Poltergeist (2015 film)

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Poltergeist

Theatrical release poster

Directed by

Gil Kenan

Roy Lee
Produced by

Sam Raimi
Robert G. Tapert

Screenplay by

David Lindsay-Abaire

Based on

Poltergeist
by Steven Spielberg
Michael Grais
Mark Victor

Starring

Sam Rockwell

Rosemarie DeWitt
Jared Harris
Jane Adams
Music by

Marc Streitenfeld

Cinematography

Javier Aguirresarobe

Edited by

Jeff Betancourt
Bob Murawski
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Production
company

Ghost House Pictures

Vertigo Entertainment

Distributed by

20th Century Fox

May 22, 2015 (United

Release dates
States)

Running time

93 minutes[1]

Country

United States

Language

English

Budget

$35 million[2]

Box office

$54.4 million[3]

Poltergeist is a 2015 American supernatural horror film directed by Gil Kenan, written by David
Lindsay-Abaire and produced by Sam Raimi. A remake of the 1982 film of the same name, the
film stars Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris, and Jane Adams. It was released on
May 22, 2015, by 20th Century Fox, received mixed reviews from critics and was a moderate box
office success.

Contents
[hide]

1 Plot

2 Cast

3 Production

4 Release
o 4.1 Marketing

5 Reception
o 5.1 Box office
o 5.2 Critical reception

6 See also

7 References

8 External links

Plot[edit]
Eric and Amy Bowen are looking to buy a new house with their three children: eldest daughter,
Kendra; their son, Griffin; and youngest daughter, Madison. Eric was recently laid off, but they
are shown a house that has recently come on the market that fits their price range, so they move
in.
The first night, they hear strange noises in the walls, and Griffin finds a box of clown dolls that
were left at the house. In the middle of the night, lights and electronic devices start turning on and
off, as some unseen force appears to move through the home. The commotion wakes Griffin, and
he goes downstairs and finds Madison talking to an unknown presence inside the television. She
tells Griffin someone is coming, and he attempts to unplug the TV, causing the lights to go out of
control. Eric and Amy learn that their house was built on an old cemetery, but that only the
headstones and not the bodies were moved to a better neighbourhood.
At the house, Kendra's phone begins emitting strange sounds, and she becomes trapped in the
basement by a ghost. Griffin notices the clown dolls seem to be moving by themselves. One
clown doll attacks him, but he is able to destroy it and escape. He tells Madison to stay in her
room while he goes to find Kendra. Madison is lured into her closet and becomes lost in an
unending void. She is then dragged into the darkness by ghosts. Griffin is grabbed by the
branches of the old tree outside their house, which pulls him outside. Amy and Eric arrive home
to see Griffin being tossed around in the tree branches while Kendra tells them she can't find
Madison.
The family realizes Madison is trapped inside the TV when they hear her voice emanating from
it. Amy and Griffin visit the Paranormal Research department for help. The staff sets up
equipment in the house. They give GPS locators to everyone in the house, so they will know
where everyone is at all times. While trying to contact Madison, Eric is ambushed in the closet by

a ghost resembling her. Angered, he breaks down the closet wall, revealing the portal that
Madison fell through. The investigators realize that this haunting is a poltergeist. The lead
investigator Dr. Brooke Powell decides to call occult specialist and television personality
Carrigan Burke.
Carrigan arrives and explains that Madison is a possible psychic, able to communicate with
spirits. He reveals that the poltergeists are trapped and are angry because only the headstones
were moved to the new cemetery, but the bodies remained. They plan on using Madison to free
them from their purgatory. Carrigan comes up with a plan to get Madison back. He anchors a
rope in Madison's room and tosses it into the vortex. They attempt to use Griffin's toy drone to
guide Madison out, but it's destroyed by the poltergeists. Griffin, ridden with guilt over leaving
Madison alone in the first place, goes through the portal himself. When he finds Madison, the
poltergeists attempt to destroy the rope to trap them, but they both escape.
The family begins to leave but they are stopped by the poltergeists, who drag them back into the
house and attempt to abduct Madison again. The family saves her, and Carrigan decides that as
the only other psychic, he must go into the vortex and lead the spirits into the light. The Bowens
flee as the house is torn apart by a giant light. The investigative team run to their equipment,
looking for a sign that Carrigan managed to get back.
As the Bowens look for a new house, the realtor shows them a house with lots of closet space and
an old tree in the backyard; the Bowens drive away laughing. During the end credits, it's revealed
that Carrigan survived the incident and is back filming his ghost program, now hosting the show
with Dr. Powell.

Cast[edit]

Sam Rockwell as Eric Bowen

Rosemarie DeWitt as Amy Bowen

Jared Harris as Carrigan Burke

Jane Adams as Dr. Brooke Powell

Saxon Sharbino as Kendra Bowen

Kyle Catlett as Griffin Bowen

Kennedi Clements as Madison Bowen

Nicholas Braun as Boyd

Susan Heyward as Sophie

Soma Bhatia as Lauren

Production[edit]
This section requires expansion. (May 2015)
In early September 2013, the crew shot interior scenes for the film in an old residence in Toronto.
[4]
Exterior shots were filmed on the West Mountain of Hamilton.[5] The film was shot and released
in 3D.[6]

Release[edit]
On August 6, 2014, the film's release date was shifted from February 13, 2015 to July 24, 2015.[7]
On March 4, 2015, the date was shifted again to May 22, 2015, which was previously set for Spy.
[8]
It was released in 3D.[9]

Marketing[edit]
The film's first trailer was released on February 5, 2015.[10] Forrest Wickman of Slate Magazine's
opinion was that the trailer made the film appear to be too similar to the original film.[11] James
Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly said that the trailer "retains and amplifies several elements from
the original", and praised that "the modernizing doesnt result in, say, the familys daughter being
kidnapped by ghosts in Snapchat".[12] Brad Miska of Bloody Disgusting stated that "while every
fiber of my being wants to reject it, [the film] actually looks pretty insane", and praised the
trailer's final shot.[13] Ben Kuchera of Polygon also opined that the trailer appeared to be similar to
the original film, but that it "looks great, as a horror movie".[14]

Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
As of June 14, 2015, Poltergeist has grossed $46.1 million in North America and $8.3 million in
other territories for a worldwide total of $54.4 million, against a budget of an estimated $35
million.[3]
In North America, Poltergeist made $1.4 million during its Thursday night showings from 2,500
theaters,[15] and an estimated $9.4 million on its opening day.[16] Through its first three-day
opening, it grossed $22.6 million from 3,240 theaters, debuting at fourth place at the box office
behind Tomorrowland, Pitch Perfect 2 and Mad Max: Fury Road.[17] In comparison to prior horror
film reboots, its opening is well below the openings of 2009's Friday the 13th ($40.57 million),
2010's A Nightmare on Elm Street ($32.9 million), 2003's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ($28.1
million), and right below of 2005's The Amityville Horror ($23.5 million).[17]
Outside North America, it earned $8.3 million on its opening weekend from 3,750 screens in 36
countries, finishing at sixth place at the international box office.[18] In the Uk, Ireland and Malta it
opened in third place with $2.2 million and Brazil with $2 million.[18]

Critical reception[edit]
Poltergeist has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of
31%, based on 93 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's consensus reads: "Paying
competent homage without adding anything of real value to the original Poltergeist, this remake
proves just as ephemeral (but half as haunting) as its titular spirit."[19] On Metacritic, the film has a
score of 47 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20]
Writing for Variety, Andrew Barker called it "generally entertaining yet fundamentally
unnecessary" and concluded: "Even when one is inclined to admire the cleverness with which the
remake revisits and reincorporates Poltergeist's themes, its hard to pinpoint a single moment
where it improves on them, and the aura of inessentiality hangs thick over the proceedings".[21]
Neil Genzlinger gave the film a positive review in The New York Times, writing: "The new
Poltergeist might well be the scariest movie 13-or-unders have yet seen, just as the original was
for their parents back in 1982. Those parents might find it an enjoyable trip down memory lane,
even if they do now recognize it as largely a well-served collection of horror-movie tropes".[22]
Tirdad Derakhshani wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer: "It's not exactly a scary film, but it does
provide an enjoyable ride. It's good fun. But it left me befuddled", adding: "Why would anyone
want to remake Poltergeist in the first place?".[23] Writing in The London Telegraph, Mike
McCahill called the film "an efficient scare-machine".[24] Bilge Ebiri wrote in New York magazine:
"This new Poltergeist isn't anything special... But it's not a travesty, and that feels like cause for
brief celebration".[25]
In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave Poltergeist
an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.[16]