The ghost out of the machine

Press, 20 September 1982, Page 11

The ghost out of the machine

POLTERGEIST Directed by Tobe Hooper Screenplay by Steven Spielberg. Michael Grais and Mark Victor "Too Many Ghosts" was the title of a B-grade movie a few years ago. and that probably is one of the troubles of "Poltergeist” (Savoy). in his past major successes and one failure ("Jaws." “Close Encounters of the Third Kind." “Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "1941"). Steven Spielberg has more than proven that he can guarantee first-rate entertainment. and also knows how to pull out the stops to let all hell break loose.

In “Poltergeist." which he

produced, wrote and virtually co-directed. Spielberg > again proves that he knows the formula for success — even if it means excess. There is such a variety of flying furniture, spectral wraiths, curried corpses and other things that go bump in the night that there is no point in trying to explain a coherent plot for "Poltergeist." The film, set in deceptively secure American suburbia, starts off simply enough, with the young daughter of the house (Heather O’Rourke) communicating late at night with ethereal spirits through the

family’s television set — eventually helping them gain

release from the boob tuoe to terrorise the house.

(Spielberg calls this wry touch to "Poltergeist": “My revenge on TV." and gets more than than deus ex mnehina).

Not only do these supernatural entities cause havoc, they also manage to suck the young girl through -to their own doomed dimension, just keeping her presence felt to her mother (Jobeth Williams).

So far, the film has been great fun. with more special effects than you could shake a crucifix or clove of garlic at.

The rest of the film then seems to be about the struggle by the family, assisted by a parapsychologist (Beatrice Straight) and a dwarf-like, child-voiced psychic (Zelda Rubinstein) to regain the body and soul of their daughter. After many pyro and Dolby-technics, the battle is won.' But, oh no. this is not the end of the show. We still have to contend with those ghastly creatures which emerge from the bottom of the swimming pool, and. many more nasties that may well have been resurrected from the cutting floor of another movie.

This film continues to be unremitting and remorseless in its barrage to all the sense and senses of its audience. So, what can I say but that “Poltergeist" is sb rich in

scary kitsch that it.is bound to be a great box-office success. particularly for teenagers and those of that mentality. I somehow feel that Spiel-

berg (and his co-writers) just did not know when to leave a good thing alone, and continued ’adding every supernatural idea which came to their minds. Some of the unevenness of “Poltergeist" may also be due to the fact that much of the influence of the film's nominal director. Tobe Hooper (“The' Texas Chain Saw Massacre"). was eclipsed by Spielberg, resulting in the effect of seeing two films in one. ("Time" magazine reported that Spielberg had chosen the cast and locations. and devised sketches

that approximated virtually every scene the director would shoot. “My taking over had less to do with Tobe's competence." Spielberg said, "and more with the fact that I'm bullish about my ideas.") Thus, too many ghosts may well be the result of too many writers and directors. I looked forward both to Kubrick's "The Shining" and Spielberg's "Poltergeist” as the ultimate horror or ghost movie. In both cases. I was disappointed. This does not mean, however. that I do not like them. In fact, they are both great shows.