5.5 | / 10 |
Users | 2.5 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A remake about a family whose suburban home is invaded by angry spirits.
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris, Jane Adams (II), Nicholas BraunHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 37% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: DTS 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
UV digital copy
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
There are any number of questions which may occur to various viewers as they watch the 2015 reboot of the venerable horror outing Poltergeist, but the central one which may be most prevalent may well be a simple, “Why?” Why remake the 1982 Poltergeist to begin with, especially when the remake doesn’t attempt to do much updating or renovating, let alone innovating? This new if not exactly improved Poltergeist isn’t horrible by any stretch, and it certainly doesn’t stoop to the mimicry Gus Van Sant employed in his remake of another horror staple, Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic Psycho, but the film is surprisingly docile a lot of the time, never really working up the requisite angst that should accrue once a picture perfect family discovers they’re in a hostile environment and that one of their children has been abducted by—well, something. Director Gil Kenan showed his facility with haunted manses in his wryly amusing animated film Monster House, but while this live action feature wisely eschews a blatantly cartoonish ambience, there’s precious little actual fear being engendered, either on screen vis a vis the supposedly traumatized Bowen family, or (more importantly) with regard to the audience, some of whom may feel they’ve been haunted by the spirit of boredom.
Poltergeist is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and MGM with MVC (3D) and AVC (2D) encoded
1080p transfers on separate discs in 2.40:1. As the closing credits detail, Poltergeist was "captured" (as the logo proclaims) by Arri Alexa
cameras, and the image has the typically sleek, sharp and smooth appearance that these cameras afford. While some shots have a slight
buttery yellow quality to them, and quite a bit of the interior footage features the harsh blue, quasi-fluorescent, hues of a television broadcasting
static to an empty room, generally speaking detail and fine detail are often at excellent levels. There are several sequences that feature things
like "video feeds", where the imagery is intentionally pixellated or distorted. Shadow detail is generally quite well delineated, though there is
occasional murk in the second half of the film. CGI and other special effects work can occasionally look slightly soft, but some of that relative
gauziness (including some of the depictions of the ghouls Madison is contending with) seems to be intentional.
Poltergeist's 3D presentation offers consistent depth, without offering too many hokey "in your face" elements. There's significant
if at times subtle dimensionality in relatively simple scenes like the bird's eye view of that nefarious tree in relationship to the background
information, or, later,
shots of a mailbox at the Bowens' home which is repeatedly run over. Other scenes typically offer foreground placement of a prop that instantly
establishes planes of depth within the frame. Some of the depth is slightly mitigated by the extreme darkness of some of the effects sequences,
but even here, seemingly unlikely objects like the ooze that wells up from the Bowens' concrete floor display surprising depth and texture.
Note: Our screencapture equipment can only capture images from 2D Blu-ray discs. The main menu shot (screenshot 20) is therefore of
the 2D version. The 3D main menu offers no Extras option.
Note: The audio and subtitle specs listed above are for the 3D Blu-ray disc. Please see our Poltergeist Blu-ray review to see the audio and subtitle specs for the 2D Blu-ray disc
also included in this set.
From virtually the first moments of this film, even as its credits continue to unspool, Poltergeist's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix
announces that it's going to be a no holds barred display of incredibly forceful LFE and well placed surround activity. There are a glut of fine
moments scattered throughout this film, including the weirdly spooky and menacing sound of the flutter of the leaves in the Bowens' new house's
iconic tree, to some of the less naturalistic sounding effects that dot some of the big set pieces. There is no dearth of startle effects, including
one huge one when little Madison makes contact with "the others" via the television. While some of the special effects sequences get a bit
stuffed with effects, prioritization is generally strong, though a couple lines of dialogue in the second big SFX sequence get a bit buried in the
maelstrom. Otherwise, dialogue is cleanly presented and easy to hear in the mix. Marc Streitenfeld's kind of generic sounding score resides
quite comfortably in the side and rear channels and is reproduced with excellent fidelity. Dynamic range is also extremely wide on this track.
All of the supplements are included on the disc containing the 2D version of the film. The 3D Blu-ray disc has no supplementary content.
- Theatrical Trailer 1 (1080p; 2:20)
- Theatrical Trailer 2 (1080p; 1:41)
A lot of people pointed to that aforementioned example of Gus Van Sant's (more or less) shot by shot remake of Psycho as evidence of the excesses of directorial hubris, leading to that also aforementioned question, "Why?" Poltergeist doesn't quite scrape the bottom of the stylistic barrel in that particular way, but it's also curiously uninvolving and (even worse) not very frightening. While little Kennedi Clements is quite winning as Madison, Kyle Catlett as Griffin tends to indicate a bit too often. The supposed batner between Jared Harris' Burke and Jane Adams' Powell also falls pretty flat. SFX junkies may get enough of a jolt out of the big set pieces to make this a decent enough time killer. Technical merits are generally first rate for those considering a purchase.
Extended Cut
2015
Extended Cut | Lenticular Cover
2015
2015
Extended Cut | 2017 Halloween Faceplate
2015
Extended Cut
2015
2013
Unrated
2017
Collector's Edition
1986
2018
1982
2015
2019
2013
2010
Unrated Director's Cut
2009
2013
2009
Collector's Edition
2001
2015
1983
Haunted
2014
2019
2015
2016
2016