POLTERGEIST (1982) MOVIE REACTION AND REVIEW! FIRST TIME WATCHING!

POLTERGEIST (1982) MOVIE REACTION AND REVIEW! FIRST TIME WATCHING! Polls, early access and full reactions on Patreon / reelreviewswithjen Watch me watch this 1982 horror movie, Poltergeist , in this first time watching reaction video! Poltergeist tells the story of a family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.
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The film was directed by Tobe Hooper and written by Steven Spielberg. Poltergeist stars JoBeth Williams as Diane Freeling, Heather O'Rourke as Carol Anne Freeling, Beatrice Straight as Dr. Lesh,
Craig T. Nelson as Steve Freeling, Oliver Robins as Robbie Freeling, Dominique Dunne as Dana Freeling, Michael McManus as Ben Tuthill, Virginia Kiser as Mrs. Tuthill, James Karen
as Mr. Teague and Zelda Rubinstein as Tangina.
Check out this first time watching horror reaction video for Poltergeist, and see if I can make it as a horror movie rookie. Horror is a genre I've barely explored, mostly because I'm a huge wuss. Typically my Halloween movie viewings consist of Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown. This year I decided to expand my horror movie knowledge and try and watch these horror movie fan favourites.
Check out my first time watching this 1982 horror movie, Poltergeist, and enjoy my reaction video! Don't forget to like and subscribe for more videos! If you have suggestions for other horror movies I should watch, comment below!
#poltergeist #moviereaction #firsttimewatching #horrormovies #scarymovies #horrorreaction #firsttimewatchinghorror #reactionvideo #halloween #tobehooper #80shorror
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[@ReelReviewsWithJen]

Don't forget to check out my Horror Movie themed notebooks for Spooky Season! - www.amazon.com/shop/reelreviewswithjen

[@2apocalypsex]

The spirit the goes down the stairs is actually a benevolent spirit known in the novelization calling herself “she who waits/The Lady in Waiting” and explains that she watches over the lost souls that The Beast is holding at bay. Also Poltergeist was originally supposed to feature evil aliens instead of evil ghosts and was initially titled Night Skies. You should definitely read the novel, as it adds so much more to the characters and the overall story then is shown in the movie. There is an audiobook version on KZbin that you can check out when you have the time. I hope you react to Poltergeist 2 The Other Side as well. It's definitely an underrated sequel

[@kylereese4822]

It`s based on a real family and the events that happened to them 20+ years earlier...

[@mikesilva3868]

@@kylereese4822 interesting info 👻

[@perapelman7687]

Where can I read about this,sounds interesting😀

[@perapelman7687]

Kyle Reese-hi,where can I read about this,sounds interesting😊

[@TheMKCrab]

JoBeth Williams' performance really sells this movie. I don't think I've ever seen mortal terror portrayed so convincingly as she does it in the moment when the Beast appears in front of her.

[@wumpscutx1]

Sadly Dominique Dunne was murdered about 5 months after this movie was released and Heather O'Rourke passed away at just 12 years old in 1988 😞

[@stefanforrer2573]

yeah, just wanted to comment after jen said "nice hickey", that's sadly not a hickey, that's a bruise they forgot to cover up caused by her abusive boyfriend who later proceeded to murder her 😕

[@spiritscar]

Another great horror movie to see staring the actor James Karen, who plays Mr. Teague. “Return of the Living Dead” from 1985 This film is unique and something special that stands apart from other horror movies and even movies of the living dead genre. And James Karen is phenomenal in it.

[@wumpscutx1]

Return of the Living Dead is AMAZING. Love that movie and James Karen is so good in it. One of my fav zombie films. 👍

[@McPh1741]

I’ve been throwing that movie at her for a while now. Maybe one day.

[@KabukiKid]

Return of the Living Dead is a blast! Definitely worth watching and reacting to. Fun trivia about that movie... it is the very first time zombies are portrayed as specifically craving brains. Prior to that, they just ate flesh. Now the brains thing is a very standard zombie trope.

[@darkdg4106]

I want a "Hey that's the name of the movie" coffee mug.

[@WoncoTheSane]

Same

[@tremorsfan]

I want bonked 'em on a t-shirt.

[@Bruce-Wayne79]

This movie also teaches us a valuable lesson, To not build homes over a cemetery or Indian Burial grounds. Or clown things will happen lol.

[@Cbcw76]

Or, once a child is rescued, don't take off yer clothes, soak in the tub and pretend all is well. GO. LEAVE NOW. DON'T COME BACK.

[@mnomadvfx]

That particular clown was under Derry long before the European colonists arrived - the native tribes knew better than to venture too close to it.

[@mnomadvfx]

@@Cbcw76 First get every holy/spiritual person you can find to bless the place and then burn it to the ground. When they left the house was swallowed up, but the entity was still there.

[@joshsteinjohnston3887]

"What are you worried about? It isn't ancient Indian burial ground, it's just.....people😏"

[@fynnthefox9078]

I'm gonna do that, because I like clown things happening.

[@traceyreid4585]

Great reaction and commentary to this... as a mum the scene when Carol Anne was distressed and crying for her mum was definitely emotional! I think the grey streak in the mothers hair was a result of shock

[@ubit397]

Agreed. That comes from an old superstition involving hair turning or streaking white or grey from extreme fright or being touched by death. It's sort of passe now, but it was a bit more prevalent in popular culture in 1982.

[@Emburbujada]

If you remember Buffy's episode "I Only Have Eyes For You", they reference the scene with the guy's face falling to pieces when Cordelia is in the bathroom and something similar happens to her. I'm sure someone's already said it, but the reason the skeletons in the pool look so real is that they are real!

[@2apocalypsex]

Something that just popped in my head that I find interesting is that In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre just like in Poltergeist Tobey Hooper also used real skeletal remains, and then in The Return of the Living Dead, which was originally going to be directed by Tobey Hooper, the character Frank who is played by James Karen who played Mr. Teague in poltergeist has a scene where he talks about getting skeletons from skeleton farms in India.

[@zosometalgod]

Fun fact For the coffins coming out of the ground scenes Spielberg used real skeletons!

[@misterprickly]

And the mom got very sick, from some of that corpse water getting into her mouth! *XP*

[@douglascampbell9809]

@@misterprickly Not so much from the skeletons. They were bought from a medical supply house so they were clean mounted skeletons from India. They used dermestid beetles that strip away all of the flesh and cartilage of dead tissues leaving the bones spotless. Then they pin the joints.

[@fynnthefox9078]

Back then it was much cheaper to use real corpses over making fake ones.

[@jadeandjesse5908]

There is a novelization of an earlier draft of the script that was written by James Kahn. The amount of insight the novel gives into the events of the film surprised me. They introduce the Tangina character earlier in the novel, showing her psychic abilities actually lead the paranormal researchers to the family's front door step. The family doesn't reach out, the mediums come to them becauss they can sense The Beast. They also have another ghost character in the novel called She Who Waits. She's the female ghost in the dress at the top of the stairs during the staircase scene. If I remember right, the mother is desperately speaking to the TV after they can't hear Carol Anne anymore, but ends up speaking to the ghost of She Who Waits. They're both mothers waiting for their children but the ghost mother doesn't remember who she is or who her child was, so she just waits. It's implied that Carol Anne is being chased in the spirit world, but Tangina mentions that The Beast is pretending to be another child and Carol Anne doesn't know he's dangerous. So in the novel, it's likely the scary ghost chasing her ("Mommy, is that you?") Is actually the ghost of She Who Waits who thinks she's found her lost child. So the daughter is actually fleeing from the embrace of a mother much of the time, unknowingly turning to the Beast for safety. They also acknowledge more origin for The Beast, as they say he is the spirit of a religious leader from the 1700s, he doesn't understand that he has died and now his soul has merged not only with the spirits of his followers who all died with him in a suicide pact, but with the other souls from the cemetery development as well. Now it's like a monster soul that is hundreds of souls fused together being manipulated by a dead cult leader. The strength in numbers of souls is also what I think made the Beast powerful enough to rip a hole between worlds.

[@RR-ho5ek]

I have seen a lot of movies, and there are only two that can still give chills as an adult, the exorcist, and poltergeist. In case you didn't catch it, the tree along with everything else, were just distractions to get Carol anne.

[@44excalibur]

The effect of Diane being dragged along the wall and ceiling of the bedroom was done by having the set built on a gimbal that turns the set upside down. That's how that effect is always done, Jen, including in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

[@44excalibur]

@@Corn_Pone_Flicks Of course. lol How could I forget?

[@TTM9691]

To answer your question: this was originally conceived as a sequel to (the amazing) "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" but was split into two movies: this and "E.T". (both of which were released the same month, June of '82. All the press referred to it as "the Summer Of Spielberg" and every article talked about both movies). Tobe Hooper - who had directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - convinced Spielberg to change the script from an alien abduction story to a haunted house story. Spielberg did half the storyboards and was on set a lot (E.T. was filming on the same set, basically, and pictures show the kids from both casts playing together between takes). He definitely helped with the special effects, bringing the full force of Industrial Light & Magic behind him. But Tobe Hooper directed the actors and set up the shots. It's basically a joint effort.

[@kennethmacgregor-Gregorach]

The Omen from the 70's is a must! :)

[@matthewdunham1689]

I liked the whole trilogy

[@kennethmacgregor-Gregorach]

@@matthewdunham1689 So did I!🙂 not seen anything of the others past #3 though.

[@matthewdunham1689]

@@kennethmacgregor-Gregorach yeah I think there is one with a little girl. Didn't see it although the reboot wasn't bad as far as reboots go.

[@kennethmacgregor-Gregorach]

@@matthewdunham1689 I might have to give it a try some day then.

[@catserver8577]

"I wonder how many kids were afraid of to go in their closet after this." All of them, Jen. All of them.

[@countgeekula9143]

JoBeth Williams is my favourite movie mum. Also no CGI in 1982. The fx are from ILM in their heyday. It's all miniatures/models, optical and physical effects.

[@countgeekula9143]

@@Corn_Pone_Flicks Yeah, the genesis effect in TWOK was quite the thing back then. And of course the fx in The Last Starfighter in '84. It just amuses me how lots of younger people often just assume cool fx probably used CG before CG was properly around.

[@ronaldjeffrey8712]

Fun fact: The skeletons in the pool were real, they were apparently cheaper than plastic ones. Another interesting fact. They didn't bother telling the actress until she was in the pool surrounded by them, so her reaction is quite real.

[@johnfredericks4376]

I was about to make the same exact comment.

[@KabukiKid]

I believe those skeletons also were used in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

[@tremorsfan]

Some say that's why the movie is cursed. Although I don't see why that would be. It's not like they went into a cemetery and started robbing graves.

[@flatcapman]

@@tremorsfan exactly since most of the deaths were a homacide by stalking, a heart attack and the actor who played Kane was TOLD he had cancer before he took the role. Heather's death is malpractice by the LA Hospital. The only curse is how butt ugly that cold b*tch was about Heather's death. Too concerned covering her novice staffs butts on that "Oh my staff did the right thing" How about take off your sunglasses LADY GAGA before saying that to the screen?

[@atti97]

Still amazing horror film after almost 40 years. This is the film was lot of people talk about who really directed. Hopper was directing, but Spielberg told him how was the scenes filming.

[@srpratt1]

The crawling steak was practical (no CGI back then). It was moved by a couple rods along a slot in the counter hidden by the black grout between the tiles. Same with the moving chair. The imploding house was a model rigged with a series of cables that all went into a sort of funnel. the house was on its side and the camera was above it so when the cables were pulled, it ripped apart and all the pieces were "sucked" through the funnel. A very very high speed camera was used to slow down the effect.

[@tremorsfan]

To finish off the shot they blasted the house with a riffles.

[@joshsteinjohnston3887]

The house "imploding" was done by using a model. It's a bit complicated to fully explain, basically the model had "pull away" parts that were connected to wires that were connected to a vacuum. The vacuum pulled parts of the house into a collection sack (to save the difference sections for any reshoots should the effect fail). It only took seconds to shoot, but was filmed at a slower rate to achieve the effect (it's a bit more complicated than I've described, but this is the basic idea). Fun Fact: To this day Spielberg has that house model on his piano in a display case.

[@shainewhite2781]

26:58* That is the reason why the film is cursed: those were real skeletons!

[@lurkerrekrul]

There are two sequels and a remake. There was a show on Showtime called Poltergeist: the Legacy, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the movies. Almost the whole cast returned for the second movie, but only Carol Anne came back for the third film, where she was shipped off to live with Captain Dallas from Alien and Officer Lewis from Robocop (Tom Skerritt & Nancy Allen). Sad trivia: Shortly after this movie, Dominique Dunne was strangled to death by her boyfriend. Heather O'Rourke would die shortly after making Poltergeist 3. She suffered a fatal heart attack brought on by intestinal problems at the age of 12.

[@joedavis3748]

CGI wasn’t really a thing until the 90’s. Back then they used a green or blue screen for visual effects. The first movie to use CGI for a lot of shots was Jurassic Park. There was some minor uses of it before then, but not this far back.

[@stefanforrer2573]

terminator 2, the abyss, tron..... there were quite a few before jurassic park

[@fynnthefox9078]

As well as puppets and stop-motion. Personally, I prefer less CG, there's extra care and commitment in using practical effects. I'd say use CG as little as possible.

[@shainewhite2781]

21:51, that's my favorite part right there! Lol!! "You're right! You go!"🤣

[@44excalibur]

Yes, there were two sequels to Poltergeist, Jen. There was Poltergeist II: The Other Side in 1986 and Poltergeist III in 1988. Actress Heather O'Rourke, who played Carol Anne, sadly died shortly after completing Poltergeist III from congenital stenosis of the intestine and septic shock. A remake of Poltergeist was made in 2015.

[@kylereese4822]

She died part way though, if you watch carefully you see Carol Ann is another girl playing the part(it explains the strange editing/look and feel in some parts)... also the director was forced to release the film by the studio, he had zero interest in the movie/releasing it when Heather died...

[@misterprickly]

Actually the series is kinda mired in death. The older sister was murdered by her boyfriend, Kane died from cancer, the Shaman from kidney failure as well as Carol-Anne.

[@chrisharris6206]

@@misterprickly the older sister , was , also going to start in the NBC television mini series V as one of the daughters, but the role was recast. When the A Hole killed the actress here., She was just starting to have probably a long career 🙄

[@Greenwood4727]

The Haunting is a good film the original, the remake is.. a film

[@uncledenny2570]

Jen, you're really on fire with the analysis of this one. It definitely taps into alot of primal fears. Happy Halloween! 😱

[@multieyedmyr]

One of the movies responsible for the pg13 rating.

[@czarmike414]

The red slime was ectoplasm (spiritual residue). The movie was made with practical effects and some hand drawn animation. For an example of computer animation from 1982 check out Tron. My aunt took me to see this in the theater when it came out, I was 9 years old at that time. It was terrifying to say the least.

[@fynnthefox9078]

Randy Marsh: I-It was a ghost! See this? This is ectoplasm!

[@w1975b]

According to imdb, Dominique's only theatrical movie was Poltergeist. She did tv movies and tv shows. She was murdered by her ex-boyfriend 5 months after Poltergeist came out. Her brother Griffin was in An American Werewolf in London. Her father Dominick was an actor, writer and producer.

[@philliplozano7587]

“Worst water slide ever!” No argument there.😲

[@leperwolf7287]

I'm so happy they didn't go the Evil Dead route with the tree...

[@theelvenwtich]

I like the idea that before they went to the paranormal investigators, there was a deleted scene where the police came over to take a statement and kept quitting whenever they opened the door to the bedroom.

[@Bruce-Wayne79]

" They're here. " - Carol Ann.👻

[@daniellanctot6548]

There was no CGI in this movie: Any and all effects that might seem CGI were either practical effects or traditional 2D painted animation. CGI started in the 70s, but before the 90s what it could produce was very limited and mostly not realistic (At least, not in the way that it is used now to generate moving creatures that do or don’t exist in real life)

[@fynnthefox9078]

Right? People just think we've always had CG. Next thing you know, people will start to think that cavemen had smartphones.

[@davidmarsden192]

"Worst. Waterslide. EVER!" LMAO!!

[@robertjewell9727]

Spielberg got the idea from a Twilight Zone episode called Little Girl Lost written by Richard Matheson. The room did spin and the camera was synchronized precisely to turn with it so it looks like the frame remains grounded and Jobeth Williams rolled with the motion. Those were actual skeletons used for the swimming pool scene. And by the way, CGI was not used at this time because it was only in very early development and wasn't utilized in a major motion picture until The Last Starfighter in 1984.

[@taoist32]

It’s interesting to watch younger generations trying to figure out how effects are done. CGI is the most common answer.

[@perapelman7687]

Jen,check out these movies: -Thai Pan-1986. -Shanghai-2010. -Pirate Patroll-1983. -Pirate Patroll 2-1987.

[@brucster99b2]

They're here.... Jeez, not one neighbour went over to complain about the noise🗣! Great week of films 'n reviews Jen. Happy Halloween to you and fellow subs!🎃

[@2apocalypsex]

The special effects were created by Industrial Light And Magic (Star Wars), The Mummy (1999)

[@davidr1050]

Here in NY, the Brooklyn Queens Expressway was cut through a cemetery.. Supposedly, all of the bodies were moved... But I doubt it..

[@daytoncharitychicken]

I had a fun chuckle at your verbal slip at 33:30 when you were thinking Steven Spielberg but said Stephen King, because it’s true that Spielberg doesn’t tend to go dark with so much death, but King absolutely does. 😄 It happens to the best of us. ❤️ I just liked that since you’ve been watching horror, King was also on your mind and what you intended to say was so true but, in a funny twist, what you actually said was so not! 😂🤗

[@ReelReviewsWithJen]

Haha yeah when I film it’s basically like being live so if I mess up, or stumble my words that’s what we got haha

[@KabukiKid]

I can't be the first person to point this out, but your propensity for saying, "Cheese and rice!" is quite adorable. lol :-)

[@davidmeese6717]

Yes there is a book the movie is only about 1/3 of it there is so much more to the story.Also ET and poltergeist were filmed in the same neighborhood at the same time.

[@44excalibur]

No, there isn't a book. Poltergeist was based on an earlier unmade script that Spielberg had written called Night Skies, about a family in a remote farmhouse being terrorized by aliens.

[@IWDTC]

The goo on them and throughout the portal is supposed to be ectoplasmic residue. Supposedly this forms when ghosts and or otherworldly forces interact with the physical world. Kind of like the Ghostbusters mood slime. The house imploding on itself at the end is simply a small model house connected to an industrial vacuum. The vacuum could then suck in the model and then slow down the image, there you go

[@tremorsfan]

That whole chair stacking scene takes just 6 seconds.

[@pokeround]

"Worst waterslide ever". Literal lol! 😆😆

[@MyEgoTripped]

There is ZERO CGI in this 1982 film. The best CGI could do at this point was like in Tron released same year with it's hard plastic like images.

[@christopheryochum3602]

Hi Jen! Same composer as did "Logan's Run": Jerry Goldsmith. He excels at setting moods. By the way, the goo is ectoplasm, which manifests when people interact with energies in other dimensions. Not sure if you've seen "Ghostbusters," but it's the same thing.

[@joshsteinjohnston3887]

How they did the scene with Diane being pulled up the wall, across the ceiling and back down: It was done by using a revolving set.

[@Anonymousdl]

Poltergeist 2 and 3 are underrated in my opinion. When you get a look at the antagonist in them, you will understand why.

[@2apocalypsex]

he was supposed to have appeared in the movie In a deleted scene. The form of The Beast was originally revealed in Ryan's video footage. The face of a cruel old man known later as Reverend Henry Kane evolves into The Beast. In the original trailer, Diane is watching the screens and yelling, "That thing is in there with my baby!"

[@Brooklyn_Bleek]

I just chalked up the pink stuff as ectoplasm (Thanks, Ghostbusters!).

[@44excalibur]

The Diane Freeling's hair didn't get gray streaks due to ageing from a time warp, Jen, it was due to extreme stress and fear, kind of like what happened to Henry Bowers in IT, whose hair turned white after looking at Pennywise's true form.

[@w1975b]

Too much stress turning some hair white is also seen in Rogue's character in X Men (2000).

[@44excalibur]

So far you've seen Tobe Hooper films like Poltergeist, Salem's Lot, and Lifeforce, so I hope you can check out 1981's The Funhouse, Jen! 😃 I forgot if you've seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or not. lol

[@chrisharris6206]

Oh 😂 yes ,1981 the Funhouse Pay to get in , Pray to get out . That and Hell Night, were double showing at the drive in, classic horror 💯🤗😍

[@shainewhite2781]

20:46, this, THE THING, Altered States, Videodrome, Scanners, Carrie, The Shining, Scooby Doo, and GHOSTBUSTERS all inspired Stranger Things.

[@1a2be]

Another of my all-time favorite horror movies and those skeletons at the end of the movie. Those were real ones that they used during the filming of this movie. There's 2 sequels and a remake but during the filming of all 3 movies weird and scary stuff was going on. But the shocking one of them all was the death of the little girl during the filming of the third movie back in 1988. If you want to know more then goggle the poltergeist curse to know more about it.

[@perapelman7687]

Jen,you have to react to these movies also. -Mutant(Night shadows-1984) -Dolly Dearest-1991. -Donor-1990. -The Perfect Bride-1991. -The Runestone-1991. -A return to Salem's Lot-1987. -American Gothic-1987. -Manhunt-Search for the night stalker-1989. -The woman in Black-1989. -Intruder-1989.

[@MrJeepman76]

I remember seeing this in the theater when it first came out. I was 6 years old.

[@bfdidc6604]

The pink goo is ectoplasm, a material that purportedly appears with ghosts. You see it in Ghostbusters too.

[@quark12000]

I think part of this is based on a Twilight Zone episode called "Little Girl Lost".

[@McPh1741]

There’s no way it could have been. The only difference is that the little girl had a portal under bed. Or was it in the wall behind her bed?

[@quark12000]

@@McPh1741 It was about a little girl being trapped in another dimension. The parallels are clear.

[@McPh1741]

@@quark12000 I agree. I meant to type "There's no way it COULDN'T have been. There's no doubt this movie was based in part on that episode.

[@angellahoulbjerg4307]

that pool scene at the end TERRIFIED me lol

[@taoist32]

The clown on the ceiling terrified me when I was a kid. My parents forbade from watching and made me go to my room.

[@44excalibur]

Don't worry, Jen, if you wanna see what was on "the other side" when Diane went through the portal, just watch Poltergeist II: The Other Side, which shows you exactly what's out there. 😉

[@mnomadvfx]

I wouldn't say so - they conveniently leave out all the fleshy goo seen in the first film. In general that entire segment of the film just seems like they ran out of ideas and money.

[@juliell2139]

There is an old wive's tale that if you are scared bad enough, your hair will turn white. They did same think in Nightmare on Elm Street but it has always been an old saying

[@rocketraccoon1976]

27:25 "Worst water slide ever!" 😆😆😆

[@mamakat7176]

Yes part 2, and 3,

[@awall1701]

Another great reaction video. I love the Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack to Poltergeist.

[@fynnthefox9078]

This movie was based on an episode of the Twilight Zone. "Little Girl Lost" where a girl ends up in another dimension through a part of the family's house.

[@winslow-eh5kv]

If you found THIS movie "terrifying" then I suggest you check out The Entity. Another poltergeist themed flick from the early eighties. However THAT movie makes THIS one seem like an old Walt Disney movie by comparison (you'll find out what I'm talking about when you see it).

[@Kap00rwith2os]

14:17 so ya special FX back then were primarily practical effects (prosthetics, animatronics, puppetry, chemical reactions, pulling things with strings, etc.), and OPTICAL effects (not CGI), which involved using tricks with light and imagery in post-production to create illusions on film. CGI is Computer Generated Imagery, effects made from computer software, which started becoming.more utilized in the late 1980s / early 1990s. 💡 🌈 😁

[@eh8899]

Great movie to review! Saw it at my grandma's house when I was 12 and on HBO and movie didn't really scare me much. My grandma said, "you're too young to watch that; your mother wouldn't let you watch that!" In my defense, I said it was a PG rated movie and I finished watching it. I saw the 2 sequels as they came out...the Poltergeist 2 was good, and the 3rd movie was quite odd but still was ok in my opinion. You mentioned how the frickin clown dolls were creepy to you. Made me wonder if you've seen the movie Dead Silence (2007)....no clowns in that but instead is something sort of a similar creepiness. I highly recommend that one because it'll probably creep you out! If you like Craig T. Nelson, he played a football coach on the TV show Coach on ABC that ran for 8 years in the 1990's, in case you didn't know. He has also been on the show Little Sheldon.

[@angellahoulbjerg4307]

its so sad that the actresses that played the daughters both died

[@44excalibur]

Like I mentioned earlier, Jen, Poltergeist was based on Spielberg's earlier, alien horror movie script, Night Skies, and the concept of a family in their home being terrorized by aliens was the basis for Poltergeist, with the aliens being replaced by ghosts. Another element of Night Skies was the family's youngest son befriending one of the aliens who was friendly and against what his fellow aliens were doing, and that formed the basis of the story for E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. Also, the leader of the aliens was named "Scar" after a scar on his face, and "Scar" was the inspiration for "Stripe" in Gremlins, with the friendly alien being the inspiration for both E.T. and Gizmo the Mogwai from Gremlins.

[@uncommon_niagara1581]

Ah yes; watching the 'midnight snack' scene and remembering that Poltergeist is rated PG.

[@chrisharris6206]

Tagline , it knows what scares ya💯😆🤗😍😍😍, as the trailer said, damn straight, thanks for reviewing this classics. Bless her soul , there here, took away from us to soon.🙄🙄🙄

[@rama30]

Where the guy pulls his face off traumatized me as a kid.

[@paulmansfield6029]

“Worst water slide ever”… hilarious… Grey hair is usually associated in religious circles as a result of having a divine encounter. See Charlton Heston in The 10 Commandments

[@TheNeonRabbit]

Goo or slime in a ghost movie is always Ectoplasm

[@Kap00rwith2os]

15:20 Trying so hard not to swear in front of the kids 😉 😂 👍

[@jasonlmeadows]

How did the scene with the tree not get a “cheese and rice”. That scene scared the hell out of me when I saw this as a nine year old when it came out. There was a large liquid amber tree outside my bedroom window like the tree in this movie so it freaked me out. Also I don’t think you saw Dominique Dunne in another movie as she was murdered by her boyfriend shortly after this.

[@robertnigro1430]

FYI It was cheaper to buy real cadavers so the director didnt tell them bout the bodies in the pool until it was too late so her reaction is allll real .

[@nigeldonaldson1647]

The skeletons in the pool dug out, pit of hell symbolism perhaps, this is a new variation on the traditional haunted house/ghost story, that's clever and well made everything is justified well & with no loose ends. And for 1982 it predicted the kind of decade to come with the growth of corporatism ending tradition and respect.

[@freezoneproject567]

So much better than the remake. There should be an unwritten rule in Hollywood. If Spielberg was involved in the original film, find another IP to violate.

[@shainewhite2781]

25:53, they built a tumbling room for this scene.

[@popcornphilosopher]

Yep those skeletons were actually real. Because it was cheaper than fake ones. A lot of people think that’s why the production was cursed. And that so many people from this production have died. Including 2 of 3 of the kids. Dominique Dunne, Julian Beck, Will Sampson, and Heather O'Rourke alll passed away

[@fourthdrawerdown6297]

This is why we don’t have CRTs anymore.

[@joshsteinjohnston3887]

Bit of trivia: CGI was EXTREMELY new and no CGI was used in this movie. "POLTERGEIST" "BLADE RUNNER" "E.T." were nominated for best visual effects (E.T. won). Walt Disney decided to dabble in the new practice of computer visual effects. Released in the same year as ("POLTERGEIST"/"E.T./BLADE RUNNER) Disney tried to get "TRON" nominated for best visual effects, but at the time the academy decided using computer visuals was "cheating" and "TRON" was disqualified for "visual effects".

[@joshsteinjohnston3887]

Released in 1982, "POLTERGEIST" was rated (PG). The (PG-13) rating wasn't around yet, it wouldn't become an official rating until '84, after "TEMPLE OF DOOM" & "GREMLINS" were released that summer and parents complained the movies were way to violent for a (PG) rating. So (PG-13) debuted late that same summer with the film "RED DAWN" being the first film released with a (PG-13) rating.

[@WoncoTheSane]

"World's worst waterslide!" lol Another great reaction. Hope you had a happy Halloween.

[@ReelReviewsWithJen]

Thank you so much! You too! 🎃🎃

[@honkenbonker]

The ghost dimension is mostly full of strawberry jam.

[@txmeats]

They actually built a rotating room.

[@44excalibur]

Poltergeist was rated PG in 1982, Jen. It was initially given an R rating by the MPAA, but Steven Spielberg protested and succeeded in having it changed to PG. Two years later, the MPAA created the PG-13 rating.

[@veot.2869]

23:35 I believe the "goo" is like ectoplasm. It shows up a lot of times from ghost manifestations.

[@Greenwood4727]

same guy to did texas chainsaw massacre did this.. this is one the infamously CURSED movies ever

[@ReelReviewsWithJen]

Yes I recognized his name from Lifeforce as well, oh man! 😬😬

[@JENDALL714]

Dominique Dunne died young, she was murdered, Heather O'Rourke also died young, of bowel blockage that 'caused an infection.

[@blastradius9136]

OMG those glasses at 11:24 lol

[@TTM9691]

The pink goo? I think that's placenta. A lot of the underlying themes of this movie are about motherhood, birth, blah blah blah, lol, so I'll bet that's what it is. That's how I always saw it. The husband is pretty much sidelined most of the movie, he does what he can, but he makes mistakes, pulls the rope too early, can't find the keys.....it's up to mom to save the day, lol! PS: Just the other day, Jessa & Alex Reacts did a "Poltergeist" reaction and they were noticing a bunch of stuff along this line, it was a really interesting reaction video, as well as being a good one. Speaking of which, YOUR ending remarks, about how you would have liked to have seen what was inside the portal, and how time worked......never thought about that! That WOULD have been cool! / A snapshot of horror (at least mainstream horror) at this time: This came out the same month as "The Thing", and " Creepshow" came out later that autumn. It's a year after "An American Werewolf In London". And then you had lots of slasher stuff going on in the background, constantly late night on cable. But "Poltergeist" was THE horror movie of 1982 as far as box office and high profile. I know I saw it at least twice that summer. It was the summer of "E.T." and "Poltergeist" basically, those two movies took up all the oxygen that summer, as I rememeber it. "Bladerunner" came out that summer as well, came out the same day as "The Thing", but I seem to remember that also tanked and got a second life on cable.

[@sagittarius420cheefie]

Real bodies used for the pool scene. It was cheaper to use actually bodies instead of getting a gagillion individualized props made. One of the actors got sick from ingesting some of the corpse water.🤮

[@buidseach]

The pink goo is supposed to be ectoplasm, It was traditionally supposed to be white, but I guess Steven Spielberg wanted it to be more gory so he made it reddish pink.

[@longfootbuddy]

nice relaxing bath in the backyard

[@jeffwerth2707]

I remember an Eddie Murphy bit: Cops: Did you do anything to try and get back your daughter? Eddie: We tried to change the channels but it didn't work so we just got the F* out of there. What Jen was saying early - Nope...taking a loss on this one

[@rama30]

You can't tell me J.K. Rowling didn't have Tangina aka Zelda Rubenstein in mind when she wrote the character of Dolores Umbridge.