# It's Time to Remake Poltergeist **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 21, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900 "2011-07-21T20:02:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/1 "2011-07-21T20:02:24Z")
Lots of classic movies are getting remakes. Alas, _Poltergeist_, as far as I can tell, does not appear to be one of them. The story is timeless and would work in any generation: evil paranormal beings torment a family. Some of the plot points (namely the ghosts coming through the static in the TV - do TVs even get static anymore?) wouldn’t translate in 2011, but those are easy fixes. The 1982-ish special FX were special and effective at the time; they do not hold up these days. Modern CGI in a gritty re-boot could make for an awesome-tastic movie. Who is with me? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/2 "2011-07-21T20:27:07Z")
I doubt that Steven Spielberg would allow anyone other than himself to remake one of his movies. Yet even if that hurdle could be overcome, I can’t imagine it being any good; there’s just about no way that the finished product could be anything more than a CGI-filled crapfest, since that’s what Hollywood does with anything “supernatural”. Ever see **The Gravedancers**? That’s probably what a modern **Poltergeist** would look like. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/3 "2011-07-21T20:39:29Z")
Not me. 100% chance that they’d completely fuck it up, just like they’ve fucked up almost every other remake lately! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/4 "2011-07-21T20:41:48Z")
**HeyHomie** , did The Beast tell you to say that? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/5 "2011-07-21T21:49:45Z")
Yeah, I thought Poltergeist was pretty much perfect as it was. Just enough gore to be horrific, but not enough to turn it into a splatterfest. And Spielberg had/has a definite knack for portraying normal middle-class families. I couldn’t see this ending well in anyone else’s hands–they’d turn it into a “real horror movie” and ruin what made it cool. /still freaked out by that damned clown doll after nearly 30 years ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/6 "2011-07-22T01:26:37Z")
Poltergeist is being considered for a [remake](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1029360/). There’s a treatment by two people named Juliet Snowden & Stiles White floating around out there somewhere. I’ve seen it, but haven’t read the whole thing yet. The original was sooooo good though. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/7 "2011-07-22T04:58:04Z")
The original was so good, and doesn’t even overly date itself. I think a remake would stand a pretty strong chance of being very inferior. I would see it out of curiosity though. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/8 "2011-07-22T12:58:50Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > The 1982-ish special FX were special and effective at the time; they do not hold up these days. Modern CGI in a gritty re-boot could make for an awesome-tastic movie. But _Poltergeist_ was so NOT about the special effects. It wasn’t even about ghosts really; it was about the people the ghosts were haunting. I suspect any new CGI-heavy remake (in 3D, no doubt) would miss that point entirely. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/9 "2011-07-22T13:04:51Z")
Why mess with a good thing. The old movie serves perfectly well. No remake, please. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/10 "2011-07-22T13:22:58Z")
I agree with the OP. It’s time for a Poltergeist remake. There’s a whole new generation of young actors we need to thin out. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/11 "2011-07-22T14:59:13Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s a whole new generation of young actors we need to thin out. Too soon. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/12 "2011-07-22T15:27:37Z")
There’s really only one horrobly fake scene in the movie IMO - when the researcher tears at his face. Other than that, that movie scared the beejesus out of me - I saw it when I was a kid (after begging my parents for weeks). I **still** can’t watch that stupid clown doll scene! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/13 "2011-07-22T16:12:54Z")
I can’t help but think of The Haunting, made in 1963, one of the most frightening movies IMO ever made. There was a horrendous remake with big stars and CGI and it was total dreck. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/14 "2011-07-22T16:16:23Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I can’t help but think of The Haunting, made in 1963, one of the most frightening movies IMO ever made. There was a horrendous remake with big stars and CGI and it was total dreck. Absolutely second this, I ran across it on AMC (or somewhere) a while back and was stunned! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/15 "2011-07-22T16:19:20Z")
It’s sad in a way to think of another young actress taking Heather O’rourke’s place. R.I.P Heather ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/16 "2011-07-22T16:25:08Z")
It probably wouldn’t be any good without Zelda Rubenstein. (or how cool would it be if she were the ghost?) ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/17 "2011-07-22T21:32:45Z")
The recent movie [**Insidious**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1591095/) treads much of the same ground as **Poltergiest**. I wouldn’t say it’s great, but it is somewhat similar… I take it as an homage, at least. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/18 "2011-07-22T21:54:06Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > And Spielberg had/has a definite knack for portraying normal middle-class families. I **dare** him to do a remake where the parents still smoke pot! ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/19 "2015-04-12T14:56:08Z")
It looks like it has been [remade](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1029360/) with Sam Rockwell as the dad ([trailer #1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdnsO_e5pDs), [trailer #2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaaEiL2sXh8)). It is directed by Gil Kenan who made the decent animated film, _Monster House_, and the under-appreciated _City of Ember_. Sadly, from the trailers its looks like every other recent horror movie. The original movie had a Spielberg-influenced warmth and a sense of wonder that made the horror aspects feel all the more jarring. I get none of that from this new version. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900/20 "2015-04-12T15:39:40Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I **dare** him to do a remake where the parents still smoke pot! Why do you think that would be particularly daring? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-remake-poltergeist/589900.md?page=2)