@@DPYROAXIS Yeah and they didn't tell her they were real, either, until after the scene was filmed. When Carol-Anne is being sucked into the closet and is screaming, that was legit terror because she didn't know what was happening.
People today do not realize how amazing these effects were back in 1982. Cheesy was not a word used by critics of the time period, and the effects, along with the sound effects editing, and score were nominated for Oscars. This is from the same effects team that brought you all Raiders of the Lost Ark. Of course it's dated, but you cannot watch a 40 year old film today and not have it look dated. There is no CGI here, and the practical effects are still great IMO. Even the beast at the end blocking Diane from entering the kid's bedroom was an actual three dimensional puppet filmed inside a tank of water to make the hair float. Such a great movie.
There are still things that practical does better than CGI, and a lot of CGI (and now AI) these days has no artistry to it, and much of it feels cheaply done.
The thing that is so great about this movie for me is how the family is portrayed - the moments of calm between the horror are so well done and make the family so believable and likeable, so you really do route for them when all the bad stuff happens. Even the experts that come into the house seem to bond with the family - I love the scene where the older lady assures her that she is coming back and gives her a hug.
Y'all were so invested in this movie! I was getting emotional just watching you two. Poltergeist is a fab film. Horror and heart, tough combo and rare to find. x
Films from the 80s and 90s were usually well written, due to the writers having tons of experience and talent. Jump scares would be used sparingly, since you can only handle a few at a time, or a person becomes numb to them. Also, many films would not show certain parts, and leave it to your imagination, which usually leads you to come up with far more horrible thoughts than what someone could film. Most modern horror films rely on jump scares for the horror, which isn't actually what horror is about.
I completely agree today’s entertainment industry no longer has an imagination they are not giving us their creation they’re giving us the new generations bullshit they don’t make them like they used to and that’s a shame we lost pure entertainment a long time ago…. There’s no connection with the movies or characters in today’s society of entertainment…
So my first experience with this film was when I was 19, and I literally was scared to tears. It holds up so well, the family clearly loves each other, and the dog survives
The "little woman" Tangina Barrons was played by actress Zelda Rubinstein. She passed away in 2010 at the age of 76. She had 58 acting credits with Poltergeist being her fourth.
TV Trivia: Very early remote controls did not use pulsed Infra-Red light signals like today. Instead they were mechanical devices that struck a tuning fork like piece of metal that made a high pitched sound of specific frequency that the TV listened for. They were called "clickers" because most people could here the mechanical sound of the hammer hitting the metal but not the higher freq sound it made. They were very simple with only Channel Up/Down and maybe an on / off. And yes any TV with in hearing of the same brand would respond.
Back in the 80's, you knew it was time to go to bed when the national anthem came on and broadcast television would cease programs until 6am the next day.
It wasn't ancient Indian burial ground. Remember when Mr. Teague, the boss, reassured Steve that it WASN'T? He tried to mitigate Steve's horror, by adding, "They're just people."
Excuse me J or C. I saw Poltergeist the Summer of 1982 in a theater with my circle of friends, it was a packed house. I was a teenager. There was nothing wrong with the CGI, it was perfectly brilliant. The moment that got the most screams. The tree coming to life. The paranormal assistant’s face melting. The headstones rising out of the ground. The. Mother trapped in the pool full of corpses. Poltergiest was the most enjoyable movie experience, I had with my friends. What a time that was. ❤❤❤❤ Thanks for reacting to Poltergiest.
Poltergeist was nominated for best original score by Oscar-Winning composer, Jerry Goldsmith. He was easily one of the greatest musicians of the 20th Century.
I swear the scariest part of this movie wasn't the ghosts, wasn't the jumpscares, wasn't the killer clown, the hungry tree, or even the house going to pieces all around the family. The scariest part for me was when the when the dad grabbed his boss and said, "You moved the cemetery, but you kept the bodies, didn't you? You moved the headstones!" It's one of those "Oh, my God! What has this maniac boss done!" The boss is the villain here! That's the scariest part, the real live implications of what people think is okay to do, when the ramifications are so much worse than they think.
I think movie makers now think that the audience won’t sit still long enough to make a connection with the characters if a movie, they think they got to go in for the scare factor, but they have an opportunity to pay attention to the story tellers and mix it with awesome practical affects, only using CGI when absolutely needed. I am still hoping someone will come along and breath new life into the movies by using all the knowledge they can gather from these classics.
In the drive thru in cars i could not always here audience reaction. I think if i recall the spinning room sequence all the toys flying around the hulk riding the horse did here a people like whoa but then ya heard everyone lol. Not sure what scene it must have been jump scare cause in those days they just had the moive speaker for one car ya hooked it into the open window i remember i jumped knocked ot off the window so the sound cut out opps static but we got it quickly back up sound came back. Those speakers were not the best quality but decent in surround sound on dvd you can hear the backgrounds whispers clearer.
@@RelaxwithJC R,I,P... Heather O'Rourke(Carol Ann) Domonique Dunne(Dana)... Robbie was almost killed(strangled) doing the attack clown park S, Spielberg had to help him....
For the record, I would say that Poltergeist was partly responsible for our newfound (to many people) national fear of clowns. Yes, it's true...........our grandparents and great-grandparents enjoyed clowns. They didn't have much else. But a clown-based TV show was HUGE when I was a kid, and there were all kinds of circus-themed amusements and entertainments. Having a clown doll sitting in a chair is completely batshit CRAZY in 2022, but in 1982, it really wasn't that weird. See: early seasons of The Simpsons, when Bart's TV hero is Krusty, whose doll sits in Bart's bedroom. Matt Groening remembers. Clowns used to just be like silly uncles, and everyone kind of tolerated them for debasing themselves for the amusement of others. It was truly ALL harmless fun! Geez, now that I think about it, Bozo was on every day at 7, and there was an assortment of clowns with different personalities on the show. They'd perform LIVE, in front of children, doing their little skits with the falling down and the pies in the face. And the kids laughed, because that's funny when you're 4. It's bizarre to think that this was once the norm, considering how clowns are now regarded as universally evil.
That house crumbling away scene was done with a very large model house, some hydro lice and rotoscoping and cost around 250,000 bucks. In 1984 dollars.
Spielberg didn't direct Poltergeist, he only wrote it and produced it. It was directed by Tobe Hooper, with Spielberg on set most of the time making creative decisions, so he basically co-directed it.
@@RelaxwithJC Yep, you can see the influence. Spielberg's contract with Universal at the time prevented him from directing Poltergeist, as he was also working on E.T. The Extraterrestrial while Poltergeist was an MGM production, which is why Hooper was hired to basically ghost-direct.
This is my favourite movie! I watched it when I was 8 years old and fell in love with it! Also the film Insidious took a lot of inspiration from this movie, James wan has stated that poltergeist used to terrify him and it really influences his films! Also scary movie 2 also takes parody of poltergeist 2!
Loved your reaction, this is one of my top 10 favorites. The nostalgia really gets me, having been 5 when this released. I had the same Snoopy toy Carol Anne has in the kitchen scene, I’m just old enough to remember the National Anthem closing out TV programming, followed by dead air until morning. Now watching it as a parent of three under 7, and after losing a parent in recent years, I’m in tears half the time. It’s not the same watch it was when I was younger. It’s too emotional, I watched a few reaction videos on the Halloween night instead, and I enjoyed yours the most. Thank you for the fun, will subscribe!
This is my favorite reaction to this movie. This was my favorite movie . I watched it when I was 5 in the theater. It is rated PG. My parents didn't realize it was a horror movie. Needless to say I hated my closet and my sister wouldn't watch TV for 2 months.
Jordan literally complains about the "bad CGI" and how the effects take him out of the movie every time. When the special effects from this era usually age better than horrible early and even present CGI because they used practical real-world effects instead. So please either stop watching movies from the '80s or get over the effects from that time already.
The only moment in this film I thought the cgi was "bad" was when the lamp and what not was flying around the room. The rest of the effects were great and I appreciate them. It was just a small criticism.
@@RelaxwithJC Ok well that's not even CGI as they didn't have CG at the time. Certainly not any that could recreate real-world objects back then. The bad CG/special effects comment is almost always the first thing you say and no exaggeration, you literally say it every time so it's a bit old and annoying. You probably think CGI prequel Jabba looks better than practical OT Jabba. And 2000's "The Thing" looks better than the 1980's version. Because you just don't get it. If you're only going to complain every time you watch movies from the 80's while never embracing the beauty of practical effects. And how much better they age than CG. Or even acknowledging how much they were able to achieve using only practical effects, they're always just going to look dated to you because they are. So there's really no point in saying it every time. We get it Jordan. Films from the 1980s aren't from the 2020s.
How did they achieve the objects floating around clever green screen? Am I confusing green screen with cgi? That's possible. I do like practical effects, I liked pretty much everything about American Werewolf and the thing in that regard. I will admit that I'm used to modern movies. I don't think it's a bad thing and I don't think it's bad for me to try enjoy these 80's movies. 🤷 You're complaining but you still watched my videos.
@@RelaxwithJC Yes you're confusing green screen and stop motion animation with CG. They're 3 different things. It's not a bad thing to watch movies from the '80s at all. It's great in fact. But it's not when your first tendency is to always compare their effects to their modern-day counterparts. Some of which still look worse than effects from the 80's btw. And your video showed up on my recommendations on a Sunday when I had free time. So I thought I'd give you another shot; only to see you complain about the special effects yet again as per usual. Oh well. Your reactions aren't horrible. Just the comments on the effects every time are grating. It's like making a living on cleaning out old attics and commenting on the dust every time. Especially when the treasures lie beneath - there's really no use in it.
I've seen this film countless times in the past 39 years and I never cried once when they rescued Carol ann, that is until YOU two started, thanks a lot..🤣🤣 jk...great reactions to a cinematic masterpiece...
Sadly the actress who played the older sister was murdered by her abusive ex boyfriend shortly after this came out and the girl who played carol Ann passed away after the second poltergeist came out. The skeletons in the pool scene were real because they were cheaper then fake ones and the neglected to tell the actress before she filmed the scene.
I grew up with this movie and always loved it and thought it was awesome. As a parent, watching it now, the impact is ridiculous and I cry so much with this family. The movie is better now than before. Love it and seeing you guys react the same way is so special.
I was born the year this film was released, but I didn't see it until I was a senior in high school and it was playing on HBO. I'm actually glad I didn't see it before then, as it would have traumatized me as a young child. As it was, it had just the right amount of scare, and the only scene I can't deal with is the steak and melting face scene (which I always skip). The rest of it is a pleasant combination of just enough but not too much scary and a perfect amount of 80s nostalgia, which brings back wonderful memories from my early childhood just a couple of years later.
That’s what I love about the movies from my generation no CGI …a lot of it was pure talent and use of imagination… they didn’t have the technology they have today to rely on …today’s movies they’re good with the graphic , CGI … back then was real entertainment because of the way they were made and that’s what a lot of movies are missing today.. One of my biggest problems with some of the movies today is there not that great …it’s irritating that most of the movies today are just reboots… it’s almost like the entertainment industry no longer has a mind of their own…
Great movie great reaction. Saw this at the theater when it came out. Scared the bajezzez out of me! Did you know they say this movie was cursed? While editing they found several reels of film blank and had to be reshot. The actress who played the older sister, Dominique Dunne, died shortly after it was released. The actress who played the younger sister, Heather O'Rourke, died while filming the third poltergeist movie. She was 11. The actors who played the preacher and the native American man in the second one died. Car accidents, things moved on set, etc.. the boy who played the son said when the clown grabbed him in the scene, the mechanical arm locked and nearly chocked him. Steven Spielberg had to save him.
BTW, most people make the guess about the land being desecrated burial grounds or whatever -- you can hardly help it. I mean, I'm pretty sure that THIS movie is what cemented that trope in our popular culture. So...........yeah. Totally legit that you would think of that on your own. It's IN the zeitgeist. You couldn't avoid it.
Fun Fact. Poltergeist was based on an earlier script by Steven Spielberg from the 1970s called Night Skies, a horror movie based on the Kelly-Hopkinsville UFO incident in 1950s Kentucky, about a family in a remote farmhouse who are being terrorized by aliens. Initially intended as a sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the script was rejected by Columbia Pictures, who expected a family friendly sequel to Close Encounters and didn't want a horror movie. So elements of the Night Skies script ended up being worked into three different Spielberg productions - E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, Poltergeist, and Gremlins.
Aha! So that's why it's so Spielbergian, even though Tobe Hooper directed it! Now I understand! Do you know how much Spielberg directed - if anything - in this movie? Or was it all Tobe Hooper. All the stuff with the kids HAS to be Spielberg, right?
@@44excalibur Thanks for the info. And in an appalling development, I just found out that not only did they do a remake of "Poltergeist" in 2015.....there is ANOTHER remake in the works. Two remakes of Poltergeist in less than a decade. What world am I living in?!!!!
@@RelaxwithJC Yes, but I assumed he referred to the same type of cemetary, because it clearly has people in caskets when they come out of the ground. SPOILERS: Some of that is covered in the sequel.
I think you might have a greater appreciation for the films you guys watch if you consider the time a movie was made and not apply today's technology to it. "We have 3 Roku remotes..." Roku didn't exist in 1982, and there were, indeed TVs that had remotes that shared the same frequency. Door opens to room of chaos: "The CGI isn't that great..." It's not CGI. They're all optical and practical effects. C'mon, kids. The world wasn't created in 1990.
The skeletons ARE real. They were obtained from an anatomy supply company and the fake decaying tissue added by the special effects department. Plastic skeletons didn’t look convincing enough so they got real and hid the fact from JoBeth until after the muddy pool scene was shot. I guess they figured it was easier to ask her forgiveness than permission. It was rumored that there was a curse on the set. Strange things happened and later Heather died and Dominique was murdered. Great reaction! Like your channel!
As a child of the 80’s I for sure had nightmares from this! I was probably 7 or something when I watched this. Fyi, they were real skeletons! This actress found out later.
The effects were not CGI as the was not around then. CGI came in around the late 1980's and was crude and clunky then, only really took off and looked pioneering when Jurraaic Park came out mid 1990's. The effects in this movie are optical and practical, a testament to decades of effects that were good maybe great enough for the day. CGI tends to look more artificial than old school effects. The team behind the effects on this movie was the George Lucas company, ILM Industrial Light & Magic, that was heavily busy throughout the 1980's. Also, aside from Jaws, this is the only other Rated PG movie that was so intense enough to create the PG-13 rating a couple of years after this movie was released.
I was about Robbie's age when the movie came out and wanted that room. This film is completely incredible during its time. You can see a lot of Spielberg influence though Tobe Hooper directed this. Amazing horror genre that created its own fans and stans.
You guys should do the other two Poltergeist movies and the remake from 2015. and fun fact: the master bedroom scene at the end where she was rolling around on the walls and stuff, they actually had everything screwed down plus the camera and then they started rotating the set around while the camera stayed in place with the bed and everything else while JoBeth Williams who played the mom moved around when the set was rotating around.
And the reason the corpses looked real is beavuse those WERE real skeletons, dressed up in latex skin. They were imported from India. Even JoBeth Williams did NOT know at the time that they were real. She does now.
Those metal roller skates were actually size-adjustable skates that were popular in the 1980s that you actually wore over your shoes/sneakers. They were eventually replaced by plastic versions before they were discontinued entirely. They were for kids who were too lazy to wear actual skates. lol 😆
It wasn't because they were too lazy it was because they were cheaper than real roller skates. They were also a pain because they wouldn't stay locked and you would have to keep adjusting them. I had a pair and hated them for those reasons.
@@blkluv100 Well, yes, they were cheaper, but it was also because you didn't have to take off your sneakers to wear them, you could just wear them over your sneakers and then take them off. lol But you're right about them being cheap, and those locks, like you said, just kept failing and the skates would just extend and slip off all the time.
Good call on not re-reacting to a movie, as it just wouldn't turn out good re-watching it and trying to make it seem fresh. Poltergeist is much more fun! :)
When you asked where is the neighbor when Robbie was being consumed by the tree, I figured the neighbor couldn't not hear because of the storm/tornado happening at the same time.
Creepy fact: those were REAL corpses in the swimming pool. And the actress Jo Beth Williams didn't find out until years later. P.S. I'm subscribing because you guys are so genuine and make a good looking couple. Hottie hubbie.
I watched this when I was 9 in the dark and it's still my favourite film to this day 😊 what's sad about this is that Heather o rourke and Dominique dunne died too young 💔🙏😔
I don't know why all the different reactors are so concerned about flushing a bird (?) I flushed a rat without incident, and slept like a baby. And by the way, no thumbs up for this reaction, just because of all the ridiculous special effects criticisms.
Poltergeist was cursed with real life tragedy, sadly. Actress Dominique Dunne, who played Dana Freeling, was strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend during a domestic violence incident in October of 1982, four months following the release of Poltergeist. Actress Heather O'Rourke, who played Carol Anne Freeling, died of congenital intestinal stenosis in 1988 at the age of 12, four months before the release of Poltergeist III.
It's was a thriller,not a horror! Modern cgi is highly overrated! Effects without characterisation is hollow and empty! Upon my first viewing as a teenager,this film left me exhausted and spent! Fantastic film that holds up and stands the test of time! Great reaction!
Poltergeist. Very good movie (imo); a great combo of scary stuff and really sad bits. Also, great nostalgia, looking abck now, if you were around in the seventies (I was born in 1966). The sequel is pretty good too (although it does mess about a bit with the background story). Avoid the 3rd film like the plague.
I think my favorite part is 37:07
You said the skeletons looked real, that's because they was.
@@DPYROAXIS Yeah and they didn't tell her they were real, either, until after the scene was filmed. When Carol-Anne is being sucked into the closet and is screaming, that was legit terror because she didn't know what was happening.
Agreed, but 46:10 is pretty good, too. As I knew it would be. :D
People today do not realize how amazing these effects were back in 1982. Cheesy was not a word used by critics of the time period, and the effects, along with the sound effects editing, and score were nominated for Oscars. This is from the same effects team that brought you all Raiders of the Lost Ark. Of course it's dated, but you cannot watch a 40 year old film today and not have it look dated. There is no CGI here, and the practical effects are still great IMO. Even the beast at the end blocking Diane from entering the kid's bedroom was an actual three dimensional puppet filmed inside a tank of water to make the hair float. Such a great movie.
That's actually pretty amazing they figured some of this out without cgi
Practical effects are so much more entertaining to watch than a CGI-fest to me, especially when they're SO well-done the way they are in this film.
This is a very intelligent comment.
There are still things that practical does better than CGI, and a lot of CGI (and now AI) these days has no artistry to it, and much of it feels cheaply done.
The thing that is so great about this movie for me is how the family is portrayed - the moments of calm between the horror are so well done and make the family so believable and likeable, so you really do route for them when all the bad stuff happens. Even the experts that come into the house seem to bond with the family - I love the scene where the older lady assures her that she is coming back and gives her a hug.
NO CGI in these movies. FX were amazing back then! Part of the experience and awe of this movie.
Y'all were so invested in this movie! I was getting emotional just watching you two. Poltergeist is a fab film. Horror and heart, tough combo and rare to find. x
Thank you! We really enjoyed it.
Films from the 80s and 90s were usually well written, due to the writers having tons of experience and talent. Jump scares would be used sparingly, since you can only handle a few at a time, or a person becomes numb to them. Also, many films would not show certain parts, and leave it to your imagination, which usually leads you to come up with far more horrible thoughts than what someone could film. Most modern horror films rely on jump scares for the horror, which isn't actually what horror is about.
I completely agree today’s entertainment industry no longer has an imagination they are not giving us their creation they’re giving us the new generations bullshit they don’t make them like they used to and that’s a shame we lost pure entertainment a long time ago…. There’s no connection with the movies or characters in today’s society of entertainment…
So my first experience with this film was when I was 19, and I literally was scared to tears. It holds up so well, the family clearly loves each other, and the dog survives
Fun fact: Those hands that were peeling the guys face off were Steven Spielberg’s hands.
Just so you know it wasn't bad CGI, there was no CGI in 1982
Thank you. Now go tell Mr Smartass that !
Wrong. Tron (1982).
Are they totally clueless about the early 80s?
The "little woman" Tangina Barrons was played by actress Zelda Rubinstein. She passed away in 2010 at the age of 76. She had 58 acting credits with Poltergeist being her fourth.
TV Trivia: Very early remote controls did not use pulsed Infra-Red light signals like today. Instead they were mechanical devices that struck a tuning fork like piece of metal that made a high pitched sound of specific frequency that the TV listened for. They were called "clickers" because most people could here the mechanical sound of the hammer hitting the metal but not the higher freq sound it made. They were very simple with only Channel Up/Down and maybe an on / off. And yes any TV with in hearing of the same brand would respond.
Back in the 80's, you knew it was time to go to bed when the national anthem came on and broadcast television would cease programs until 6am the next day.
That was happening worldwide, just so you know.
It wasn't ancient Indian burial ground. Remember when Mr. Teague, the boss, reassured Steve that it WASN'T? He tried to mitigate Steve's horror, by adding, "They're just people."
Excuse me J or C. I saw Poltergeist the Summer of 1982 in a theater with my circle of friends, it was a packed house. I was a teenager. There was nothing wrong with the CGI, it was perfectly brilliant. The moment that got the most screams. The tree coming to life. The paranormal assistant’s face melting. The headstones rising out of the ground. The. Mother trapped in the pool full of corpses.
Poltergiest was the most enjoyable movie experience, I had with my friends. What a time that was. ❤❤❤❤
Thanks for reacting to Poltergiest.
No, the town wasn't built on an Indian burial ground, it was built over a cemetery.
Built over a cemetery that was built over a lost cults resting place lol
@@killingjoke535 Well, I don't know if Poltergeist II was technically canon since Spielberg had nothing to do with it.
Great reaction to one of the best horror films ever made. No CGI involved. Just blue screen, stop motion, and practical effects.
Poltergeist was nominated for best original score by Oscar-Winning composer, Jerry Goldsmith. He was easily one of the greatest musicians of the 20th Century.
I swear the scariest part of this movie wasn't the ghosts, wasn't the jumpscares, wasn't the killer clown, the hungry tree, or even the house going to pieces all around the family. The scariest part for me was when the when the dad grabbed his boss and said, "You moved the cemetery, but you kept the bodies, didn't you? You moved the headstones!"
It's one of those "Oh, my God! What has this maniac boss done!" The boss is the villain here! That's the scariest part, the real live implications of what people think is okay to do, when the ramifications are so much worse than they think.
I think movie makers now think that the audience won’t sit still long enough to make a connection with the characters if a movie, they think they got to go in for the scare factor, but they have an opportunity to pay attention to the story tellers and mix it with awesome practical affects, only using CGI when absolutely needed. I am still hoping someone will come along and breath new life into the movies by using all the knowledge they can gather from these classics.
Me and my Wife saw at the theater when it came out it was even scary in a packed theater! Classic thanks for sharing your fun reaction!
Thanks for watching! I'm sure those jump scare parts were extra scary in the theater
In the drive thru in cars i could not always here audience reaction. I think if i recall the spinning room sequence all the toys flying around the hulk riding the horse did here a people like whoa but then ya heard everyone lol. Not sure what scene it must have been jump scare cause in those days they just had the moive speaker for one car ya hooked it into the open window i remember i jumped knocked ot off the window so the sound cut out opps static but we got it quickly back up sound came back. Those speakers were not the best quality but decent in surround sound on dvd you can hear the backgrounds whispers clearer.
@@RelaxwithJC R,I,P... Heather O'Rourke(Carol Ann) Domonique Dunne(Dana)... Robbie was almost killed(strangled) doing the attack clown park S, Spielberg had to help him....
I still can't believe they had Jobeth Williams in the water with real skeletons and didn't tell her. That's so messed up.
For the record, I would say that Poltergeist was partly responsible for our newfound (to many people) national fear of clowns.
Yes, it's true...........our grandparents and great-grandparents enjoyed clowns. They didn't have much else. But a clown-based TV show was HUGE when I was a kid, and there were all kinds of circus-themed amusements and entertainments. Having a clown doll sitting in a chair is completely batshit CRAZY in 2022, but in 1982, it really wasn't that weird. See: early seasons of The Simpsons, when Bart's TV hero is Krusty, whose doll sits in Bart's bedroom. Matt Groening remembers. Clowns used to just be like silly uncles, and everyone kind of tolerated them for debasing themselves for the amusement of others. It was truly ALL harmless fun!
Geez, now that I think about it, Bozo was on every day at 7, and there was an assortment of clowns with different personalities on the show. They'd perform LIVE, in front of children, doing their little skits with the falling down and the pies in the face. And the kids laughed, because that's funny when you're 4. It's bizarre to think that this was once the norm, considering how clowns are now regarded as universally evil.
POLTERGEIST has the Best family. You really feel the love from the mother and father. The music sets the scenes so well. STEVEN SPIELBERG 📽🎞
That house crumbling away scene was done with a very large model house, some hydro lice and rotoscoping and cost around 250,000 bucks. In 1984 dollars.
Hydrolics not hydro lice
I’m old enough to remember when they played the anthem and channels went off the air for the night.
Spielberg didn't direct Poltergeist, he only wrote it and produced it. It was directed by Tobe Hooper, with Spielberg on set most of the time making creative decisions, so he basically co-directed it.
Oh that's my mistake. Still you can clearly see his influence. Makes it all the better!
@@RelaxwithJC Yep, you can see the influence. Spielberg's contract with Universal at the time prevented him from directing Poltergeist, as he was also working on E.T. The Extraterrestrial while Poltergeist was an MGM production, which is why Hooper was hired to basically ghost-direct.
Ahh makes sense
This is my favourite movie! I watched it when I was 8 years old and fell in love with it! Also the film Insidious took a lot of inspiration from this movie, James wan has stated that poltergeist used to terrify him and it really influences his films! Also scary movie 2 also takes parody of poltergeist 2!
I never realize that about scary movie 2 until I watched this. I was laughing pretty hard.
This is my favorite movie and i saw it for the first time when i was 8 too!
Might be 2yrs too late but this was co-written by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper. He also directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 1974.
They didn't have CGI in 1982. They used handmade effects and the skeletons were real that's why they ended up having a curse attached to the movies.
Loved your reaction, this is one of my top 10 favorites. The nostalgia really gets me, having been 5 when this released. I had the same Snoopy toy Carol Anne has in the kitchen scene, I’m just old enough to remember the National Anthem closing out TV programming, followed by dead air until morning.
Now watching it as a parent of three under 7, and after losing a parent in recent years, I’m in tears half the time. It’s not the same watch it was when I was younger. It’s too emotional, I watched a few reaction videos on the Halloween night instead, and I enjoyed yours the most. Thank you for the fun, will subscribe!
Mr. Incredible was fantastic in the Poltergeists movies, the first two that is.
This is my favorite reaction to this movie. This was my favorite movie . I watched it when I was 5 in the theater. It is rated PG. My parents didn't realize it was a horror movie. Needless to say I hated my closet and my sister wouldn't watch TV for 2 months.
Thank you! To be your favorite reaction out of all the wonderful reactors is pretty amazing!
Try one called The Entity. That's another movie about a poltergeist from the early eighties, .. . only THAT one ain't rated PG! I assure you!
Jordan literally complains about the "bad CGI" and how the effects take him out of the movie every time. When the special effects from this era usually age better than horrible early and even present CGI because they used practical real-world effects instead. So please either stop watching movies from the '80s or get over the effects from that time already.
The only moment in this film I thought the cgi was "bad" was when the lamp and what not was flying around the room. The rest of the effects were great and I appreciate them. It was just a small criticism.
@@RelaxwithJC Ok well that's not even CGI as they didn't have CG at the time. Certainly not any that could recreate real-world objects back then.
The bad CG/special effects comment is almost always the first thing you say and no exaggeration, you literally say it every time so it's a bit old and annoying.
You probably think CGI prequel Jabba looks better than practical OT Jabba. And 2000's "The Thing" looks better than the 1980's version. Because you just don't get it.
If you're only going to complain every time you watch movies from the 80's while never embracing the beauty of practical effects. And how much better they age than CG. Or even acknowledging how much they were able to achieve using only practical effects, they're always just going to look dated to you because they are. So there's really no point in saying it every time.
We get it Jordan. Films from the 1980s aren't from the 2020s.
How did they achieve the objects floating around clever green screen? Am I confusing green screen with cgi? That's possible. I do like practical effects, I liked pretty much everything about American Werewolf and the thing in that regard.
I will admit that I'm used to modern movies. I don't think it's a bad thing and I don't think it's bad for me to try enjoy these 80's movies.
🤷 You're complaining but you still watched my videos.
@@RelaxwithJC Yes you're confusing green screen and stop motion animation with CG. They're 3 different things.
It's not a bad thing to watch movies from the '80s at all. It's great in fact. But it's not when your first tendency is to always compare their effects to their modern-day counterparts. Some of which still look worse than effects from the 80's btw.
And your video showed up on my recommendations on a Sunday when I had free time. So I thought I'd give you another shot; only to see you complain about the special effects yet again as per usual. Oh well.
Your reactions aren't horrible. Just the comments on the effects every time are grating. It's like making a living on cleaning out old attics and commenting on the dust every time. Especially when the treasures lie beneath - there's really no use in it.
Hahaha that's a great analogy actually! I appreciate the criticism tho. I'll try not to just jump to cgi in the future
Remember kids, it’s no CGI. No such thing as CGI back then. In the day, they were just called special effects.
I've seen this film countless times in the past 39 years and I never cried once when they rescued Carol ann, that is until YOU two started, thanks a lot..🤣🤣 jk...great reactions to a cinematic masterpiece...
Same, just 37 years. 😅
Fun Fact: The director used real skeletons but didn't tell the actors until it was over.
Sadly the actress who played the older sister was murdered by her abusive ex boyfriend shortly after this came out and the girl who played carol Ann passed away after the second poltergeist came out. The skeletons in the pool scene were real because they were cheaper then fake ones and the neglected to tell the actress before she filmed the scene.
Nothing in this movie was CGI, dude. Everything you see here is all practical effects.
The scene where the tree tries to eat Robbie is also referenced in Scary Movie 2 when the giant weed plant attacked and smokes Shorty
You should watch 'Carrie' (1976)
"God, those look so real"
That's because they are, as real skeletons were cheaper than getting fake ones.
I grew up with this movie and always loved it and thought it was awesome. As a parent, watching it now, the impact is ridiculous and I cry so much with this family. The movie is better now than before. Love it and seeing you guys react the same way is so special.
had to stop and comment at my favourite part so far..... 10:34 ..... "she has a clown phobia so".....
me: "this is gonna be a circus"
Spielberg produced this movie. Tobe Hooper directed this movie . He also directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
I was born the year this film was released, but I didn't see it until I was a senior in high school and it was playing on HBO. I'm actually glad I didn't see it before then, as it would have traumatized me as a young child. As it was, it had just the right amount of scare, and the only scene I can't deal with is the steak and melting face scene (which I always skip). The rest of it is a pleasant combination of just enough but not too much scary and a perfect amount of 80s nostalgia, which brings back wonderful memories from my early childhood just a couple of years later.
That’s what I love about the movies from my generation no CGI …a lot of it was pure talent and use of imagination… they didn’t have the technology they have today to rely on …today’s movies they’re good with the graphic , CGI … back then was real entertainment because of the way they were made and that’s what a lot of movies are missing today.. One of my biggest problems with some of the movies today is there not that great …it’s irritating that most of the movies today are just reboots… it’s almost like the entertainment industry no longer has a mind of their own…
Great movie great reaction. Saw this at the theater when it came out. Scared the bajezzez out of me! Did you know they say this movie was cursed? While editing they found several reels of film blank and had to be reshot. The actress who played the older sister, Dominique Dunne, died shortly after it was released. The actress who played the younger sister, Heather O'Rourke, died while filming the third poltergeist movie. She was 11. The actors who played the preacher and the native American man in the second one died. Car accidents, things moved on set, etc.. the boy who played the son said when the clown grabbed him in the scene, the mechanical arm locked and nearly chocked him. Steven Spielberg had to save him.
BTW, most people make the guess about the land being desecrated burial grounds or whatever -- you can hardly help it. I mean, I'm pretty sure that THIS movie is what cemented that trope in our popular culture. So...........yeah. Totally legit that you would think of that on your own. It's IN the zeitgeist. You couldn't avoid it.
I saw this as a young teen when it came out. This movie was rated PG.
Fun Fact. Poltergeist was based on an earlier script by Steven Spielberg from the 1970s called Night Skies, a horror movie based on the Kelly-Hopkinsville UFO incident in 1950s Kentucky, about a family in a remote farmhouse who are being terrorized by aliens. Initially intended as a sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the script was rejected by Columbia Pictures, who expected a family friendly sequel to Close Encounters and didn't want a horror movie. So elements of the Night Skies script ended up being worked into three different Spielberg productions - E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, Poltergeist, and Gremlins.
Aha! So that's why it's so Spielbergian, even though Tobe Hooper directed it! Now I understand! Do you know how much Spielberg directed - if anything - in this movie? Or was it all Tobe Hooper. All the stuff with the kids HAS to be Spielberg, right?
@@TTM9691 According to accounts from the actors and crew who were on the Poltergeist set, it was pretty much 50/50 Spielberg/Hooper.
@@44excalibur Thanks for the info. And in an appalling development, I just found out that not only did they do a remake of "Poltergeist" in 2015.....there is ANOTHER remake in the works. Two remakes of Poltergeist in less than a decade. What world am I living in?!!!!
@@TTM9691 You're welcome. And I know, we're living in an era of idiocy and mediocrity. They should leave the classics alone.
@@44excalibur You are the loudspeaker for my mind, Excalibur. (Thanks again for the info, amigo. ;)
This is my favorite reaction to this movie by far, you guys rock!
The little girl Carol Anne (Heather O’Roarke) passed away in 1988 at 12 years old. The sister was murdered by her boyfriend on November 4, 1982.
RIP Heather O'Rourke. 🕊
Guys I think I remember hearing that is actually Steven Spielberg's hands and arms used for the face ripping scene
He said moving the cemetary was OK, because it's NOT ancient burial ground, it's just people.
Yes but then after that he said it's okay because they'd already done it once before and that the whole town they just built was on one.
@@RelaxwithJC Yes, but I assumed he referred to the same type of cemetary, because it clearly has people in caskets when they come out of the ground. SPOILERS: Some of that is covered in the sequel.
Ya that's true there were caskets and jewelry
@@RelaxwithJC Also, I love your reactions, you both are really genuine.
Thank you so much 😊 I appreciate that more than you know.
50:45 "God! Those look so real!"
lol
(real skeletons)
This movie ranked at #80 in the 100 scariest movie moments on Bravo
I think you might have a greater appreciation for the films you guys watch if you consider the time a movie was made and not apply today's technology to it.
"We have 3 Roku remotes..." Roku didn't exist in 1982, and there were, indeed TVs that had remotes that shared the same frequency.
Door opens to room of chaos: "The CGI isn't that great..." It's not CGI. They're all optical and practical effects.
C'mon, kids. The world wasn't created in 1990.
I just had to address your comments about "cgi"; this was made BEFORE cgi. All those effects were done by the magicians at IML.
Dude! Now I know who you remind me of! You look like the kid from Superbad - McLovin - but adult!
When I was in high school I looked just like him and people would tell me this much more. Haha even going to a restaurant the waiters would say that.
Lol that's hilarious!
The skeletons ARE real. They were obtained from an anatomy supply company and the fake decaying tissue added by the special effects department. Plastic skeletons didn’t look convincing enough so they got real and hid the fact from JoBeth until after the muddy pool scene was shot. I guess they figured it was easier to ask her forgiveness than permission. It was rumored that there was a curse on the set. Strange things happened and later Heather died and Dominique was murdered.
Great reaction! Like your channel!
Also side note, they used actual corpses for the ending scenes
38:53 -- is she a medium?
Yep..............
She's a small medium at large.
As a child of the 80’s I for sure had nightmares from this! I was probably 7 or something when I watched this. Fyi, they were real skeletons! This actress found out later.
There was no CGI in that movie. They didn't start using CGI until
15:36 The guy on the right is Oliver Stone.
Look closely; this movie takes place in the same neighborhood as E.T. , at the time as well.
The effects were not CGI as the was not around then. CGI came in around the late 1980's and was crude and clunky then, only really took off and looked pioneering when Jurraaic Park came out mid 1990's. The effects in this movie are optical and practical, a testament to decades of effects that were good maybe great enough for the day. CGI tends to look more artificial than old school effects. The team behind the effects on this movie was the George Lucas company, ILM Industrial Light & Magic, that was heavily busy throughout the 1980's. Also, aside from Jaws, this is the only other Rated PG movie that was so intense enough to create the PG-13 rating a couple of years after this movie was released.
I was about Robbie's age when the movie came out and wanted that room. This film is completely incredible during its time. You can see a lot of Spielberg influence though Tobe Hooper directed this. Amazing horror genre that created its own fans and stans.
Are you guys Canadian? I have a suspicion you are lol I am loving the reactions! Keep em coming! ❤
Ahhh man I’m glad you guys watched Roadhouse..loved your reaction guys, love you guys 👌🏾
Roadhouse was great. Bummed that the recording got messed up because our reaction would have been good haha
You guys should do the other two Poltergeist movies and the remake from 2015. and fun fact: the master bedroom scene at the end where she was rolling around on the walls and stuff, they actually had everything screwed down plus the camera and then they started rotating the set around while the camera stayed in place with the bed and everything else while JoBeth Williams who played the mom moved around when the set was rotating around.
I am also a *Severe* "Clown Phobe" or Coulrophobia. It can be a debilitating fear.
49:50 those are real human skeletons. Fake ones were too expensive at the time. So yeah. You’re right. They look real because they are.
And the reason the corpses looked real is beavuse those WERE real skeletons, dressed up in latex skin. They were imported from India. Even JoBeth Williams did NOT know at the time that they were real. She does now.
@50:45 That's because they *ARE* real. Those bodies are actual corpses.
Zelda Rubinstein wasn't a medium. Somewhere between small and medium maybe?
If you can find the book get it the movie was only about 1/3 of the book there’s so much more to the story
Yeh it was Speilburg who ripped the face off cause the actor said he did not want t o destroy the pricey model in one take.
Omg that's why it looked like it wasn't the actors hands!
Those metal roller skates were actually size-adjustable skates that were popular in the 1980s that you actually wore over your shoes/sneakers. They were eventually replaced by plastic versions before they were discontinued entirely. They were for kids who were too lazy to wear actual skates. lol 😆
It wasn't because they were too lazy it was because they were cheaper than real roller skates. They were also a pain because they wouldn't stay locked and you would have to keep adjusting them. I had a pair and hated them for those reasons.
@@blkluv100 Well, yes, they were cheaper, but it was also because you didn't have to take off your sneakers to wear them, you could just wear them over your sneakers and then take them off. lol But you're right about them being cheap, and those locks, like you said, just kept failing and the skates would just extend and slip off all the time.
Good call on not re-reacting to a movie, as it just wouldn't turn out good re-watching it and trying to make it seem fresh. Poltergeist is much more fun! :)
When you asked where is the neighbor when Robbie was being consumed by the tree, I figured the neighbor couldn't not hear because of the storm/tornado happening at the same time.
In the shot where the tornado dissipates you can see the neighbor and his wife outside with their flashlights
Old special effects work on the basis of "does it look real? Will people be faked? No, but it looks good and achieves its goal"
Maybe I'm the only one who was alive back then but at midnight the tv would play the national anthem video and then it would go static
CGI? It's mostly practical effects, artwork and overlays.
Ya i realize that now after getting flamed in the comments
The bodies were real
Thanks so much guys! Its perfect movie for this night or Halloween
Creepy fact: those were REAL corpses in the swimming pool. And the actress Jo Beth Williams didn't find out until years later.
P.S. I'm subscribing because you guys are so genuine and make a good looking couple. Hottie hubbie.
The skeletons were real.
The stairwell scene will make more sense in Poltergeist 2: the Other Side.
You have got to watch part 2 and 3
When see it as young kid it teeps into those childhood fears. This moive gave me nightmares for a long time. So as an adult it propobly not be scary.
Hey guys! New to your channel and I really enjoy your reactions. I look forward to what you watch next.
I watched this when I was 9 in the dark and it's still my favourite film to this day 😊 what's sad about this is that Heather o rourke and Dominique dunne died too young 💔🙏😔
I don't know why all the different reactors are so concerned about flushing a bird (?) I flushed a rat without incident, and slept like a baby.
And by the way, no thumbs up for this reaction, just because of all the ridiculous special effects criticisms.
If you enjoyed this classic cinematic horror,I urge you to get a hold of Friedkins 'The Exorcist',It's one of the Horror greats.
Poltergeist was cursed with real life tragedy, sadly. Actress Dominique Dunne, who played Dana Freeling, was strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend during a domestic violence incident in October of 1982, four months following the release of Poltergeist. Actress Heather O'Rourke, who played Carol Anne Freeling, died of congenital intestinal stenosis in 1988 at the age of 12, four months before the release of Poltergeist III.
Oh no! That's so sad I might keep that fact away from Cassie lol
It's was a thriller,not a horror! Modern cgi is highly overrated! Effects without characterisation is hollow and empty! Upon my first viewing as a teenager,this film left me exhausted and spent! Fantastic film that holds up and stands the test of time! Great reaction!
Poltergeist. Very good movie (imo); a great combo of scary stuff and really sad bits. Also, great nostalgia, looking abck now, if you were around in the seventies (I was born in 1966). The sequel is pretty good too (although it does mess about a bit with the background story). Avoid the 3rd film like the plague.
New sub here you guys! So sorry to hear about Roadhouse that is an amazing movie! It happens though just pick up and move forward 😎🤗