There have been some incredible, groundbreaking supernatural horror movies that have changed the game. When The Sixth Sense was released in 1999, people couldn't stop talking about a child who "saw dead people" and the psychologist trying to help him. There is another important movie from past decades that has had a big impact on the genre: 1982's Poltergeist.
The movie did incredibly well at the global box office and no one could forget the image of a little girl being targeted by a ghost through the family's TV screen. A remake of an incredibly well-done film will always be tricky. The 2015 remake of Poltergeist leaves quite a bit to be desired, and there is one main thing that it's missing.
Horror movie remakes can be great, as fans can revisit what they loved, and they can also be terrible if they don't bring anything new to the table. The original Poltergeist movie was groundbreaking in so many ways. Most of all, it was genuinely scary. The idea of little kids being targeted by a spirit in their home felt unique and different at the time. Co-written by Stephen Spielberg with Tobe Hooper directing, the 1982 movie tells the story of Steven (Craig T. Nelson) and Diana (JoBeth Williams) Freeling who have three kids: Robbie (Oliver Robins), Dana (Dominique Dunne), and Carol Anne (Heather Michele O'Rourke).
The family realizes that their house was built on top of what used to be a cemetery and that the dead bodies are still underneath, which is why the spirits were haunting them. They manage to escape and the ending is sharp and smart, as they go to a motel and Steven throws the TV out of the room. People wonder about a curse on the Poltergeist cast as some strange things happened during filming (and two of the child actresses died young as well).
While the 1982 movie was really scary, and some other PG-13 horror movies are terrifying, the 2015 remake isn't scary at all. It simply does what the other movie did without adding anything at all. Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt) and Eric Bowen (Sam Rockwell) move to a house with their kids Maddie (Kennedi Clements), Griffin (Kyle Catlett), and Kendra (Saxon Sharbino). The same thing happens: there's clearly a supernatural presence there and one of the children, Maddie, can sense it more than the others. The movie is missing a real hook, the thing that makes it impossible to look away or turn it off. The remake does the same thing as the first movie and doesn't add anything at all, which is a confusing choice. The film could change things up by featuring a teenage character who is tied to the supernatural presence, or maybe have the family living in an apartment or condo building. It would be nice to see something different.
The 2015 Poltergeist doesn't have any scenes or moments that really set it apart. When fans look back on this film, they think about Carol Anne getting into the TV and the family hearing her speaking from the TV screen. Although Maddie does look at the TV and tell her family "They're here," it's hard to feel terrified or interested since this is essentially exactly what happened in the original movie. While Maddie is an adorable kid and she's sweet to watch, this doesn't offer anything fresh.
If a classic movie is going to be remade, it would be great to see a brand new story, a more diverse cast, a more interesting setting, and of course, a lot of scares. The fact that the film doesn't feel scary at all is definitely a problem and that feels like the most disappointing thing of all. 2021's Candyman movie was brilliant and well-received as it added some details to the original tale, has genuine scares, and good characters. The 2015 Poltergeist just doesn't excite audiences and feels like a flat retelling of the original story.
By the time that the movie ends, with the Bowen family leaving the house in one piece and trying to find somewhere else to live, it's tough to feel happy or relieved because it doesn't feel like there has been much of a journey to get to this point. The family also doesn't want to move into a house that has a lot of closets, which is meant to be horrifying but really just feels silly. Maybe a darker horror movie ending would have worked here as it would have added something more compelling to the story and would have helped audiences feel like they had seen the Bowen family go through a creepy and difficult journey. Instead, the 2015 Poltergeist feels like more of the same.