Poltergeist (1982)

Steven and Diane Freeling and their children, Dana, Robbie, and Carol Anne, live in Cuesta Verde Estates, a massive neighborhood of nice, affordable, lookalike houses developed by the company Steven works for. They are a typical American Spielberg family, with squabbling but basically good kids, laid back parents who trust the kids to not get into too much trouble, and a big happy dog.

They have everything they could want in life, but it all takes a turn when they start to experience some paranormal activity (yeah, I know) in the house. At first it's exciting and fun, with a supernatural force that pulls objects across the kitchen floor in a predictable way and some objects moving on their own. But wonder turns to horror when the supernatural force causes a giant tree to try to engulf Robby, and Carol Anne to be taken away to some other plane of existence.

Carol Anne is only able to communicate with her family by voice, which is best manifested on a static-y television. The Freelings have to call for help from experts who are unprepared for the scope of their activity. The experts, in turn, call in Tangina, a psychic who can help the Freelings, but only if they are willing to go beyond the realm of their understanding and do whatever it takes to get their daughter back.

There isn't much to be said about Poltergeist that hasn't already been said, short of gushing and heaping praise on praise. This is a nearly perfect ghost movie, with a terrifically spooky setup, a frightening central premise, memorable characters, and top notch writing, directing, and special effects. What director Tobe Hooper accomplished with old-fashioned techniques like stop-motion, green screen composite, hand-drawn rotoscope animation, and practical special effects is nothing short of amazing.

Of course, that's assuming that Tobe Hooper really did the directing here, and not the story creator, screenwriter, and producer, Steven Spielberg. Some stories say that Hooper did all the directing himself, some say that Speilberg helped out with a few scenes, and some say this should be considered Spielberg's movie.

Whatever the case may be, Spielberg's fingerprints are all over Poltergeist. From the family dynamics, to the kid-centric story, to the shot composition and style. Whether he directed the movie or not, he clearly guided Tobe Hooper in making Poltergeist fit in with the universe of E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and other Spielberg visions.

The result is a legitimately scary ghost movie that is also full of emotion and heart. The Freeling family is put through hell, and you just ache for them over the loss of their youngest child to something that can't be understood or reasoned with. Their struggle to comprehend what is happening to them, to find their daughter, and to get her back feels real and down-to-Earth, even against the backdrop of supernatural circumstances. Poltergeist is accessible, frightening, and wondrous, and is an absolute must-see.