Day 9: Poltergeist

Day 9 of Calloween Movie Month

Content warnings: flashing images, child harm, mild gore, self harm, animal death

Recommended?: Yes

Spoilers and discussion of mentioned topics below. You have been warned.

This might be the cutest horror movie of all time.



Poltergeist is a film about the Freeling family. They're a fairly average, stable, healthy American family consisting of a mom Dian, a dad Steven, two daughters, Dana and Carol Anne and a son, Robbie. But poltergeists slowly start to threaten their peaceful suburban life. It starts with moving chairs, but escalates to child abduction and real physical harm. When these forces tear their daughter away, they call a team of parapsychologists to help them put an end to the torment.

A lot has been made of the term "comfy" or "cozy" horror in more niche online circles as of late. While I'm a personal believer that those with any amount of darkness in their lives that needs working through can find comfort in even the most blood-curdling horror, that's not exactly what people mean when they say it.

I also think a lot of it is to do with a particular strain of internet puritanism and sensitivity that posits that everything must be neat, happy, wholesome, and morally pure to be worthy of merit and capable to be enjoyed. However, my disdain for this aspect of online discussion doesn't mean that this "category" of horror doesn't have it's place. One movie I could easily call cozy is Poltergeist.

Within the layers of rock solid filmmaking, good story telling, stellar performances, and scares that still hold up is a beating heart at it's center that lays with its deeply sympathetic family.

In movies like this, there tends to be a trend of either familial abuse or intense conflict. Trauma and stress triggering the ghostly presence to grow more harmful, a child getting possessed and becoming a menace, the family unit breaking apart as tensions rise. While none of these make for a bad story on their face, it can get exhausting if you're a horror fan and watch these movies often.

The family in this film love each other deeply and would do anything to keep their loved ones safe and happy. I was immediately charmed by the Freelings when even arguments over toys and finding the corpse of a treasured family pet where catalysts for sweet moments.

I especially loved the scene in which two of the parapsychologists are Diane and Steven that they have to threaten and lie to their daughter to get her back. Of course they do it, but not without being wracked by guilt for it.

Don't mistake their sweetness for sickly, though. These are real people with actual flaws and genuine human traits that set them apart from the kind of characters you'd see on a saccharine sitcom. They aren't perfect, and they make mistakes and have their biases or shortcomings that create conflict and tension. But it's never enough that you wanna take the kids out of there or encourage some fictional couples counseling.

Within all the fantasy horror ghost antics and danger is a story about a close knit family full of care for each other just trying to get by. And for that, I can't help but fall in love with it.

It perfectly connects the best aspects of a solidly made ghost story and a warm, comfy 80s blockbuster, and it gets a strong recommendation from me.