Poltergeist was directed by Tobe Hooper, famous for making The Texas Chainsaw Massacre eight years before. At the time of it's release, it was rumored that Steven Spielberg, the picture's producer and writer, did more than that.

The evident truth is Poltergeist is probably a bit darker than a movie that Spielberg would have directed at that time, and definitely lighter than a Tobe Hooper film. It's really a combination of both their talents. Over a decade and a half later, the movie holds up extremely well. It is THE classic modern ghost movie...a great rollercoaster ride.

The Freelings are your typical American family. Steve and Diane (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams), their three kids Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke), Dana (Dominique Dunne), and Robbie (Oliver Robbins), and their dog, live in the perfect town of Cuesta Verde.

One night, after everyone has gone to sleep and the national anthem has played on the television, Carol Anne comes downstairs. Looking into the fizz of the TV, she strangely begins communicating with something. Steve and Diane don't see this. On typical nights after they have put the kids to sleep, these products of the 60's stay up in their bedroom, smoking pot and laughing it up.

Some days later, their son Robbie is afraid because there's a storm outside and he's having trouble sleeping. Steve tells him to count after he sees the lightning, until he hears the thunder. If he can count higher each time, it means the storm is moving away from them. Dad leaves and Robbie and Carol Anne begin counting. But they're still too scared and they both end up in their parents' bed. Everyone is sleeping, and once again the TV is on.

When the programming has ended, Carol Anne wakes up and walks over to it. Hearing voices, she puts her hand up towards the TV.

Suddenly, a strange light comes bolting out of it and goes straight through the wall of the bedroom. This commotion wakes everyone up just in time to hear Carol Anne say the immortal words "They're here!" The next morning, weird things start happening. The dog is barking at the wall and chairs are moving around by themselves.

When Steven comes home from work, Diane is able to prove it to him by showing him a chair move by itself in the kitchen. That night, there is another storm outside. Robbie is terrified again and begins counting the time between the lightning and thunder.

To his horror, the storm is actually getting closer. Suddenly a huge menacing tree outside the kids' bedroom breaks through the window and pulls him out. Things are flying all over the place.

The closet opens and there is a bright light coming out of it. Carol Anne is sucked into it. The parents along with Dana, manage to pull Robbie away from the tree, but the little girl is missing.

They search the house and the swimming pool for her. They hear Carol Anne's voice, but soon realize that it's coming out of the television set.

Desperate, Steven and Diane go to see Dr. Lesh (Beatrice Straight), an investigator of strange phenomenon. She agrees to help them get her daughter back, and sets up equipment in the house with her assistants Marty (Martin Casella) and Ryan (Richard Lawson).

Entering the children's bedroom, they see just about everything flying around. Dr. Lesh explains to the family that she believes the occurances are being caused by a "poltergeist."

Describing the difference between a haunting and a poltergeist, she tells them that a poltergeist usually involves an individual and lasts for a short while. A haunting on the other hand involves an entire house and lasts indefinitely. Attempting to communicate with Carol Anne, they hear her voice. The little girl tells them that she's not alone and that she sees a light. Dr. Lesh advises her to stay away from it.

As Diane is ascending the staircase to go up towards the bedroom, a sudden gust of wind passes through her. Diane says it was Carol Anne and that she can smell her.

With almost everyone sleeping, Marty goes into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. He finds a piece of chicken in the refrigerator. Looking on the counter he sees a steak moving by itself. He drops the chicken on the floor and when he looks down, sees maggots crawling all over it.

Disgusted, Marty runs to the bathroom to wash up, but sees a horrific vision in the mirror of his face peeling off.

Meanwhile Ryan is keeping an eye on the video monitor. He records a group of ghosts coming down the staircase. When the tape is played back, what appears on the screen is a bunch of bright lights.

Shortly after, Steven's boss, Mr. Teague (James Karen), takes him to a plot of land near Cuesta Verde. He tells Steven that he wants to expand the community. However the land he's chosen includes a cemetery. Horrified, Steven says it would be sacriligious to build over it. Teague tells him that it's been done before...the houses in Cuesta Verde were originally built above a cemetery that was relocated.

Back at the house, Dr. Lesh brings in a psyhic named Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein), a wizened little woman. Getting a sense of what's happened, she explains that there are spirits in the house who are not at rest. They don't realize that they have passed on and they are using Carol Anne to guide them to the next plane.

But there is a danger. Along with the spirits is an evil presence. It has been using the little girl to restrain the others and is keeping Carol Anne away from the "spectral light."

In addition she can only hear her mother's voice. Diane tries communicating with her daughter. She tells her to go towards the light. Tangina open's the children's bedroom and there is a bright light coming out of the closet. She throws a couple of tennis balls into the light, which end up on the floor below.

Carol Anne is being held in this dimension. Tangina throws a rope through it. Holding this rope at the other end are Dr. Lesh and Ryan. Diane is tied to it and the others pull her into the light. But Steven is afraid for his wife's safety. He pulls on the rope prematurely and comes face to face with the evil beast.

Diane and Carol Anne fall out of the dimension and through the ceiling. They care covered in a strange sticky substance but are otherwise okay. Tangina announces that the house "is clean."

After this experience, the family decides to move. On their final night in the house, while Steven is packing his things at the office, Diane takes a quiet bath (and dyes her hair, which has turned partially white.) Robbie and Carol Anne are in their bedroom about to go to sleep. Suddenly a creepy toy clown comes to life and begins choking the little boy. There is a white light behind the closet door and something is trying to get to the children.

Diane hears this but is prevented from getting to them. She runs out of the house screaming and falls into the pool in the back yard which has been under construction. It's raining and there are skeletons everywhere in the muddy water. The neighbors hear her, but refuse to help.

Diane runs back into the house and makes it to the bedroom. The closet door has opened and something is trying to suck Diane and the kids in. Steven comes home and helps them out of the room.

Now, there are coffins and corpses popping out all around the house and inside. Mr. Teague is nearby and Steven runs up to him and grabs him by the collar. "You son of a bitch, you moved the headstones but you didn't move the bodies!" he screams.

The eldest daughter Dana, who has been staying with friends, shows up in time to see her family fleeing and the house selfdestruct. They make it to their car and drive off. The house sends a final lightning bolt through Teague, who is standing on the street, before it is sucked into the ground. The Freelings end up at a motel, where Steven, exasperated, throw the television out of the room.

The acting and special effects were excellent. Poltergeist was deservedly a huge hit. Phrases such as "they're here," "what's happening?!," and "Don't go into the light" became part of pop culture. Many people to this day insist that the film must have been directed by Steven Spielberg.

Perhaps the reason he didn't want much credit for this movie was because E.T. The Extra Terrestrial was released at the same time, and he didn't want to draw attention away from that. The publicity surrounding this question probably hurt Tobe Hooper, who didn't really go on to a stellar career after this.

On a somber note, some members of the cast met untimely deaths. Heather O'Rourke, who played Carol Anne so well, died under mysterious circumstances in 1988, and Dominick Dunne, who played her sister Dana, was murdered by her boyfriend shortly after the film's release. You might say that Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams have suffered as well. Nelson starred in the series "Coach," while Williams was last seen in an unsuccessful TV version of the film "The Client."

Hunter: I recently had a chance to watch this movie again after not having seen it in some time. It's even better than I remember. I would advise horror fans to take another look at this one. It's a film that could be rereleased in the theatres and be a hit all over again. JoBeth Williams is wonderful... completely believable as the mother. And Heather O'Rourke is a living doll.

Jason: One of the best ghost movies took place, surprisingly, in the 80s! This is a great movie of the modern era, probably because the Freeling family is so understandable and their reactions are so real.

The acting is at its peak, most notably JoBeth Williams. Was ever suburban mother played so truthfully as here (and in a ghost/horror movie to boot!)? Heather O'Rourke is exceptionally sweet (and creepy, at the same time). The special effects are strong and believable, yet because of the acting and family situations, the effects (even at their most outrageous) never dominate the movie. A modern spook fest masterpiece, Poltergeist finds itself having aged very little in the twenty odd years since its release.