Poltergeist II: The Other Side – Blu-ray Review

The Film

Poltergeist II takes place a year after the original, with the Freeling family now living in Phoenix, Arizona with Diane’s mother Jess. In flashbacks, we see Poltergeist’s finale as their home disappears into another dimension bringing us into the film’s present where the whole Cuesta Verde neighborhood has been evacuated and is now being excavated. At the site of the Freeling’s old home, the original film’s clairvoyant, Tangina Barrons and her Native American shaman friend Taylor discover the truth behind the haunting when they uncover the bodies of Reverend Kane and his religious cult. The spirit of Kane goes after the soul of Carol Ann and attacks the Freeling family in their new home.

I’m coming at this film as a guy who saw the original Poltergeist in the late 1980s, but never saw this sequel. The acting comes across as melodramatic and over the top by today’s standards. Especially with the leads, Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams as the Freeling parents, Steve and Diane. Zelda Rubinstein returns as Tangina and Julien Beck is super creepy as Kane, the embodiment of the film’s evil (though I preferred the less specific nature of the haunting as depicted in the original).

I can appreciate the pre-CG effects, like people walking through Kane’s spirit as he stalks Carol Ann at the local mall and the zombies emerging from the lawn and attacking Diane. I also enjoyed the floating chainsaw attacking the family in their parked station wagon. The Freeling son, Robbie, also gets attacked by endless metal wires that emerge from his braces. Fun stuff, but hokey and out of place in a movie that seems to take itself seriously.

The saving grace of Poltergiest II is the late Heather O’Rourke as Carol Anne. One of the more heartfelt scenes has Geraldine Fitzgerald as Grandma Jess talking with Carol Ann about growing up with clairvoyance.  This talented little lady made a career out of going from weirded out to terrified in all three Poltergeist films. She did it with so much heart and made us scared with her and for her.

The Blu-Ray:

Audio/Video: Pristine picture and decent 5.1 DTS-HD audio

Special Features: Only extra is the Poltergeist II original theatrical trailer.

The Flick: Rating:

The Blu Ray: Rating:

Adam Cray

Writer/Producer/Director/Editor · Los Angeles, California

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