Poltergeist (2015), PG-13, ★★

They're here!

In an imaginative block of stories and plot-lines, there has to be one horror film out there that has a sense of pride and originality that the filmmakers construct to deliver to the audience that there is a great horror film. The problem is that, lately, there have been 2 very good movies and a fun horror film (The Babadook, It Follows, Unfriended). It is a bit shocking to me because all three of them are probably have an original spin to the horror genre as they are all different especially the latter two. Now, we get back to that "horror remake" genre where a director and the studio take a gamble to make a better film than the original. Does it fail? Not badly, but again, did we really need a remake of the original Poltergeist.

Eric and Amy Bowen (Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt) move into a new house with their children - Kendra (Saxon Sharbino), Griffin (Kyle Catlett) and Madison (Kennedi Clements). Eric has been laid off from his job and Amy has been suffering from the writer's block. When they begin to move into the new house, they hear strange noises in the walls and while Griffin suspects it, he has his dad investigate and allows Griffin to sleep somewhere else until the squirrel in the attic, where Griffin is located in the house, is removed.

Later, some of the electrical items in the house begin to flicker and turn on by themselves. Kendra's phone gets ruined, some of the kids' toys go on and off, and Griffin sees Madison talking to herself in front of the television. A bunch of hands come out and press on to the screen. Griffin runs to her sister to protect her but is pushed by an invisible force. Eric and Amy go downstairs as Maddie turns around and says that infamous line. Griffin starts to notice more weird events happening around the house and Maddie starts to not become herself.

The little girl's in danger...again. Aren't y'all surprised?

Um, filmmakers did the same strategy with remaking and releasing Carrie a few years ago and even though I like the remake a bit better than this movie. We did not really need that movie and just the same, we do not really need this remake. Basically, 20th Century Fox wanted to get more revenue and  I don't know what they were thinking. Did they learn anything from the Carrie strategy? Plus, I did not feel any nostalgia towards this film because frankly, I think that Poltergeist, the original film, is a tad overrated because even there are haunting themes, it did not create a tense state of mind because it revolved around a child. What did you think would happen to Carol Ann?

Sam Rockwell actually gives a surprisingly solid performance as a concerned father that depends on mostly himself to not just protect his daughter but his entire family. He does not give a corny performance like Mark Wahlberg in The Happening. Rosemarie DeWitt is satisfying but sort of has a giveaway role as the mother. However, the young actors impressed me as the children as they see and sense all of the strange events occurring and they do a good job.

I did not hate this movie so that causes a brief celebration, however, this movie did not scare me enough again but this time the twist on this film is that it just gives a modern take of suburbia filled with more technology and visual effects. And, the visual effects are the least impressive element of the film as it creates a distraction than a scary and imaginative tool to engage the audience into joining the whole fun ride. However, it is a forgettable film compared to the last three horror movies and it is just not enough. Heck, even Ex Machina was scarier than the remake.

**