of existence, and how Carrol Anne is a light in the darkness, but there’s another presence:

Now hold on to yourselves… There’s one more thing. A terrible presence is in there with her. So much rage, so much betrayal, I’ve never sensed anything like it. I don’t know what hovers over this house, but it was strong enough to punch a hole into this world and take your daughter away from you. It keeps Carol Anne very close to it and away from the spectral light. It LIES to her, it tells her things only a child could understand. It has been using her to restrain the others. To her, it simply IS another child. To us, it is the BEAST.

Right on, Zelda, right on.

5. Go Into The Light

This is one that got me with my most recent viewing. Go into the light is one of the better known quotes in the movie, and as a kid I remember being a little confused on whether the light was good or bad for Carrol Anne. Regardless, it was still effective because the idea that an expert like Tangina and a hobbyist like Dr. Lesh didn’t know anything for certain is terrifying. Can you imagine your daughter being sought after by some spirit beast and your only expert can only guess?

As an adult (even without kids) I have a whole new appreciation for the scene where Tangina is asking Steve to scold his daughter and then making Diane beg her daughter to head to the light, knowing that the light isn’t actually safe for Carrol Anne. Having to scold a child who is in great peril, your own child mind you, is incredibly hard to fathom. And then deceiving her into thinking the light was safe while knowing it is not is crazy. Again, I’m not a parent, but this to me was the emotional core of the film. I’ll admit I get choked up from time to time, I can be overly effected by melodrama, but this is the only time I can remember getting choked up during a horror film. This is certainly not my manliest moment, but this is one of the great powers of cinema, right? To feel emotion? I can totally feel the conflict in Steve and Diane in this scene, not to mention the anger towards Tangina and the powerlessness of not knowing what’s best for your own child. How awful a feeling that would be, and how totally effective it is in this film.

6. 1982

I’ve written before on the amazing run of films during the Summer of 1982, so I don’t need to rehash this except to say this is a great film in a season of great films. But this is also the 80′s, and while it’s early 80′s, it doesn’t feel like it’s shedding off the 70′s like some other films. This is quintessential 80′s through and through. Part of it is the pop culture references. Robbie has Yoda placed firmly next to his pillow with Darth Vader on his headboard and when he covers up the creepy clown, he does so with an image of Chewbacca. Not to mention C-3P0 is his light switch and his sheets are Star Wars. While it borders on exclusiveness, I remember having many of the same toys in my bedroom at this time.

Carrol Anne, in one of my favorite scenes, is chewing on a Luke Skywalker figuring while sliding her decapitated doll’s head back down toward its body. A little surreal, but somehow perfect for the time. There is an element of excess here. The kids have just about everything they want. When the pet bird dies, they immediately get fish. There are toys everywhere. The television is always on. Thematically, this goes hand in hand with the suburbanization element, but again, this is the 80′s without a doubt.

7. Freakin’ Trees!

Tapping into one of those universal childhood fears; trees, and tree shadows, especially in a storm, can be scarier than anything. There is no rational reason to be scared of trees, but they do weird things in shadow form and sometimes they just look like they’re hiding Jason and his machete. Freaky conspiring trees.

8. Freakin’ Clowns!

Maybe clowns are a horror cliche, but they’re a horror cliche for a reason. It works! Why the hell would Robbie have that clown in his room, anyway? I remember having things like that and I hid that shit in the closet! Not under the bed, in the closet! Only nice toys are allowed under the bed.

9. The Directing Controversy

You’ve probably heard the rumor that Spielberg is the real director of Poltergeist and that Tobe Hooper was more than a little pushed aside at some point during film making. Certain actors, like Zelda Rubinstein, have gone on record to say that Spielberg is the one who directed them. Spielberg himself, along with Tobe Hooper, have denied such a claim.

Regardless of who directed or how much, Spielberg is all over this film and without him I’m sure it would have been a mediocre horror flick. Not taking anything away from Tobe Hooper, who has proven himself to be pretty good in the horror movie business, but Poltergeist isn’t really his kind of material.

But if the rumors are true, if Tobe Hooper was just kind of along for the ride, the implications for Spielberg are huge! He would have had to direct two films simultaneously. That isn’t really an impossible feat, but it sure makes it sound unlikely. Still, when I look at this behind the scenes picture taken during the filming of both E.T. and Poltergeist, I can’t help but smile and accept that it was Spielberg all the time. Just because I want it to be.

10. Technology Horror Used to Work

It’s funny to think of it now, but the analog snow on the television channel was once a sign of our increasing technology. Television and multiple channels were signs of the future! But this was made at a time when stations hadn’t yet committed to their broadcasts and didn’t actually program for 24 hours. See, kids? A history lesson! If Poltergeist were made today (and holy hell I hope the remake gets canned) it would feature the internet. Or maybe a cell phone. Or a roomba. That could actually be fun.

Regardless, tech horror doesn’t seem to work as well anymore without it seeming gimmicky. But Poltergeist, perhaps because it’s really pretty old or because I’m also old, doesn’t seem gimmicky at all. It’s also partly because the television wasn’t really dwelled upon in the film. Other than the family kicking their hotel room TV to the curb, there doesn’t seem to be any real focus on the tech, and the paranormal hobbyists suggest the television is just a conduit. But the audience has generally seemed to relate the television to some sort of theme. How many times did I say “They’re here!” when there was any static on the television at all? Is Poltergeist a tech horror or not? I’m not sure I have a definitive answer.

Bonus:

As a fun little bonus, I got a nice laugh out of the forum thread on IMDB titled 100 Things We Learned from Poltergeist. These things almost always crack me up. Take a look if you get a chance.

And while I’m sharing secrets, here’s another one: I used to also think math hated me. And yet I now find myself advising science majors, training math tutors, and occasionally writing about movie math. Go figure. Things have a way of coming around if you give it long enough. But enough sharing of secrets, I have another video to present! It’s not mine. I found it through gizmodo.com and it’s called: Hollywood Hates Math.