Poltergeist - an amusing fright fest

In its new incarnation, Poltergeist is a visual effects extravaganza that is taken to the extreme with its 3D injection, sparing nothing to give a new generation a cool joyride into a film that scared the hell out of audiences in the 80s.

It's context over content as we take a trip into the world of supernatural phenomena with a family whose suburban home is haunted by vicious and relentless evil forces. The film feels animated, which is not surprising as director Gil Kenan's previous film was the animated film, Monster House.

Impossible to be frightened

Kenan's focus is on visual spectacle and does not allow us to connect with the characters, or create an understanding of the horror that befalls the family, making it impossible to be frightened.

It's strange how David Lindsay-Abaire screenplays never get off the ground - he won a Pulitzer Prize for his play Rabbit Hole, and also wrote the screenplay adaptation. Kenan's interpretation of the screenplay is all about what we see, and not what we're supposed to feel! Still, it's fun to watch the house turned inside out when the angry ghosts come calling!

But this is not The Conjuring or Amityville Horror, two of the most excellent haunted house films ever. The new Poltergeist updates the story's perspective, place and characters.

Unlike the original Poltergeist, which was set in a comfortable economic time during the 1980s, this film is situated in the rapidly fading, disenfranchised American ideal we know as suburbia. A rundown, cookie-cutter community of three-bedroomed homes, unkempt yards and chain-link fences in an Illinois neighbourhood set the scene for the unsuspecting protagonists, the Bowen family. It reminds audiences that life in suburbia can sometimes be a long way from comfort and safety.

"In the early 80s, there was no need to question a move to the suburbs, but contemporary suburban life serves as a perfect foil because its surface sheen and lustre are gone," says Kenan.

"Our characters have tried to live the prototypical suburban life, but have missed the mark and are starting off on unstable footing. When you add the core drama of a supernatural haunting and child abduction to this environment, you're primed for the unexpected."

Haunted by multiple spirits

The script leaves open to interpretation the concept that the horrors facing this family: being haunted by multiple spirits and the eventual abduction of their child - may not be due solely to their new house resting atop a cemetery. It introduces the idea that our own disconnected nature and crumbling family units leave us that much more vulnerable to the desires of the supernatural.

Kenan's roots in a suburban enclave in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley created a personal connection to the new story, which is enhanced by his unique filmmaking style that focuses on people defined by their surroundings.

"The challenge," says Kenan, "was to get the audience familiar with the house, as well as with our family." He accomplishes this by bringing us on a journey that begins with the first showing of what will soon be the Bowens' new home. Kenan takes us through the house room by room, inspecting every closet and tap.

Poltergeist was filmed in 3D, which heightens the terror and thrills.

A darker tool set

"The original Poltergeist captured a rousing, magical, very stylised, almost theatrical take on the supernatural, but it's not the way I'm telling this story," says Kenan. "It was important for me to connect the material with a darker tool set that does away with the theatricality and finds something that is baser, darker and scarier."

To that end, Kenan keeps the camera moving, capturing maximum jolts.

Javier Aguirresarobe, ASC, a world-renowned cinematographer who has worked on The Twilight Saga and The Others, is familiar with the concept of capturing supernatural phenomena in a fantastic yet realistic way.

"The look in this film is fantasy, but set in a natural environment, which makes it that much scarier," he says. "The only frame of reference to the original film is a scene where Maddy connects to the other world through the TV. This was my favourite scene to shoot because, technically, it was very challenging. We wanted to avoid visual effects as much as possible and shoot practically."

Read more about Poltergeist and other new films opening this week at www.writingstudio.co.za.