The House *on* the Cemetery

The 2015 reboot of the Hooper/Spielberg mega-hit in the 80s, Poltergeist, isn't actually all that lousy. It could have been. But it is inconsequential and unnecessary. My family went to see this in early summer 2015 and I can report that we left feeling like this was okay. Nothing extraordinary or even ultimately altogether earth-shattering; "Poltergeist" had a strong cast and Hollywood production budgeted the director and crew with enough to throw a clown doll that will hold you down, trees that reach out and grab you, puddles on the garage floor that nip at your heels, and reflections of deteriorating face from water facets in the kitchen. Rockwell and DeWitt as the father and mother Bowen are a lock if you are a casting agent needing good actors delivering dependable, convincing performances. They are a frustrated couple, dealing with financial, economic hardship during a tough job market overextending themselves with a house they really can't afford. Their kids are cute and reliably "suburban middle class". Eventually the little girl with a sweet face and voice in the Carol Anne part (Kennedi Clements, who is appropriately adorable) plants her hands on the flatscreen telling her siblings and parents "they are coming". And they certainly do arrive in full force when Rockwell and DeWitt go to a neighborly dinner for some "getting to know you". The big storm provides plenty of poltergeist activity. Soon the paranormal scientist (Jane Adams, very entertaining as the scholarly, awkward, but well meaning researcher) and her team are brought in to investigate the house. The dinner scene has neighbors telling Rockwell and DeWitt that their neighborhood was built where a cemetery used to be. Soon Jared Harris, a paranormal reality show host, enters the picture to help "cleanse" the house. He and Adams "were married briefly". Meanwhile the family tries to get the little girl back while also surviving the activity in the house. Harris is as theatrical as he needs to be for the role of a television personality. The "bodies never were moved only the tombstones" twist is taken care of midway so it isn't so similar to the original (and superior) film from '82. The little boy who left his little sister in her room gets to right that wrong (of course) and the film has lots of paranormal activity effects and all the gadgets and technology a crew researching and documenting the spirits would have. There is especially clever use of a drone to help find the lost little girl. 2.5/5