*I was 12 when Poltergeist came out and I loved it instantly! My little sister who was 5 at the time, looked just like Carol Ann. I had her kneel in front of the tv, I turned the channel to the "snow station", and called for my Mom. When Mom came in the living room, little sis said "They're Herrre" with her hands on the screen. LOL*
I never took the final scene of Steve putting the TV outside as making them look smarter. I took it as a gag- and it works. I chuckle almost every time.
you took it wrong. There was nothing funny about this movie. This was something you do when you think logically about something that almost killed you and your family.
One thing I like about the film is they feel like a real, close family. Which is important to establish so you actually care about them when all the terrible things start happening.
It has become such an over-used trope of action/adventure movies since then, in which an estranged couple or parents and children re-establish their connection through the trials of the story. I always found that dynamic a distraction from the movie. I always regarded it as cheap emotional manipulation. There was already enough emotional turmoil with the abduction of the young daughter. Making the audience hate certain members of the family puts them in an awkward headspace, in which they don't feel the threat toward that family member, and thus no fear of the ghosts.
@@aliensoup2420 Agreed. Sometimes people get too hung up on adding perfunctory drama, tension etc in the story structure they forget, 'oh yeah, we're supposed to like and give a crap about these characters too.' ....The husband and wife toking and enjoying each other's company is my favorite scene in the entire movie. It's the anchor.
My parent's took my sister and I to this movie around Halloween. And after we went out for pizza. I will always remember that. But this movie was the BOMB in 1982. RIP Heather🕊🕊🕊
@White-Dragon thank you. Yes after I posted my comment I totally remembered her. She was such a beautiful girl and on her way to becoming a very good actress.
RIP Heather??? what are you talking about??? i met her 2 years ago. she has such tiny, soft, kind hands she has. i met the lady who played her mom too. of course i met her at 3.1, and felt her energy so obviously it wasn't her. we know who it was.... dont we Karra!
@@gothboschincarnate3931 Heather O'Rourke passed away February 1st 1988. It was All Over the news that day and the ensuing medical malpractice suit. Look it Up on Google. Photos of Heather in her casket and her gravesite; misdiagnosed stomach obstruction. Los Angeles doctors are as whacky as the film industry and were sued.
Top 5 favorite movie. I get so nostalgic about it. Every time I watch it, I'm suddenly 10 years old, it's a stormy hot summer Friday night and we just picked up Pizza Hut and Poltergeist.
Saw at the theater and it was one of the few movies that actually scared me in the theater , side note I threw a baseball to Craig T Nelson once he said thanks 😊
I spent my summers in upstate NY, in a house on a hill, far away from town, other houses, streetlights, and roads. I saw this film at the drive in theater, then went home to my dark house on a hill, up dirt roads far away from civilization. I pretty much didn't sleep the rest of the summer
One of my ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIES !!! I was 8 years old when it came out and of course I wasn't allowed to watch it, but when it was on TV a year later when I was 9, I remember hiding behind a chair while my mom watched it and no surprise, it scared the crap outta me and I had nightmares for about a month after lol 🤣 GREAT MOVIE !!!
Same for me. I love "science vs paranormal" movies, where the protagonists attempt (and sometimes succeed) to defeat/study/cure the paranormal beasties using science. The Exorcist, Poltergeist, Ghostbusters, and Prince of Darkness being at the top of my list.
I was 5 when I saw it in the movie theater (keep in mind that this was before the PG-13 rating existed in the U.S.). Scared the bejeebers out of me, and in my book is still the gold star standard for horror movies.
Similar experience with this haha watched it with dad and older sister. I was kinda terrified but they were like "ooooh wow" and their fearlessness pulled me through. I legit got scared when ol dude peeled his face off in the bathroom sink in that nightmare sequence. But no movie scarred me as much and made me unable to sleep for over two months like sneaking in the room with my sister and her couple of friends watching Exorcist when I was 7 or 8. Seeing this movie gave me PTSD. No movies have scared me since. Poltergeist and The Exorcist made me stronger. Family always wins, no matter the atrocities thrown at us.
UGH. I was 7 when Poltergeist came out. I didn't see it until it hit cable about a year later (three cheers for being a latchkey kid whose mom made sure I had cable to keep me entertained at home) and it scared the BEJEEZUS out of me. To this day I still get those crawlies up my spine at the mere sound of TV static. Yes, you heard that right, a grownass 47 year old man still gets pants-shitting scared of TV static. Come to think of it, Spielberg is responsible for rather a lot of my childhood trauma. Don't even get me started on how I react to the Jaws theme...
I'm amazed you didn't mention the sequence in the novelization right after the mirror scene where Marty suddenly freezes and a swarm of spiders envelope him. The book describes the spiders going up his nose and laying eggs in his ears. I haven't read the novelization in almost 40 years, but that has really stuck with me.
It's funny, I read it about the same time as you & the two parts I remembered most are the scene Minty talks about with the clown in the BBQ & the scene you're talking about. I recently read it again & was like "Yep, I wasn't imagining things. Those scenes are in there!"
Fun fact, Ryan portrayed by Richard Lawson is the father of Bianca Lawson of Buffy The Vampire Slayer (series) fame and Beyonce's mother Tina's husband, making him Beyonce and Solange's step-father.
I was 9 when my family took me to see this. We got to the theater early and had to stand outside the theater doors during the final 10 minutes of the movie listening to the audience screaming. It really freaked me out. I ALMOST asked my parents to get a refund and see Star Trek 2 instead. Glad I didn't, though they are both classics.
One of my all time favorite movies! I saw TWICE when it came out in the summer of 82. I’ve watched it so many times, I can quote the dialogue word for word! 💀❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The 2015 remake should have capitalized this and made a better film than what we got that year.these are intriguing to know the original would have been different and would love to see this but I agree,Minty...the version that we we got in 1982 is outstanding even to this day.
the "I hate Pizza hut" scene with Diana explaining what it feels like to be pulled by the spectral force in the kitchen WAS in the theatrical cut, but all film reels were pulled from the theaters showing the movie when Pizza Hut threated to sue over the "I hate Pizza Hut" scene, and the studio did a rushed awkward jump cut to remove the scene instead of just cutting out Steve's dialogue in the audio track... then the edited film reels then sent out to theaters, so now every copy of the movie the scene cuts off Diane mid sentence and jumps to them at their neighbors front door...
The cut was already made when the movie was released in the UK. I remember thinking there must be some very clever and obscure reason for the jump cut and that if I worked out what it was I'd have a whole new level of understanding. Harrumph.
@@231mac It was released 40 years ago. Of course you don't remember some random line of dialogue. You couldn't name what you had for dinner every day in March. Why would you think you could remember a line of dialogue from 40 years ago?
And it all could have been avoided so easily too. Such a shame, and such an unnecessary loss too. One can only wonder what she'd have gone on to do, as even that young the talent there was clear to see; and what a down to earth person she was also, based on the reports I've seen and read about!
Excellent video! I was 5 or 6 when Poltergeist came out. I was fascinated with the commercials, I knew this was a movie I wanted to see. One day my mum announces we are going to see a movie. We get to the theatre and there are posters for Poltergeist! I excitedly say to my mum “are we watching the movie where the girl says ‘they’re here’!?” My mum laughed it off and said “no, we’re going to Annie.” Now, don’t get me wrong, my 6 year old self did enjoy Annie, but I was very disappointed. Since then I have probably seen Poltergeist upwards to 100 times and Annie, twice.
I don't know if people know, but that toy clown was/is a real toy. It's not a prop. I had one. I can't say for 100% certainty that they were EXACTLY the same, but if it wasn't it was It's evil twin for sure. Anyways, after I saw the movie as a kid, maybe 10 years old, I dug that thing out and tossed it in the trash outside. My mother, thinking it had gotten there by mistake somehow, put it back into my room. In my closet with my other toys. Next day, I go to play, open the closet, and find that creepy bugger there perched atop my other toys staring at me. I booked it the hell out of there pale, panting and nearly in tears. Luckily, my mom asked what was wrong. After I told her, she explained that she'd found it and put it there. Whereupon I breathed a sigh of relief that my creepy clown toy was NOT possessed and trying to kill me. And promptly threw it back in the garage.
WE had that toy, too we believe got it in Mexico it maybe came from China originally. That's why it's in the film spielberg filmed us in mexico n' did lotsa films n' tv shows also met him on a plane
Who doesn’t still love this film!! Every time I watch it I’m like “dang that kid has a ton of amazing movie memorabilia that would be worth a ton today!”
"Legend of Hell House"? I saw that title capture in there - that's one of my favorite horror movies! Minty, please, please, please do a deep dive on LoHH! It was Richard Matheson's adaptation of Shirley Jackson's _Haunting of Hill House_ , and it stars Roddy McDowell on sabbatical from the _Planet of the Apes_ (1968) franchise!
I think that original ending with Carol Ann getting out of the hotel bed and turn the TV on to watch the static depending on how she looks it wouldn't make me think she was stupid but instead something attached itself to her and it's not completely Carol Ann anymore
“It’s Night Time” would be an interesting title. Wonder if they came up with it from the scene where Carol Anne put a napkin in Petey’s burial box. And thank you Minty for clearing up a decades-long question of the scene cut from the kitchen to the neighbor’s house. You rock! 😎
The novelization of The Goonies was my favorite book as a child! I'll need to hunt those other novelizations down....and get a new copy of The Goonies, as my own copy fell apart two decades ago. Great episode, Minty! Most Poltergeist videos concentrate on the tragedies that befell many of the cast, so most of this was entirely new information for me, and quite interesting at that.
This is amount the very BEST reports you’ve given us! Saw this film when it was new in cinemas, and it’s among my all-time faves. Your researches are epic! Mahalo!
I saw this movie in the theaters and was blown away. When it was over, my step-mother told us she thought the book was better. So- I think there is a good chance the novelization came out before the movie.
The song "Shining" by horror punk band Misfits, on their 1997 album American Psycho, is based directly on the film, with the chorus centered on the refrain: "Carol Anne, Carol Anne". Spice Girls pays homage to the film in their 1997 music video for the song Too Much. Swedish singer E-Type parodied the film in his music video for his 1998 single "Here I Go Again". In the clip Nana Hedin (who sang the chorus in the song) portrays a benevolent ghost.
Yea I've been watching him for many years, ever since I was a young man. It's weird because I've never met him but feel like he's my Movie Teacher, I learned to be critical and analyse movies from him and look for hidden meanings beyond what's presented on screen.
It’s believed that parts of the story were inspired by a hunting going on in the Houston area. A subdivision in Crosby, Texas was built over an old slave cemetery know as the Black Hope Cemetery.
That damn clown doll still creeps me out to this day. I wonder if that Captain America comic had a double meaning and was a foreshadow of the doll wrapping it’s long arms around him like Doc Ocs octo arms.
Was watching Craig T. in episodes of Young Sheldon earlier today. Totally forgot he was the good dad from Poltergeist. Jeeze time goes so fast anymore. Great vid, Minty. Been watching you for like over five years now. Love your work.
The novelization is closer to the original script. When I read it, I also found the parents not as likable. I remember a part in the book with Diane spanking Carol-Anne; I think it was because Carol-Anne didn't want to slide across the kitchen floor.
I'm glad they changed the script. I love how much Steven and Diane were so likable and loving with each other. If they were shitty to each other, it definitely would have been a different movie. Minty, you are awesome. You definitely do your research. I watch a lot of people talking about movies, it's usually the same info over and over. But with your show, I always learn a lot of new things about my favorite movies. You are awesome ❤
All this just show how good of a Deirector Steven Spielberg is. The thing that stand out from other horror movies, is that it expertly balances warm family moments and horror. Every cut he made, were to add to the movie and make it better.
The design of the beast where it attacks Carol Anne’s mother near the end of the movie is very similar to monster Belos from the Disney Channel animated series The Owl House.
Wow!!! Carol Ann dying & returning to haunt the Freelings would've made Poltergeist WAY darker than it already is!!! The original script does sound interesting, & I think that the makers of the forgettable 2015 remake should've used the original script for the remake. Maybe then, it wouldn't have been quickly forgotten, & people would maybe still be talking about it?
Nice job Minty. I remember seeing this about a week before its wide release in a preview. We were blown away of course. But it was equally obvious that the film had been rushed out with several bad edits and scenes ending abruptly. Always wondered about all that but your post answered at least a few of those edits. Didn’t catch the hotel room number before. Great. Always wondered if the cut scenes still exist and why and a big deluxe release was never done for this film. Im sure lots of folks would be very interested in that!!
Thiis movie is one of many that sunk into my soul and were part of my childhood. A very special and one-of-a-kind movie. It scares me to this day. Because this familiy seemed so close and the acting so natural, it seemed very realistic. JoBeth Williams' and Craig T. Nelson's perfomances as a couple were so believable that it seemed like they really WERE in a relationship with each other. One of the most believable movie couples Ive ever seen. The alternative scenes wouldve ruined this. I cant imagine the Freelings couple nagging and bickering back and forth all the time.
This came out when I was 12 and I wanted a bedroom like the character Robbie but now at 58 I would like to go to bed with the mother but when I was 12 she was just Diane (the mother)
i dont think it makes the little girl look stupid by going to the TV again to turn it on and stare at it, because that simply gives off the impression that shes possessed, ,shes been compelled to communicate with these spirits, or perhaps they are communicating with her and telling her to interact with them.
Minty always delivers. Poltergeist scared the fire out of me when I was 7. I couldn't sleep for days! I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if I'd watched the alternate version!!!!
My brother made me watch this when I was four, while he was outside smoking a joint with his buddy. He told me if I look away from the TV I'll get sucked in....Lifelong Trauma, however the '80's were a fun time!!!
If I remember right the old man was the main villain of all three films. He appeared in part 2 and part 3 as a priest. Honestly I always thought that part 2 was the scariest of the series.
I remember when the 2015 remake came out and most people I talk to about either didn't even know it came out or just don't remember anything about it. But as soon as the origional movie comes up in conversation; it becomes a 30 minute conversation. Another thing I remember is back in 2019 the Russo brothers announced they were doing another remake.
The remake was awful. In some places is was a shot-for-shot imitation of the original. Truly a movie that had no reason to exist, except to make money from the title alone.
Usually remakes make the mistake of thinking that making everything bigger and louder will make it better. Somehow the Poltergeist remake did the opposite. It’s nearly 20 minutes shorter than the original and much more tame and less crazy. Very boring indeed (It’s a shame too, they hired a director who made one of the only good “edgy family horror movies” to come out recently, which was Monster House. He seemed like a good fit to make something 80s nostalgic, while also keeping it family friendly, without sacrificing the edge and scares. But he didn’t. It was like a PG Disney movie at points.
Highly recommend any fans of the film to read the novelization. It’s terrific. Filled with delicious details, and subplots. In the book, Tangina is haunted by dreams of Carole Ann lost in some strange realm. She sleepwalks and is found asleep on the Freeling’s doorstep. That is how they all meet. My two fave sequences are the ghosts walking down the steps, and the last one to walk is the beast, who then stares directly into the camera and advances for a major closeup. In the trailer for the film, Diane has a deleted scene where she acknowledges that “thing” is in there with my daughter. My other fave scene is when Tangina decides to visit the spirit realm through sleep meditation, and discovers the beast hungrily watching Diane, and she is unaware. Pretty creepy. The beast sees Tangina and they have a spiritual battle, with the beast plunging it’s horns into her eyes. Epic!! Love the movie. Love the book.
The one about the pool is really interesting because that sort of plays into the scene where he is showing off one of the houses to a couple and talks about a neighbor who built his pool half in and half out of the house and how it was in a magazine. It’s funny how the script is so much darker than the movie. One movie I always think of when I think of Poltergeist is Gremlins, another movie where Stephen Spielberg had involvement with and also had a much darker script.
MR. BOOGEDY !!!!!!!!!!! My brother and I were going through some old VHS tapes and there it was. Lost from our memories, I'm three years older and I barely remember Mr . Boogedy. Anyway, that's my suggestion.
You hit the nail on the head about the setting. I was 7 when Poltergeist came out and was used to horror movies being set in spooky old houses, castles, graveyards, etc. But not in suburbia. he neighborhood looked like my neighborhood. Toys they had were the same toys I had. I also had Star Wars posters on my walls. So unlike all those other horror movies in creepy old houses or castles or whatnot, Poltergeist took place in a setting that was "my setting", and that made it infinitely more terrifying to me.
I heard many years ago a rumor of a lost version of The 13th warrior, supposed to be same name as the book it is based on the eaters of the dead and over three hours long, it supposedly got shelved then hastily recut to the 13th warrior when banderas got famous
The 13th Warrior began shooting years after Banderas was famous in the U.S. The director and the music were replaced before the film was completed, though, causing it to take a bit over two years to progress from beginning to release.
@@EastyyBlogspot Production began in summer, 1997. It was released August, 1999. Antonio Banderas was already a star in Europe from years before, and was a box office hit in the US before 1997 (Interview With the Vampire being notable). It's easy to confirm.
Such an important movie in my life. It was the first scary movie I was allowed to see (age 11) without parental guidance, so I felt so grown up! It really spoke to me. Their house and neighborhood were so like mine as a kid that I was convinced my house was built on a cemetery. Have seen this movie dozens of times and it still scares and thrills me. I have the novelization--now I need to go back and read it again.
I got to rewatch Poltergeist last year (but this time in theaters, because Fathom was showing it for it's 30th Anniversary) & man, it was a fun theater experience.
This is awesome. This is my second favorite film of all time. I was introduced to cinema in the 80s. "ET" was my first movie. This was my second. "Creepshow" was my third. I have never even imagined there was an alternate version of this. I have heard about/bought/seen the 'workprint' of Creepshow. I even have heard, and seen, the alt versions of Planes, Trains and Automobiles (never thought to record it when it aired), and the workprint for The Frighteners. I have never heard of this. Could I ask you, Minty, what are your sources for this and is it available to view with the alt/extended cuts?
Craig T. Nelson would have made a decent Jack Torrance. Heck, we saw a glimpse of that when he was possessed by Kane in Poltergeist II: The Other Side.
I was 7 when Poltergeist came out and probably watched it 50 times in the 1980s on HBO. At the time I understood the "The Beast" being the Devil and honestly I think that was what the writer originally wrote it to be. Knowing that the family was being targeted by Lucifer himself is a million more times more frightening then the old man in Poltergeist 2.
Thanks for an awesome in depth video on Poltergeist! 👻 Always been a huge fan of the movie, and I loved learning all the behind the scenes and alternate versions here. You're videos are always entertaining and fun. Thanks again Minty! 🤩👽🦝
P.S. "10 things you didn't know", you had me at Toby Hooper! I never knew that? I always thought that it was just Steven Spielberg. The more you know.. thanks Minty 👍
@@allieelectra23 yeah well I couldn't read when I first seen it. I was still at the number "c" on Sesame Street which I've come to understand is not a number lol 😉
You don't mention that Watch The Skies was originally so far into development that it was going to be directed by artist Ron Cobb. When Spielberg cancelled Watch The Skies, to make it up to him he gave Ron Cobb profit points in ET. It made Ron Cobb a millionaire and people who knew Ron said that he was a very happy man for the rest of his life.
*I was 12 when Poltergeist came out and I loved it instantly! My little sister who was 5 at the time, looked just like Carol Ann. I had her kneel in front of the tv, I turned the channel to the "snow station", and called for my Mom. When Mom came in the living room, little sis said "They're Herrre" with her hands on the screen. LOL*
Haha!
The tentacles were pulsating and Diane was writhing in a warm blanket of "NO means YESSSS!!".
YYYESSSSSSSSSSSS!! 😂
😂😂😂😂😂
You bloody legend!
12!!! OMG you are old. I was only 9 :P j/k I came to wonder over this being 40 years old and me remembering it at the theater. Ugh.
I never took the final scene of Steve putting the TV outside as making them look smarter. I took it as a gag- and it works. I chuckle almost every time.
I love it.
Well, smarter than the opposite at least lol
It was like "comic relief". Not going to happen to our family again.
Nice ending
you took it wrong. There was nothing funny about this movie. This was something you do when you think logically about something that almost killed you and your family.
Honestly, it does look a bit like the Flintstones closing credits where Fred puts the saber-toothed cat they've mysteriously acquired outside.
Forty years ago. Bloody hell. This movie seems as fresh and new to me as it did back then. Guess I am just old now.....
One thing I like about the film is they feel like a real, close family. Which is important to establish so you actually care about them when all the terrible things start happening.
Way better than the weird "they're all terrible and you hate them and like when they die" trend of new horror movies.
It has become such an over-used trope of action/adventure movies since then, in which an estranged couple or parents and children re-establish their connection through the trials of the story. I always found that dynamic a distraction from the movie. I always regarded it as cheap emotional manipulation. There was already enough emotional turmoil with the abduction of the young daughter. Making the audience hate certain members of the family puts them in an awkward headspace, in which they don't feel the threat toward that family member, and thus no fear of the ghosts.
@@aliensoup2420 Agreed. Sometimes people get too hung up on adding perfunctory drama, tension etc in the story structure they forget, 'oh yeah, we're supposed to like and give a crap about these characters too.' ....The husband and wife toking and enjoying each other's company is my favorite scene in the entire movie. It's the anchor.
My parent's took my sister and I to this movie around Halloween. And after we went out for pizza. I will always remember that. But this movie was the BOMB in 1982. RIP Heather🕊🕊🕊
And Dominique Dunne.
@White-Dragon thank you. Yes after I posted my comment I totally remembered her. She was such a beautiful girl and on her way to becoming a very good actress.
RIP Heather??? what are you talking about??? i met her 2 years ago. she has such tiny, soft, kind hands she has. i met the lady who played her mom too. of course i met her at 3.1, and felt her energy so obviously it wasn't her. we know who it was.... dont we Karra!
Loved it, watched it over and over on early home box office
@@gothboschincarnate3931
Heather O'Rourke passed away February 1st 1988. It was All Over the news that day and the ensuing medical malpractice suit. Look it Up on Google. Photos of Heather in her casket and her gravesite; misdiagnosed stomach obstruction. Los Angeles doctors are as whacky as the film industry and were sued.
Top 5 favorite movie. I get so nostalgic about it. Every time I watch it, I'm suddenly 10 years old, it's a stormy hot summer Friday night and we just picked up Pizza Hut and Poltergeist.
I never tire of this movie.
Such is the power of early 80s Spielberg
Saw at the theater and it was one of the few movies that actually scared me in the theater , side note I threw a baseball to Craig T Nelson once he said thanks 😊
Luv this film ❤
One of the late Jerry Goldsmith's finest scores. He's sadly missed.
I spent my summers in upstate NY, in a house on a hill, far away from town, other houses, streetlights, and roads. I saw this film at the drive in theater, then went home to my dark house on a hill, up dirt roads far away from civilization. I pretty much didn't sleep the rest of the summer
One of my ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIES !!! I was 8 years old when it came out and of course I wasn't allowed to watch it, but when it was on TV a year later when I was 9, I remember hiding behind a chair while my mom watched it and no surprise, it scared the crap outta me and I had nightmares for about a month after lol 🤣 GREAT MOVIE !!!
Same for me. I love "science vs paranormal" movies, where the protagonists attempt (and sometimes succeed) to defeat/study/cure the paranormal beasties using science. The Exorcist, Poltergeist, Ghostbusters, and Prince of Darkness being at the top of my list.
I watched it at a friends house when I was not older than 8. I was terrified of the clown for a long time.
I was 5 when I saw it in the movie theater (keep in mind that this was before the PG-13 rating existed in the U.S.). Scared the bejeebers out of me, and in my book is still the gold star standard for horror movies.
wow you and I were the same age when we both saw it lol! HBO or was it Cinemax?
Similar experience with this haha watched it with dad and older sister.
I was kinda terrified but they were like "ooooh wow" and their fearlessness pulled me through.
I legit got scared when ol dude peeled his face off in the bathroom sink in that nightmare sequence.
But no movie scarred me as much and made me unable to sleep for over two months like sneaking in the room with my sister and her couple of friends watching Exorcist when I was 7 or 8.
Seeing this movie gave me PTSD.
No movies have scared me since.
Poltergeist and The Exorcist made me stronger.
Family always wins, no matter the atrocities thrown at us.
UGH. I was 7 when Poltergeist came out. I didn't see it until it hit cable about a year later (three cheers for being a latchkey kid whose mom made sure I had cable to keep me entertained at home) and it scared the BEJEEZUS out of me. To this day I still get those crawlies up my spine at the mere sound of TV static. Yes, you heard that right, a grownass 47 year old man still gets pants-shitting scared of TV static. Come to think of it, Spielberg is responsible for rather a lot of my childhood trauma. Don't even get me started on how I react to the Jaws theme...
I always found it a fun bit of trivia that an Atari 2600 is sitting on top of the TV when Carol Anne utters the famous words, "They're Here."
I'm amazed you didn't mention the sequence in the novelization right after the mirror scene where Marty suddenly freezes and a swarm of spiders envelope him. The book describes the spiders going up his nose and laying eggs in his ears. I haven't read the novelization in almost 40 years, but that has really stuck with me.
It's funny, I read it about the same time as you & the two parts I remembered most are the scene Minty talks about with the clown in the BBQ & the scene you're talking about. I recently read it again & was like "Yep, I wasn't imagining things. Those scenes are in there!"
@@vozpit czcams.com/video/F-ijHd6qtrE/video.html
I remember that!! It definitely scared me as a kid
One of my most favorite movies to this day!
Carol Ann says thanks....and "their here". under your bed...dont look!
@@gothboschincarnate3931 *there
@@gothboschincarnate3931 😂
@@TitularHeroine *They’re
@@beckigreen th'air 😉
I had such a crush on Jobeth Williams!! I loved this movie!!
i still do....she....well Karra pointed at my phone once.
Beautiful woman. Quite sexy...
Fun fact, Ryan portrayed by Richard Lawson is the father of Bianca Lawson of Buffy The Vampire Slayer (series) fame and Beyonce's mother Tina's husband, making him Beyonce and Solange's step-father.
I must have seen this on HBO a hundred times. Poltergeist made me so afraid of ghosts, then Ghostbusters came along and made me not afraid of ghosts
Yeah but that library ghost at the beginning was a great jump scare. Scared the shit outta me first time and a few times after. 🤣
@@Sumermak Ghostbuaters has its scary parts for sure! But it showed that you can fight back against ghosts which is a revelation for a kid.
This movie made me love horror movies and love ghosts. Too bad I don't believe in any of it.
I was 9 when my family took me to see this. We got to the theater early and had to stand outside the theater doors during the final 10 minutes of the movie listening to the audience screaming. It really freaked me out. I ALMOST asked my parents to get a refund and see Star Trek 2 instead. Glad I didn't, though they are both classics.
One of my all time favorite movies! I saw TWICE when it came out in the summer of 82. I’ve watched it so many times, I can quote the dialogue word for word! 💀❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The 2015 remake should have capitalized this and made a better film than what we got that year.these are intriguing to know the original would have been different and would love to see this but I agree,Minty...the version that we we got in 1982 is outstanding even to this day.
R.i.p Tobe Hooper
How'd he die?
@@joshuagibson2520 *Spreads hands* ...No-one knows...
@@joshuagibson2520 He was 74.
the "I hate Pizza hut" scene with Diana explaining what it feels like to be pulled by the spectral force in the kitchen WAS in the theatrical cut, but all film reels were pulled from the theaters showing the movie when Pizza Hut threated to sue over the "I hate Pizza Hut" scene, and the studio did a rushed awkward jump cut to remove the scene instead of just cutting out Steve's dialogue in the audio track... then the edited film reels then sent out to theaters,
so now every copy of the movie the scene cuts off Diane mid sentence and jumps to them at their neighbors front door...
The cut was already made when the movie was released in the UK. I remember thinking there must be some very clever and obscure reason for the jump cut and that if I worked out what it was I'd have a whole new level of understanding.
Harrumph.
I saw this when it first came out in the theater and do not remember any "I hate Pizza Hut." scene. DO you have any sources on this?
@@231mac It was released 40 years ago. Of course you don't remember some random line of dialogue. You couldn't name what you had for dinner every day in March. Why would you think you could remember a line of dialogue from 40 years ago?
Even to today it still hurts my heart thinking about poor Heather and what she went through at the end 🥺🥺
And it all could have been avoided so easily too. Such a shame, and such an unnecessary loss too. One can only wonder what she'd have gone on to do, as even that young the talent there was clear to see; and what a down to earth person she was also, based on the reports I've seen and read about!
@@plan7awhile that is bad. The actress that played her sister is even sadder.
Excellent video! I was 5 or 6 when Poltergeist came out. I was fascinated with the commercials, I knew this was a movie I wanted to see. One day my mum announces we are going to see a movie. We get to the theatre and there are posters for Poltergeist! I excitedly say to my mum “are we watching the movie where the girl says ‘they’re here’!?” My mum laughed it off and said “no, we’re going to Annie.” Now, don’t get me wrong, my 6 year old self did enjoy Annie, but I was very disappointed. Since then I have probably seen Poltergeist upwards to 100 times and Annie, twice.
Poltergeist is ICONIC. People reference it even today 40+ years later…they’re HEEEEERE! One of my favorite films growing up.
I don't know if people know, but that toy clown was/is a real toy. It's not a prop.
I had one.
I can't say for 100% certainty that they were EXACTLY the same, but if it wasn't it was It's evil twin for sure.
Anyways, after I saw the movie as a kid, maybe 10 years old, I dug that thing out and tossed it in the trash outside.
My mother, thinking it had gotten there by mistake somehow, put it back into my room. In my closet with my other toys.
Next day, I go to play, open the closet, and find that creepy bugger there perched atop my other toys staring at me.
I booked it the hell out of there pale, panting and nearly in tears.
Luckily, my mom asked what was wrong.
After I told her, she explained that she'd found it and put it there. Whereupon I breathed a sigh of relief that my creepy clown toy was NOT possessed and trying to kill me. And promptly threw it back in the garage.
wow thank you for this. I always thought it was a prop. now i'm intrigued. haha funny memory
WE had that toy, too we believe got it in Mexico it maybe came from China originally. That's why it's in the film spielberg filmed us in mexico n' did lotsa films n' tv shows also met him on a plane
I was born in 79 and this movie scared the bejesus out of me and explains my fear of clowns and creepy tree to this day!
Who doesn’t still love this film!!
Every time I watch it I’m like “dang that kid has a ton of amazing movie memorabilia that would be worth a ton today!”
I love the scene where the smoking joints together before and after
"I don't like the tree dad"
That scene always stuck with me for some reason.
Pot heads
"Legend of Hell House"? I saw that title capture in there - that's one of my favorite horror movies! Minty, please, please, please do a deep dive on LoHH! It was Richard Matheson's adaptation of Shirley Jackson's _Haunting of Hill House_ , and it stars Roddy McDowell on sabbatical from the _Planet of the Apes_ (1968) franchise!
I think that original ending with Carol Ann getting out of the hotel bed and turn the TV on to watch the static depending on how she looks it wouldn't make me think she was stupid but instead something attached itself to her and it's not completely Carol Ann anymore
“It’s Night Time” would be an interesting title. Wonder if they came up with it from the scene where Carol Anne put a napkin in Petey’s burial box.
And thank you Minty for clearing up a decades-long question of the scene cut from the kitchen to the neighbor’s house. You rock! 😎
Such a phenomenal film! So unbelievably creative. Memorable characters and a memorable setting as well.
The novelization of The Goonies was my favorite book as a child! I'll need to hunt those other novelizations down....and get a new copy of The Goonies, as my own copy fell apart two decades ago.
Great episode, Minty! Most Poltergeist videos concentrate on the tragedies that befell many of the cast, so most of this was entirely new information for me, and quite interesting at that.
This is amount the very BEST reports you’ve given us! Saw this film when it was new in cinemas, and it’s among my all-time faves. Your researches are epic! Mahalo!
That "no shit" would've been defined by the delivery in the performance.
I saw this movie in the theaters and was blown away. When it was over, my step-mother told us she thought the book was better. So- I think there is a good chance the novelization came out before the movie.
The song "Shining" by horror punk band Misfits, on their 1997 album American Psycho, is based directly on the film, with the chorus centered on the refrain: "Carol Anne, Carol Anne".
Spice Girls pays homage to the film in their 1997 music video for the song Too Much.
Swedish singer E-Type parodied the film in his music video for his 1998 single "Here I Go Again". In the clip Nana Hedin (who sang the chorus in the song) portrays a benevolent ghost.
Omg THANK YOU!!!! This has been my favourite Horror movie since I was 12 back in the 90s. ❤️
This movie is the reason why I'm terrified of clowns.
Lover Rob Ager's work in film analysis. Brilliant guy.
Yea I've been watching him for many years, ever since I was a young man. It's weird because I've never met him but feel like he's my Movie Teacher, I learned to be critical and analyse movies from him and look for hidden meanings beyond what's presented on screen.
Minty always posts so early with his wonderful Australian self.
It’s believed that parts of the story were inspired by a hunting going on in the Houston area. A subdivision in Crosby, Texas was built over an old slave cemetery know as the Black Hope Cemetery.
That damn clown doll still creeps me out to this day. I wonder if that Captain America comic had a double meaning and was a foreshadow of the doll wrapping it’s long arms around him like Doc Ocs octo arms.
Was watching Craig T. in episodes of Young Sheldon earlier today.
Totally forgot he was the good dad from Poltergeist.
Jeeze time goes so fast anymore.
Great vid, Minty.
Been watching you for like over five years now.
Love your work.
He was also The Coach in the T.V. Series, “Coach.” I like Craig but his portrayal of Dale in “Young Sheldon” rubs me the wrong way.
@@erika8214 Yeah. He's an old bag of cranky wrinkles.
The line "They're here." was supposed to be "they're *all* here."
Very scary way ahead of its time
and it has some unusual accuracies.
Poltergeist captured that feeling as a kid in the Midwest trying to sleep through a thunderstorm in the middle of the night.
The novelization is closer to the original script. When I read it, I also found the parents not as likable. I remember a part in the book with Diane spanking Carol-Anne; I think it was because Carol-Anne didn't want to slide across the kitchen floor.
I'm glad they changed the script. I love how much Steven and Diane were so likable and loving with each other. If they were shitty to each other, it definitely would have been a different movie.
Minty, you are awesome. You definitely do your research. I watch a lot of people talking about movies, it's usually the same info over and over. But with your show, I always learn a lot of new things about my favorite movies. You are awesome ❤
The first and second movies get mixed up in my head. But that old preacher guy freaked me the f out, and so did that scene with his braces.
All this just show how good of a Deirector Steven Spielberg is. The thing that stand out from other horror movies, is that it expertly balances warm family moments and horror.
Every cut he made, were to add to the movie and make it better.
The design of the beast where it attacks Carol Anne’s mother near the end of the movie is very similar to monster Belos from the Disney Channel animated series The Owl House.
Reverse that, but yeah.
@@skaetur1 Reverse that?
Wow!!! Carol Ann dying & returning to haunt the Freelings would've made Poltergeist WAY darker than it already is!!! The original script does sound interesting, & I think that the makers of the forgettable 2015 remake should've used the original script for the remake. Maybe then, it wouldn't have been quickly forgotten, & people would maybe still be talking about it?
I hated the remake
Heather, me too. Was incredibly meh!
I love your videos. You do a great job on each one of them. Keep it up and please don’t stop. I would miss them terribly.
Thank you so much for this in depth story of Poltergeist ! Wonderful research❤️
Anyone ever notice that the first insidious and poltergeist have very similar plots. And Insidious 2 has a plot similar to Amityville horror.
The Sentinel is another movie Insidious borrowed several of its creepiest scenes from.
Nice job Minty. I remember seeing this about a week before its wide release in a preview. We were blown away of course. But it was equally obvious that the film had been rushed out with several bad edits and scenes ending abruptly. Always wondered about all that but your post answered at least a few of those edits.
Didn’t catch the hotel room number before. Great.
Always wondered if the cut scenes still exist and why and a big deluxe release was never done for this film.
Im sure lots of folks would be very interested in that!!
Thiis movie is one of many that sunk into my soul and were part of my childhood. A very special and one-of-a-kind movie.
It scares me to this day.
Because this familiy seemed so close and the acting so natural, it seemed very realistic. JoBeth Williams' and Craig T. Nelson's perfomances as a couple were so believable that it seemed like they really WERE in a relationship with each other. One of the most believable movie couples Ive ever seen.
The alternative scenes wouldve ruined this. I cant imagine the Freelings couple nagging and bickering back and forth all the time.
Loved the show as a kid. Recently rewatched and now notice how mom is hot🤣
This came out when I was 12 and
I wanted a bedroom like the character Robbie
but now at 58
I would like to go to bed with the mother
but when I was 12 she was just Diane (the mother)
i dont think it makes the little girl look stupid by going to the TV again to turn it on and stare at it, because that simply gives off the impression that shes possessed, ,shes been compelled to communicate with these spirits, or perhaps they are communicating with her and telling her to interact with them.
What a perfect clip to use with the phrase, "Land Jaws." Brilliant! Like all these videos, honestly.
Minty always delivers. Poltergeist scared the fire out of me when I was 7. I couldn't sleep for days! I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if I'd watched the alternate version!!!!
My brother made me watch this when I was four, while he was outside smoking a joint with his buddy. He told me if I look away from the TV I'll get sucked in....Lifelong Trauma, however the '80's were a fun time!!!
If I remember right the old man was the main villain of all three films. He appeared in part 2 and part 3 as a priest. Honestly I always thought that part 2 was the scariest of the series.
Julian Beck. He was dying of stomach cancer during the shooting of the movie.
I saw this movie in the theatre with a friend for her birthday and pretty much cut off the circulation in her hand during it.
That cut has always been a mystery to me! Thanks for clearing that up!
Love your videos minty! Keep them coming
Young Spielberg looks like Egon Spengler. 😂
If you build a neighborhood on an old cemetery and don't move the bodies wouldn't want to discourage people from putting in swimming pools.
Love these deep dives into amazing movies, Subbed!!
A rare “stage left” exit by Minty!😂🎉
I love Poltergeist so much😍
Marry one then...
@@McRcFly ?
@@allieelectra23 he said he loves poltergiests .. ❤️
@@McRcFly ?
@@McRcFly How old are you?
Saw it when about 16 in the uk on T.V and it blow me away it is still in my top 10 of 80s movies
I remember when the 2015 remake came out and most people I talk to about either didn't even know it came out or just don't remember anything about it. But as soon as the origional movie comes up in conversation; it becomes a 30 minute conversation. Another thing I remember is back in 2019 the Russo brothers announced they were doing another remake.
The remake was awful. In some places is was a shot-for-shot imitation of the original. Truly a movie that had no reason to exist, except to make money from the title alone.
Usually remakes make the mistake of thinking that making everything bigger and louder will make it better.
Somehow the Poltergeist remake did the opposite. It’s nearly 20 minutes shorter than the original and much more tame and less crazy. Very boring indeed
(It’s a shame too, they hired a director who made one of the only good “edgy family horror movies” to come out recently, which was Monster House. He seemed like a good fit to make something 80s nostalgic, while also keeping it family friendly, without sacrificing the edge and scares. But he didn’t. It was like a PG Disney movie at points.
40+ years on and Minty still finds new stuff! Great channel. Always liked this film but didn't love it.
The 80's gave us some of the best movies and music ever. Hollywood now churns out garbage "Not counting Top Gun Maverick."
Highly recommend any fans of the film to read the novelization. It’s terrific. Filled with delicious details, and subplots.
In the book, Tangina is haunted by dreams of Carole Ann lost in some strange realm. She sleepwalks and is found asleep on the Freeling’s doorstep. That is how they all meet.
My two fave sequences are the ghosts walking down the steps, and the last one to walk is the beast, who then stares directly into the camera and advances for a major closeup. In the trailer for the film, Diane has a deleted scene where she acknowledges that “thing” is in there with my daughter.
My other fave scene is when Tangina decides to visit the spirit realm through sleep meditation, and discovers the beast hungrily watching Diane, and she is unaware. Pretty creepy. The beast sees Tangina and they have a spiritual battle, with the beast plunging it’s horns into her eyes. Epic!!
Love the movie. Love the book.
Was that in the book instead?
If I’m not mistaken also, didn’t the guy with the glasses who peeled his face off not come back to the house after that experience in the book?
When Minty uploads a video it's always a good time. I love Poltergeist 👻☠️😈 Penthouse magazine wow anyone could be distracted by that LoL 😂😆
Loved the Martha Batman V Superman reference 😂
The one about the pool is really interesting because that sort of plays into the scene where he is showing off one of the houses to a couple and talks about a neighbor who built his pool half in and half out of the house and how it was in a magazine.
It’s funny how the script is so much darker than the movie. One movie I always think of when I think of Poltergeist is Gremlins, another movie where Stephen Spielberg had involvement with and also had a much darker script.
What was the og script fot gremlins?🤨
What they did to that poor little girl behind the scenes is beyond sad.
MR. BOOGEDY !!!!!!!!!!!
My brother and I were going through some old VHS tapes and there it was. Lost from our memories, I'm three years older and I barely remember Mr . Boogedy. Anyway, that's my suggestion.
I was 6 years old when this movie came out I have a huge fear of clowns.
I was 5, and likewise... I too have a fear of clowns. The dang clown scene in this movie didn't help, either 😨
The thing I remember most about this movie is the construction guy leaning in their window and eating some of their dinner out of the pot lol
Lol i loved that that scene. He made it seem so yummy.
You hit the nail on the head about the setting. I was 7 when Poltergeist came out and was used to horror movies being set in spooky old houses, castles, graveyards, etc. But not in suburbia. he neighborhood looked like my neighborhood. Toys they had were the same toys I had. I also had Star Wars posters on my walls. So unlike all those other horror movies in creepy old houses or castles or whatnot, Poltergeist took place in a setting that was "my setting", and that made it infinitely more terrifying to me.
I heard many years ago a rumor of a lost version of The 13th warrior, supposed to be same name as the book it is based on the eaters of the dead and over three hours long, it supposedly got shelved then hastily recut to the 13th warrior when banderas got famous
The 13th Warrior began shooting years after Banderas was famous in the U.S.
The director and the music were replaced before the film was completed, though, causing it to take a bit over two years to progress from beginning to release.
@@mbryson2899 rumor I heard was zorro and 13th warrior were filmed in 1997 and when zorro became big 13th warrior was released the following year
@@EastyyBlogspot Production began in summer, 1997. It was released August, 1999. Antonio Banderas was already a star in Europe from years before, and was a box office hit in the US before 1997 (Interview With the Vampire being notable).
It's easy to confirm.
Such an important movie in my life. It was the first scary movie I was allowed to see (age 11) without parental guidance, so I felt so grown up! It really spoke to me. Their house and neighborhood were so like mine as a kid that I was convinced my house was built on a cemetery. Have seen this movie dozens of times and it still scares and thrills me. I have the novelization--now I need to go back and read it again.
I got to rewatch Poltergeist last year (but this time in theaters, because Fathom was showing it for it's 30th Anniversary) & man, it was a fun theater experience.
This is awesome. This is my second favorite film of all time. I was introduced to cinema in the 80s. "ET" was my first movie. This was my second. "Creepshow" was my third. I have never even imagined there was an alternate version of this. I have heard about/bought/seen the 'workprint' of Creepshow. I even have heard, and seen, the alt versions of Planes, Trains and Automobiles (never thought to record it when it aired), and the workprint for The Frighteners. I have never heard of this. Could I ask you, Minty, what are your sources for this and is it available to view with the alt/extended cuts?
Craig T. Nelson would have made a decent Jack Torrance. Heck, we saw a glimpse of that when he was possessed by Kane in Poltergeist II: The Other Side.
I was 7 when Poltergeist came out and probably watched it 50 times in the 1980s on HBO. At the time I understood the "The Beast" being the Devil and honestly I think that was what the writer originally wrote it to be. Knowing that the family was being targeted by Lucifer himself is a million more times more frightening then the old man in Poltergeist 2.
I never understood the gore scene with the man ripping his face apart as the movie seemed to be aimed more towards a family PG rating.
Poltergeist is definitely not a family movie. Here In the uk, it has a 15 age rating.
Thanks for an awesome in depth video on Poltergeist! 👻
Always been a huge fan of the movie, and I loved learning all the behind the scenes and alternate versions here.
You're videos are always entertaining and fun.
Thanks again Minty! 🤩👽🦝
His employers, the developers, would want him to have a pool to make the area seem more affluent to attract more buyers.
This movie is still so good and so Spielbergy. Brilliant and Classic.
Haunting one, Minty
P.S. "10 things you didn't know", you had me at Toby Hooper! I never knew that? I always thought that it was just Steven Spielberg.
The more you know.. thanks Minty 👍
Lol it says it right at the beginning of the titles
@@allieelectra23 yeah well I couldn't read when I first seen it. I was still at the number "c" on Sesame Street which I've come to understand is not a number lol 😉
@@joshoshea3194 🤣
I grew up as a kid in the 80s and this was one of my favorites, and yes I did have nightmares about that tree!
You don't mention that Watch The Skies was originally so far into development that it was going to be directed by artist Ron Cobb. When Spielberg cancelled Watch The Skies, to make it up to him he gave Ron Cobb profit points in ET. It made Ron Cobb a millionaire and people who knew Ron said that he was a very happy man for the rest of his life.