Poltergeist: The Not-Quite Spielberg Film

This was my first time seeing Poltergeist, and even though I had heard from many people beforehand that it was really frightening and horrifying, most of those people qualified that statement with "or at least it was when I saw it as a kid." Also, I'm not one to usually get scared by horror films (or at least not ghost-story type horror flicks) -- I think the more realistic serial killer-type movies like Se7en or Saw are creepier. So, I went into the film without any real expectations of any kind. While Poltergeist didn't scare me (as I probably could have predicted), I was entertained and enjoyed the film for the most part...at least until the last half hour. After the ghosts started coming back a second time and skeletons started popping up in random places, it just got way too hokey for me and I could no longer take the film seriously. I found myself laughing at many of the things that I think were intended to frighten the audience. I think this over-the-top finale really ruined the film for me, or at least made me like it a lot less than I might have. So, it is with this in mind that I, just on principle, do not want to consider Poltergeist a Steven Spielberg film. The reason I say that is, I'm a huge Spielberg fan, and I always tell my friends that I believe Steven Spielberg has never directed a bad movie. (Yes, I even like Hook, but I refuse to see 1941 because I don't want my statement to be proven wrong!) And while I might not go so far as to say that Poltergeist is bad, I would still prefer not to think of it as part of his canon. Yet, this is an issue that has been up for debate since the film's release.

Was Poltergeist truly directed by Tobe Hooper as the film's credits say, or did Steven Spielberg intervene and act as the dominant creative force as many film critics believe? Warren Buckland's extremely detailed shot-by-shot analysis of Poltergeist against samples of Spielberg and Hooper films ultimately concludes that Hooper did direct Poltergeist, but that Spielberg seems to have had some major control over the film in terms of the post-production process and the shaping of the final cut. While Buckland's analysis does point out some Spielberg trademarks evident in Poltergeist, such as opening with sound over a black screen or shooting a number of scenes from low camera height, I still did not feel like I was watching a Spielberg film and personally did not notice very many Spielbergian traits. For example, one Spielberg techinique that commonly appears in many of his films (including the scene from Jaws that I described a while back) is a long take with a moving camera. As Buckland demonstrates, there is a very small percentage of scenes that involve a moving camera in Poltergeist, when compared to Spielberg's other films, indicating (among other reasons) that Hooper had control of the camera here. Since I have not seen any other Tobe Hooper films (I know it's a shame...The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is on my list of movies to see), I cannot really judge how much Poltergeist feels like a Hooper film, but to me, it just doesn't scream Spielberg, so I'm glad that Buckland's conclusion agrees with me.

One thing I did like about the film was Craig T. Nelson. I think he did a fine job as Steve, and it was fun to watch the future voice of Mr. Incredible as the head of the family in this film as well. Along those lines, this is another aspect of the film that sets Poltergeist apart from typical Spielberg films, at least in terms of theme. Usually, Spielberg's father figures either fail at fulfilling their role as a dad or are incapable of being the masculine father figure they should be or straight-up abandon their families. However, in Poltergeist, Steve does everything he can to help his wife find their missing daughter and bring her back, and the film is more about bringing the family back together than it is watching the family fall apart (as in Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind). Then again, it is partially Steve's fault that all of this mayhem occurs, considering he is indirectly responsible for building their house on top of an old cemetery. Nonetheless, Craig T. Nelson as Steve is still the "man" that Spielberg's men typically aren't. But of course, nobody is as much the "man" as the man himself, Steven Spielberg, who, ghost-director of Poltergeist or not, still has never directed a bad film.