Blu-Ray Review: POLTERGEIST (2015)
Nine times out of ten, Blu-ray/DVD "extended editions" are to be avoided like the plague. We can all debate this or that "director's cut" all day, but "EEs" usually do NOT involve the director's wishes. It's just a way to throw in a few extra scenes that were cut for a reason and entice morons like me who wonder if the new footage improves the film. But every now and then, there's an exception to this rule, and while it's still no great addition to the horror genre, the Poltergeist remake DOES benefit from the 3 or 4 added scenes that are re-inserted into the version some of us saw in theaters this past May. If you have to watch this movie, this is the way to go.
Unsurprisingly, all of the added footage occurs in the first act, clearly cut to move things along and get to the point where Carol An- I'm sorry, Maddy, gets taken (the family dynamic is EXACTLY THE SAME but the names are changed, for whatever reason). This helps explain a few of the movie's odder moments; there is now more of a justification for Sam Rockwell to buy wife Rosemarie DeWitt the new earrings (she loses one to the washing machine, which provides a new scare moment almost as soon as they move in), and Griffin's fear of the tree is established more thoroughly. There's also a nice character moment where DeWitt is wracked with guilt over mocking her son in an earlier scene, as opposed to the theatrical version where she basically calls her son a weirdo and then leaves to go to a dinner party. None of this stuff is important on a narrative level, really (especially since the 2nd half of the movie is practically a line for line translation of Tobe Hooper's 1982 original anyway, so all of the new ideas are forgotten), but it certainly gives a bit more dimension to the characters and smooths over some of its rougher transitions.
But in some ways it almost makes the movie MORE of a disappointment - the first half isn't always great (the older daughter's "I hate moving, I hate my family, blah blah blah" behavior is as grating as it is cliched), but they were making it their own, and now there's even more evidence that they were trying to do something different. But as soon as Maddy is taken, it becomes more and more like the original, with random lines getting revived for no good reason, like the guy boasting about the 7 hour/10 foot journey of an object that he captured on timelapse. In this world, Jared Harris' Carrigan Burke character (the stand-in for Tangina) is a popular host of a paranormal show - aren't we in a world where ghostly occurrences are no longer the stuff of legend? Why would anyone be impressed by something you can only see on time-lapse? The line made sense (and the punchline was hilarious) in 1982, but it no longer applies here. I've said before, I'd rather a remake start off with the familiar and then veer off into new territory than start promising and then get lazy, giving us the same thing we already know and love with a fresh coat of paint.
And I have to wonder if the "Van Santing" was always part of the plan, or if the film got second guessed into its current state. There are times where it seems like director Gil Kenan is trying to tell this story from the perspective of the children (specifically Griffin, the middle child) instead of the parents, but that concept never fully comes to fruition. And that's a shame, because it's those moments - even the ones that are otherwise doing the same ol, same ol, where the movie shines. When he (spoiler) tries to go into the "other side" himself to save Maddy, it's a great moment - one that would be even better if we had been with him all along. Instead he kind of disappears for a while, and only really comes back into the fray to help Harris' character navigate a drone camera into the other side.
That scene, by the way, is one of the three in the film where the 3D element was really impressive (the other two being when Griffin is dragged around by the tree, and a low angle shot that passes through a bunch of the kids' toys on the floor). Kenan was one of the trailblazers of the 3D revival with 2006's Monster House, but for whatever reason he failed to really utilize it here beyond a few shots and the aforementioned (short) scenes. All the action parts are pretty short (considering they centered the marketing around that clown doll, it's hilarious how brief its appearance is) and most of the movie is set inside their bland house, so there isn't much else to the 3D that will make it worth your while - unless you're a 3D junkie, stick to the regular release if you simply must own this film.
On that note, only buy it if you already know you loved it, because they sure as hell didn't pack the disc with bonus features. The new footage amounts to about 6 minutes or so, and the only other real extra is an "alternate ending" that eschews the theatrical's triumphant "We won't take that new house because it has a tree in the yard" scene with yet another reprise of the original, with the tired family heading out away from their now-gone home, and the dad not taking any chances by tossing out a device (it's a cell phone now instead of a TV). The rest is junk - two trailers, promos for other Fox releases, and a still gallery of zero use to anyone. No making of, no commentaries, no other deleted scenes (still no payoff for the security system, electric charges, or backyard - things pointedly set up and never used for anything of note)... if you'd like to know what anyone was thinking, you won't find it here. The surround mix is quite good though; if you're in need of a new spooky movie to test out your home theater setup, it's certainly a viable choice.
With a few nods to the sequels (Rockwell turns to the bottle, like Craig Nelson did in Poltergeist II, and a garage floor yields an out of nowhere puddle like in Poltergeist III), a solid cast, and the occasional good scare, the film has just enough to warrant a look, and again the extended version is the way to go as far as I'm concerned. But even at its best it feels perfunctory, like they only remade it because they realized they had forgotten to do so when every other horror movie from the era was being remade a few years ago. It plays better at home, thankfully - but that might only be because you can fold your laundry or run on a treadmill while you watch.
