Poltergeist

Name: Poltergeist
Director: Tobe Hooper
Released: 1982
Cast: JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight

Transcript

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LeeGood evening and welcome to Hora.

LeeI'm Lee.

ChrisI'm Chris.

AdamI'm Adam.

LeeSorry, I started the introduction and then realised Adam was taking a massive glug of water.

LeeI do apologise.

AdamThat's alright.

AdamI will I will apologise now if my voice eventually cracks into tricky.

AdamSo,

Adamit's I'm I'm I'm hoping that I might go husky and sexy.

AdamBut I get the feeling it's going to be much more like scratchy pensioner.

LeeYeah, so you've got the cold that I had for two episodes.

LeeWhich to remind people when we recall once a fortnight is three weeks worth of cold, what the fuck?

Leealso, there will be spoilers and swearing for anybody who's never listened before.

AdamOh well done.

Leetry.

Leeget in there.

LeeSo, this evening, we are covering a film that I cannot believe.

LeeIt's taken us nearly 130 episodes to get to.

LeeBut because it's such a staple, it just feels like it's always there and you never need to talk about it or watch it.

Leebut we have recovered 1982's Poltergeist.

LeeI may be super excited about talking about this, we shall see.

LeeI'm not giving that away as a spoiler, because you know,

LeeI've got to keep some cards close to my chest.

LeeSo,

LeeChris.

LeeWhat have you been watching?

ChrisRight, let me let me throw this one out there as I,

Chrislet's see if either of the listeners,

LeeNot again.

ChrisOh, oh, oh, now that you've you've seen right through me.

ChrisThere's there's something off that in this, right, there's a little hint to get you started.

ChrisRight.

ChrisSo, so I think this was recommended by Bobby from Not for Everyone,

Chrisquite a long time ago.

ChrisIt's I'm think it's also one of those that in the video shop the cover stood out quite a bit.

ChrisBut I think there's a couple of different covers.

ChrisOkay.

ChrisNow, I didn't really know what to expect from it.

ChrisI assumed it was going to be

Chrisa a bit of a what you call it like a a using horror to look at us.

ChrisLook at how we are in life.

AdamReflect down.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisNow I don't want to use the word to give it away.

ChrisThat's the trouble.

ChrisI was trying to think.

LeeIt's a Serbian film.

ChrisNo.

LeeFucking hell.

AdamI'm not quite sure.

ChrisRight.

ChrisBut so, so let me.

AdamThat's what I hope.

ChrisYeah.

LeeI don't need an intervention, it's not like.

ChrisThat was

Chrisyeah, I mean it's it's it might be getting that way.

ChrisI don't know.

ChrisYou can tell me.

ChrisI've seen that film.

ChrisYeah, well, no, look,

Chriswe got to, you know,

AdamOkay, play the game.

LeeSo get it out of him.

ChrisYeah, yeah.

ChrisWe're going to see which of you can get the answer here, right?

ChrisSo I'm just going to say I now know all about shunting.

LeeIt was a Serbian film.

ChrisWell,

Adamsociety.

ChrisYes.

ChrisVery good.

ChrisAdam.

ChrisNow, now I can just say I did not see coming what came at me.

LeeIt was a lot closer than I thought to what I was seeing.

ChrisRight, yeah.

AdamAnd then you kind of did.

ChrisYeah.

AdamYou see a lot of things coming.

ChrisYou did, yeah.

ChrisQuite a lot, a bit too much.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisAnd I'm I now well versed in in that.

LeeWould you like to leave a message for Bobby to either tell him to delete your phone number from his phone?

LeeOr if he's got any phone any photos you'd like to share with you at all.

ChrisNo, no, it's it's a good film.

ChrisIt's and it turns out.

LeeGreat fun, great fun film.

ChrisYeah.

AdamCan can I just say we should fucking cover it?

LeeAbsolutely.

LeeI've seen it once and that was God, I was living at Butlin's at the time.

LeeSo,

Leethat was what 98, 97.

LeeSo yeah.

AdamYeah around that sort of time.

AdamYeah.

LeeDefinitely needs a rewatch.

LeeIt was one that was on late one night and I came home drunk and put it on and was just like,

Leeoh, I'm sure I've heard of this.

LeeIt's a horror film.

LeeThat I've never got around to watching.

LeeYeah, and it just kind of half half watched it until the last 15 minutes and then went,

LeeWooh.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisYeah, it has an effect.

AdamDouble billet with the stuff.

AdamAnd sell ice cream.

ChrisBut I would like to know if anyone guessed it before I said that.

ChrisOr even when I said that, it'll be interesting to see.

AdamYeah, I because I was, yeah, no, I think you've summed it up perfectly actually, Chris.

AdamNow you it was just the key.

AdamThe the keyword, the IMDB keyword there was shunt.

AdamBut yeah, your description is very accurate, it is, yeah.

ChrisAnd so, so it's Brian Yuzna, Yuzna.

AdamYeah.

Chriswho he did something else, Reanimator.

AdamYeah.

AdamYeah, Reanimator and a lot of pretty good.

AdamAnd also ranging from pretty good to pretty shit Lovecraft adaptations.

ChrisOkay.

ChrisBut did they all have pretty serious effects?

ChrisBecause I remember Reanimator I had some along the lines of of yeah.

AdamBecause I I can never remember which way around it is but it's him and Stuart him and the director Stuart Gordon sort of basically like interchange producing and directing.

Chris

AdamFor each other.

Adamso I might be getting mixed up but yeah, I know that like from Beyond, I think yeah.

Adamthey both use the same effects crew and stuff like that.

AdamAnd it's yeah, it's just wow.

AdamIt's that that's that's that's where you like you know that it must be that lovely thing.

AdamI've just finding someone it's like you've got it absolutely what I want.

LeeAnd that must be a very small amount of people who are into that and yeah.

LeeThankfully, I mean,

AdamIt's it's weird, it's it's like cartoon Cronenberg.

ChrisYes.

AdamIt's yeah, but it's yeah, no, it's a fucking glorious film that is.

LeeWell done, Chris.

LeeThanks Bobby.

LeeI'm super pleased actually because I was like, oh, it's going to be something possibly, you know, borderline horror.

LeeAnd then when I was like, fucking hell, Serbia, that's quite cool.

AdamCan I make a can I make a proposal?

AdamI know we had plans, but I need to review my I need to review those plans.

AdamI need to review the plans, short, before we do short.

AdamShall we watch Serbia for our next project for our next film?

AdamLike, you know, next episode.

LeeYeah.

LeeWhy not?

LeeChris has already seen it so he's got it in mind.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisI'm rararin' to go.

LeeI've only seen it once.

LeeRight.

AdamThat's true, that's true.

AdamChris.

ChrisLet's let's shun it on to the next.

AdamDo you want to rewatch it that quickly?

ChrisWell, I could do that, yeah.

LeeOr can you remember it well enough that I'm going to push you through it again?

ChrisI probably, you know, I I'll I'll make a couple of notes, yeah.

ChrisOh, what I what I, you know, what I liked about it was that I didn't see it coming.

ChrisI just did not.

AdamYeah.

AdamThat'll be that's the other thing as well as you get that interesting rewatch when you're like, oh, now I know actually what's going on.

ChrisYeah.

AdamAnd you and there's lots of like,

Chrisbits that you'll pick up on.

AdamSteaded puns and stuff like that.

LeeYeah, you should have seen that coming a mile off.

AdamYeah.

LeeExcellent.

LeeCool.

Leewell done, Chris.

LeeSo Adam,

Leewhat have you been watching?

Adamwell, fortunately, fortunately for speed but also for later on in the episode, I would imagine.

AdamI plowed through after Poltergeist and so I watched Poltergeist 2 the other side.

AdamAnd Poltergeist 3.

LeeOh, that's.

AdamBecause I need that sense of completion.

Adamso, yeah.

AdamI can bring I can bring those up.

AdamI can also safely say now I think I might.

AdamNumber two might be my favourite.

AdamWhich is.

AdamWhich is quite rare.

LeeYeah.

AdamOf like film sequences where it's like the sequel necessarily will be one that you really, or like the immediate sequel.

LeeYeah.

AdamBecause a lot of the time it's like the second one's like, oh, what did we do, oh, quickly, yeah, bung that in and do that, oh, that's fucked.

AdamAnd then three, they hit their stride.

AdamYou know.

AdamSo yeah, so but I think, yeah, number number two might be my favourite, so but I think that might just be the Reverend Kane.

LeeYeah, oh, God, what a fantastic character.

LeeBut we'll we'll get into that on the.

AdamYeah.

Leeokay.

LeeSo I have seen some interesting stuffs.

LeeI have watched the new Netflix show Nightbooks.

LeeHave you seen this?

ChrisNot I've not heard of that.

AdamNo.

AdamMe neither.

LeeSo Netflix original film, it's pretty family-friendly.

Leethe kid in it, again, Chris, is literally a spitting image of Toby, you should go and Google it and see.

Lee

Leeso it's basically it's a Hansel and Gretel story, a boy gets tricked by a witch and kept in a house.

LeeBut ultimately, she keeps people who are useful to her and he writes scary stories.

LeeSo she's just about to kill him and he says, I'll write scary stories.

LeeBecause she says is there anything is there any use for me keeping you alive, if not, I'm going to kill you.

LeeSo he says, I'll write scary stories.

LeeSo she says, okay, you're going to write me one every day and read it to me at night and as soon as they're no good, you have stopped being useful and I'm going to kill you, basically.

Leealthough that sounds like quite a evil premise, it is done in a relatively family-friendly way.

Leeand I just really enjoyed it.

LeeI was really surprised, I was like this looks super kiddy, but the witch it looks cool so I'm definitely going to give it a go.

LeeAnd I just had a fantastic time for an hour and a half, I was really surprised.

ChrisYeah, it does look good.

ChrisAnd you're right, yeah, he does certainly have a a bit of a Toby look about him.

LeeI mean it's got a 5.8 on IMDB, so I thought it's got a it's got a good rate I said of 6,000 reviews as well.

LeeSo I thought it's got a good rating.

LeeI'll give it a punt and see.

LeeIt's on Netflix, so if I get 10 minutes in and it isn't for me.

ChrisIt's got a bit of a a Disney look to it.

LeeYes, it's all very like UV looking.

ChrisYeah, but maybe a step up in the extreme or dark look.

ChrisI don't know.

ChrisYeah, so some of the monster that just came up looked quite impressive.

LeeAnd the witch dresses exactly like Lady Jennifer did, as I would imagine in the 1990s.

ChrisYeah, definitely.

LeeYeah.

LeeBut yeah, yeah, really good film, really enjoyed it.

LeeSo I'll recommend that.

Leeunlike my next film.

LeeSo I watched Halloween Kills, which a lot of people are kind of raving about at the moment.

LeeAgain, I tried to stay away from.

AdamI've seen half and half on it, really, extremely half and half on it.

AdamYeah.

Leeso I hated it.

LeeLike which is terrible because I'm I'm not going to give you any spoilers.

LeeBut the film begins with a things that happened on the night in 1978 that you've not seen before.

LeeAnd then comes to the present day.

LeeAnd one of the cops in the 1978 flashbacks is my favourite policeman of all time.

LeeDidn't know he was in it until he appeared on screen.

LeeI literally stood up, put my arms above my head like someone had scored a goal in the ice hockey and cheered, I was so excited.

Lee

Leebut.

Adamwasn't.

LeeThe film went.

LeeI I won't tell you who it is, but I will tell you,

Leeat one point he does face Michael Myers and I thought he was going to give him a full open-handed slap as a way of putting him in his place.

AdamRight, okay.

LeeDoes that help?

AdamNot at all.

LeeThe policeman from the Wolf of Snow Hollow.

AdamOh, the the main guy.

LeeYeah.

LeeWho wrote and directed.

AdamOh, yeah, okay.

ChrisJim Cummings.

LeeYes.

AdamYeah.

LeeWhen he came into it, I was like, oh my God, this is going to be amazing.

Leebut yeah, he's only in the flashback bit, which is a finish off.

Lee

LeeAnd then the rest of the film basically was a it's a bit like.

LeeI was saying with the with the Jordan Peel films.

LeeWhere I feel like they went, right, let's do a horror film, now let's think of a, you know, a political point we want to make.

LeeAnd then make a film around it.

LeeAnd that was exactly what it felt like.

LeeIt was like, right, we're making a Halloween film, we've got no idea what to do.

LeeLet's pick a hot topic situation and make it around that.

LeeThere's a lot of vigilantism going on at the moment.

LeeLet's make it an anti-vigilante film.

LeeAnd there is no story other than vigilantism and that is all it was.

LeeAnd it was so so horrible to watch.

LeeIt was terrible.

LeeNothing happens.

AdamI also I also hear that Jamie Lee Curtis isn't in it that much either.

LeeNo, well she gets stabbed up it all when it comes back, it carries on on the night from the 2018 one.

LeeYes, So obviously, she has a stomach she basically half died.

AdamYeah, she got.

Leeyeah, so it carries on from there.

LeeSo she's kind of in the background.

LeeSo that was the thing.

LeeSo when it kind of started again, I was like, right, so she's in the hospital, somebody is going to have to come in to take her place to go searching for Mike Myers or the next person he's going to hunt down.

LeeAnd that's how they're going to reboot the series, so they're going to give it a new Michael Myers target effectively.

LeeSo that they can create a whole new.

LeeBut yeah, no, they don't really.

AdamThey're trying to pass it on.

LeeExactly.

LeeYeah, But yeah, they don't really, it's just terrible.

LeeAnd it's not, it's it's like.

LeeLike we said before, with Dawn of the Dead, Romero was saying,

Leehe made the film and then he said afterwards, this is me saying about modern people and their

AdamThe consumerist society.

LeeThat's the word.

LeeThank you.

LeeYeah.

LeeConsumerism.

Leeand you watch the film and enjoy the film, some more than others, but you watch it as a film and then go,

Leeoh, yeah, that makes sense, but at the time, you're not watching it the whole time going,

Leeyeah, we get it, we get it.

ChrisSo what is it's more subliminal, subtle, the social commentary isn't in your face.

LeeYeah, whereas this.

ChrisYeah.

LeeThis it could not be.

ChrisBut would you think they've realised we're all pretty dumb and we just need it to be laid or we don't we don't we don't get it.

AdamWhat was the film where a guy came on loads of points, it was like a sort of piss take of.

AdamLike sort of 90s Spike Lee like black cinema where it's just a bloke kept coming up and going message.

LeeYou know what, if they did that every time that they were pointing it out,

Leeit would have become a drinking game that would murder you.

ChrisOh.

LeeIt was literally just.

ChrisBut but would it have improved the film?

LeeIf I was unconsciously drunk.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisNo.

LeeI'm right.

LeeMaybe.

ChrisOh, right, could could could they have made it with this social aspect and vigilantism?

ChrisAnd made it good, like, is it?

LeeIt could have it could have been a really good film and at the end it could have been the town turns.

LeeAnd everyone the whole town is out looking for him and those who are out looking for him.

LeeBut that is all the film is is just,

Leetwo or three people going, right, police aren't dealing with this, we're going to go and deal with it.

LeeSo they go looking for him, they find him, he murders them.

LeeTwo or three other people go, he's killed two more people, this is a step beyond the pale, let's get in the car and look for him and they go and look for him and then he murders those people.

LeeAnd then it's just that for an hour and a half.

LeeAnd I was like, just like it's not going over.

ChrisSo.

ChrisThe thoughts.

ChrisI've got are.

LeeYeah.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisOkay.

ChrisThe thoughts I've got are, right, I might have the idea watching say one of these films like Halloween and thinking, well, why don't they just sort of spread it around.

ChrisReally quick say, look, this is going on.

ChrisLet's get as many people doing it as trying to find him as possible.

ChrisI might think, how would that work?

ChrisAnd that could be interesting.

LeeOh, no.

ChrisBut it might be that it just doesn't work at all.

LeeBut they do that.

LeeI'm not going to spoil it.

LeeBut it is when I reached the absolute, oh, get fucked.

Leemoment of the film.

LeeSo

ChrisPerhaps that is a bad idea.

LeeI'm going to say people just message us and let us know.

LeeIs it?

ChrisYeah.

LeeI've got no problem.

LeeI mean other people listeners, tell me if I'm fucking wrong, but it is.

ChrisWhat what you said Adam, you said it's like 50/50.

ChrisAs far as you can tell.

AdamNo, no, this is this is the this seems to be the response.

AdamThere are people and the weird thing is it's people a lot of it it's people who I trust in films going both ways.

Adam

AdamThere was a similar I know there was a similar split with the recent Candyman where it was like people people whose judgment I I trust.

AdamBut there were but everyone was like saying different things they loved it or hated it and seems seems to be a similar thing with this.

LeeIt's because it's exactly the same thing.

LeeIt's a this film was, okay, we need to make this film.

LeeWhat's a big you know, like what's everybody talking about at the moment?

LeeOh, this, you know, this thing that, you know, it it was with this it was vigilantism with that it was Black Lives Matter.

LeeBut it was the same thing where it was just.

LeeJust kept hitting you over the head with it.

LeeEvery two minutes.

LeeTo the point where you were like.

AdamThe subtext is a subtext.

LeeYeah.

LeeJust get on with the film, I know what you're trying to say, you don't have to keep reminding me at the beginning of every single scene.

LeeJust make the film play.

LeeIt just.

LeeOh, it's horrible.

LeeReally, really horrible.

AdamSo that was Lee's review of the new film Halloween Blues.

LeeGod damn it.

LeeRight, well that's left a horrible taste in my mouth.

Leeoh,

Leebut also the Netflix also just did the

Leethe movies that made us.

Chris

AdamOh, yes.

Leeand they've done Halloween, Friday the 13th and a Nightmare on Elm Street.

ChrisOh, well, okay.

Lee

LeeYeah, so last night Jennifer and I watched the Nightmare on Elm Street and the Friday the 13th ones back-to-back.

LeeOh, they're really good.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisI really enjoyed the Aliens one that I saw.

ChrisSo I imagine it's a similar format it was very entertaining.

ChrisYeah.

LeeIt's 45 minutes, it's got a lot of the key players involved.

ChrisCovers a lot, yeah.

LeeIt's kind of a lot of it is stuff that we would already know as fans.

LeeBut there's also a lot of stuff that I didn't know in there.

ChrisYeah.

LeeOkay.

LeeLike really in-depth interviews with Tom Savini and stuff where they're talking about specific, oh, we saw them filming this because we were sitting in the van having a beer.

LeeAnd we saw what they were doing and saw it was wrong so we went over and intervened and all that kind of like.

LeeJust really good for fans and good for like non-fans.

ChrisYeah, good for fans and good for like non-fans.

LeeYeah, and they get so much into 45 minutes.

LeeIt's one of those, you know, like the the Elm Street one.

Leethat I've got, I'm not sure where it is, the Blu-ray, so I can't remember what it's called.

Lee

LeeBut it's like four and a half hours long and it's really good.

LeeBut it's pretty gruesome.

AdamYeah.

Leeyeah, whereas this is just if you know the franchise, this is it in 45 minutes and it's really interesting.

LeeSo,

AdamNever Sleep Again.

LeeYes.

LeeThat's the one.

LeeI should know because I've got a poster for it signed by Heather Langenkamp downstairs.

LeeYeah.

LeeSo.

AdamI for a second I thought you just going meow then.

AdamI was like.

LeeMeow.

AdamSeductive.

LeeHeather Lang and Camp, if you're listening.

Leeso onto 1982's Poltergeist.

LeeSo,

LeeChris.

Adamthe wobbles.

LeeYeah.

LeeOh, bless it, he's too ill to whistle.

LeeOh.

LeeThere we go.

AdamWe've got a Poltergoose.

LeeI wonder how long it would take for that to come out.

AdamSorry.

AdamYeah.

LeeAnd non-British listeners will be going, what the fuck, why is he saying like that every time?

Leebecause we grew up with the young ones.

Adamnon-British listeners who do know.

AdamYeah.

AdamWell done.

AdamYou are good.

LeeSo, Chris,

Leehave you seen this before and what did you think of it this time?

ChrisI've got a funny story about this.

ChrisRight.

ChrisSo I thought I'd seen it.

ChrisI thought it was.

ChrisLike quite scary, yeah.

ChrisLike really creepy, eerie.

ChrisRight.

ChrisSo this is what I was went in to watching it.

ChrisI'm watching it, I'm thinking this is this.

ChrisOh right.

ChrisSo and I saw the who I thought was both the director and possibly the writer.

ChrisAnd you know, whatever, Tobe, Tobe Hooper.

ChrisRight.

ChrisI saw him flash up, yeah.

ChrisAnd I thought,

Chrisoh, I know him.

ChrisHe's from a Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

ChrisSo I was like, right, okay.

ChrisI I have this memory of having watched this many years ago.

ChrisAnd then I'm also sort of expecting that, I don't know, okay, it's going to be a scary sort of thing.

ChrisAll right.

ChrisSo I'm watching it, I'm thinking, this is this is a fun like entertaining action kind of movie, right?

ChrisSo I'm thinking what what is going on?

ChrisAnd it's like, it's giving me sense of possibly Jaws.

ChrisAnd there's definitely ET in there.

ChrisAnd I'm like, what is going on?

ChrisThis is definitely very enjoyable.

ChrisBut I don't get it.

ChrisLike, what has happened?

ChrisAnd I just going further and further and it's like, yeah, there's big stuff happening, yeah, there's there's horror elements, but it's definitely got this action feel.

ChrisAnd I was like, no, if Steven Spielberg made a horror movie, surely this would be it.

LeeAnd of course.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisGot.

ChrisGot to the end.

ChrisAnd I thought I'm going to have to look into this.

ChrisAnd I'll normally like to wait and I'll see what Adam's going to tell me about it and what Lee's going to add to it.

ChrisAnd it's like, no, I'm I'm going to have to check what's going on here.

ChrisAnd of course.

ChrisRight, written by Stevenberg, which I completely missed.

ChrisAnd it all made a lot of sense.

ChrisSo it is like a a full on horror version of kind of ET with a supernatural more supernatural element.

LeeHe had a big hand in it than that.

LeeHe didn't just.

LeeRight, it.

LeeBut we'll get to that.

LeeLater.

ChrisOh, okay.

ChrisNo, and you might have mentioned this.

AdamWell, I'm I'm happy to I'm happy to start because I think it's like.

AdamBecause everyone always talks about the curse.

AdamBut this is the much this is the other big thing about Poltergeist.

ChrisSo I did see I did see when I searched it said something about curse.

ChrisAnd.

ChrisYeah, and also potentially something about.

AdamWe'll cover the curse.

AdamBecause curses, it's, you know.

AdamThat's that's clickbait, mate.

ChrisYeah.

AdamLike who directed this film versus hear about the curse of the film.

Adambut yeah, so.

Adamoriginally, Stephen Spielberg intended to direct it.

AdamBut he was also contracted to direct ET.

Chris

AdamSo.

AdamAnd so he couldn't.

AdamYou know, just he literally.

ChrisCouldn't possibly do.

AdamDo both at the same time.

AdamBasically, you know, legally, he could not do both at the same time because it's kind of.

AdamYeah.

AdamSo.

Adamso he chose Toby Hooper because he was like, right, I want I want this made.

Adamso he chose Toby Hooper because he liked Texas Chainsaw Massacre and.

AdamToby Hooper done another thing called Funhouse at that point.

AdamI don't he hadn't done Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, I don't think.

LeeAnd the funny thing is, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is much closer to Funhouse.

LeeSo it is.

AdamOh yeah.

AdamYeah.

AdamDefinitely.

ChrisWas going to say it's closer to this in a way, it's it's not, but I wouldn't necessarily have thought of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1 and this.

AdamYeah.

AdamSo, so Spielberg, yes.

AdamSo he like he thought.

AdamWell, Toby Hooper did a, you know, good horror.

AdamSo we go to him.

AdamAnd originally this was called something like either nighttime or night skies.

AdamOr something, this was like the original idea.

AdamWhich was basically rather than a supernatural.

AdamExhalation, it was aliens.

ChrisYeah.

AdamSo it was intended to be like.

AdamThe dark half of close encounters.

AdamSo.

AdamAnd actually, weirdly enough, it is one of those things where when you look at it, it's like, maybe not the carnivorous tree.

AdamBut a lot of the other stuff could be alien abduction and stuff.

AdamAnd.

AdamYou know, floating objects, all that sort of thing.

AdamIt's it might go more that direction.

AdamBut basically, yeah, Toby Hooper didn't want to do a sci-fi film.

AdamSo he said, well, can we make it supernatural?

AdamAnd.

AdamYeah, so but.

AdamSpielberg was clearly he was the producer, he was the writer.

Adam

AdamHe was clearly very hands-on and was often on set while they were making the film.

AdamAnd.

AdamIt's so a lot of people and also I think ET got delayed, like production on ET got delayed.

AdamSo he literally wasn't he wasn't doing anything over on that side of things.

AdamSo he was spending a lot of time on the set of Poltergeist.

AdamAnd.

Adamand some actors say they were only ever directed by Spielberg.

AdamThey don't mention Toby Hooper or they.

Adambut

AdamSo.

AdamAnd also there's loads of stories where he directly intervenes.

AdamLike and this kind of feeds into the curse.

Adam

AdamOliver Robbins, who plays Bobby, Robbie.

Adam

AdamThe bit where the clown attacks him, that was like a mechanical puppet.

LeeWow.

AdamAnd yeah, and it did actually start strangling him.

LeeWow.

AdamAnd yeah, so he and literally he at first they thought he was acting.

AdamAnd like and and and the story goes, it's like Steve Spielberg's going, yeah, that's great.

AdamThat's great.

AdamAnd then realized what had happened and rushed in and and ripped the the prop off him.

AdamBecause he realised what had that he realised that he was actually choking, it wasn't acting or anything else like that.

AdamAnd.

AdamAlso when Caroline is hanging from the bed's head, Heather O'Rourke, I mean Heather O'Rourke I think was, I mean she's five when she made this, which is bloody remarkable anyway.

LeeThat is out of this world.

LeeThat she's.

AdamBut.

AdamI know.

AdamIt's fuck it's insane.

AdamBut when yeah, when she's hanging off the headboard when the closet sort of vortex is happening, that was the only point she became distressed during the filming.

AdamThey said she was really cool with all the other effects and all stuff happening.

AdamAnd everything else like that.

AdamBut yeah, I think she just found that too she found that too much.

AdamAnd she burst into tears.

AdamAnd apparently Stephen Spielberg then like went over to her, cuddled her, said, no, that's absolutely all right, and don't worry, you don't have to do this anymore.

AdamAnd then a stunt performer stood in.

Adamfor subsequent bits they needed to film to get it all sorted.

AdamAnd

Adam

AdamBasically Hooper and Spielberg do say that the film's Hooper's, although clearly it feels really fucking Spielberg.

AdamEven like Jerry Goldsmith's score sounds like Jerry Goldsmith.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisThat's it, I was I was I was feeling like, yeah, there's a bit of Star Wars going on, yeah, it's a bit of it's it's definitely like even in the scary sequences had that action sound to them.

LeeIt works, it's yeah, that were very, even when what was going on didn't quite suit it, I made a note of it, I was like, some places the music felt kind of out of place, but it worked because it felt kind of too light-hearted and then when it therefore switched to darkness, it gave you that proper, oh, shit, something's really kicking off now.

ChrisThat's why it made this feel like a very good family horror.

LeeYes.

LeeWell, it's Spielberg.

LeeAgain.

LeeSomething of.

LeeThe example I I was thinking was like Jurassic Park.

Chris

ChrisYeah.

LeeWhich has scary tense moments that would not be out of place in a film aimed at a more adult audience.

LeeBut equally, yeah, but Jurassic Park is a family film.

LeeAnd I think Poltergeist.

ChrisYeah.

LeeYeah, is weirdly a family film.

LeeI also think there's.

LeeBecause the one thing I got with it and certainly Claire did was a dissonance with.

Leelike Diane, like the mum's reaction to like at the start of it where she's just.

LeeWow, this is amazing.

LeeScience projects.

LeeLike very much how Richard Dryfus is in Close Encounters.

LeeYou know what I mean?

LeeWhere you would be like, you're sitting there thinking, actually, I'm going to just shit my pants and run and similarly with this.

LeeIt's like, you know, you've got these people and I think it that maybe.

LeeThat's the start of tongue, but I think we all know it's a fucking horror movie.

LeeSo we're all starting at.

LeeNo, this is just creepy now.

LeeThis is already creepy.

LeeI had written down an alternative title for this film.

LeeWould be it's all good fun till someone's face falls off, because like you say, it's.

LeeLike the kids.

LeeAnd the chair sliding around on the floor, that's kind of good fun.

LeeAnd then, you know, the when they go into.

LeeObviously the little girl's disappeared.

LeeBut when they go into the bedroom and it's like the toy horse is running like a horse.

LeeAnd the book's flapping like a bat.

LeeAnd it's all feels pretty family-friendly and stuff.

LeeYeah.

LeeAnd then all of a sudden he goes in the bathroom and his face slides off his skull and I was like, yeah, this took a real turn.

LeeI'm not.

LeeI'm doing that.

LeeQuickly, really.

LeeYeah.

AdamYeah, because because when they open the door and it's just the stuff going on in there.

AdamThat's like fucking Beetlejuice.

AdamOr something.

LeeYeah.

AdamYeah.

AdamDo you know what I mean, it's proper like.

AdamYou say it's proper comic.

AdamThis does seem to.

AdamMaybe that is what happens.

AdamMaybe that is the.

AdamThis probably we we we might have hit the nail on the head here that it is both Spielberg and Hooper.

LeeYeah.

AdamYeah.

AdamAnd the majority of the feels is definitely Spielberg.

AdamAnd then Hooper comes in.

AdamAnd it blows.

AdamFace melts.

AdamHe's like, right, he's there.

AdamStand back.

AdamJust a massive top on the joint.

AdamStand there.

AdamStephen.

AdamI've got this.

AdamAnd then just rambles in and a man's face falls off.

AdamOr, you know, that.

LeeThat giant white-haired ghost thing that's like, shielding the troll, like it's just it just comes so out of nowhere, it's like, oh, it's just very pretty, light, like fairies or angels or I thought, yeah.

LeeYes.

AdamAs I fought.

LeeYeah.

LeeAnd all of a sudden.

LeeMassive fucking ghost dog thing.

LeeAnd you go, whoa, yeah, I didn't see that coming.

LeeBut I know the what was it the last yeah, they basically some Spielberg said, where is it?

Leepeople seem to say that Spielberg directed it.

LeeAnd Toby Hooper was more of a technician.

LeeBasically.

LeeHe was the guy saying, put the camera there, point at that one there, while Stephen Spielberg was like, right, and your motivation is.

LeeSo.

Lee

LeeAnd also Spielberg was quoted at one point.

LeeWith the rather telling phrase that Toby Hooper's not a take-charge sort of guy.

LeeSo I think I think Hooper might have been.

LeeLike.

LeeYeah.

LeeSo that.

Lee

LeeHe's.

LeeHe.

LeeHe's in the film.

LeeYeah.

LeeSo.

LeeHe's in it.

LeeSo.

LeeHe's.

LeeHe.

Poltergeist

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Poltergeist

About

Cast

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Ep 212 Ghostbusters

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