MovieChat Forums > Poltergeist (1982) Discussion > I blame E.T. for Poltergeist Scaring the...

I blame E.T. for Poltergeist Scaring the Crap Out of Me

posted 9 years ago by EastVaner
2 replies | jump to latest

What? How you say?

Well, my adopted jerks, I mean parents, thought that because Steven Spielberg's name was attached to Poltergeist as the producer, they'd take me along thinking the movie was going to be fun or something...wrong! I was 11 years old and never had seen a scary movie in the theatre before...that damn clown and that damn tree.

Lets just say for a couple of years after, my bedroom door was never closed again.

One of the scariest moments in the movie, and there were lots, had to do with the low frequency sound of the "ghost" approaching the daughter during the channeling. In the theatre, with subwoofers everywhere it seemed, this effect was so realistic that without a subwoofer, you can't appreciate it enough. That's how powerful sound can and should be in movies.

The other element I love about this movie is the opening and how it felt just like E.T. with the neighborhood, the Star Wars toys, etc. This movie will always be a part of me just like Star Wars, Gremlins, and of course E.T. I love the 80's.

[–] blankwillow-92668 8 years ago

That's because both films are done by Spielberg. He has stated that they are two sides of the same coin, deliberate mirrors of each other. ET is the good side of humanity and childhood, and Poltergeist is the dark. Bravo to your parents for taking you to see Poltergeist in the theater. I saw this and many other horror/sci-fi movies in the theater as well. Nothing better that being 6 in 1979 and seeing Alien. Still one of my favorite movie memories to this day.

[–] CoriSCapnSkip (1562) 6 years ago

I always remember Roger Ebert's objection of "Poltergeist" being too scary, saying, "If I'd seen this movie when I was seven, I wouldn't have gone to bed till I was twelve!"