Poltergeist, (ONE), is a good movie. It's a Steven Spielberg movie, so you know it's gonna be filmed wonderfully. Here we have a family whose house is built on top of some demon enriched buriel ground. This leads to Carol Anne being sucked into the TV and tossed around in some spirit world. Bring in the ghostbusters, who attach everything from a toaster to a jet ski to some electronic device and try to see these nasty little ghosts, or poltergeists.

The special effects are good; I mean, it's Steven Spielberg after all. The acting is good, with Craig T. Nelson of Coach fame playing the Dad, and shapely JoBeth Williams as the Momma. What tends to get on your nerves is the name Carol Anne, played by Heather O'Rourke who sadly passed away a year or two later. As they try to connect with Carol Anne, they yell her name over and over, telling to go to the light, then run from the light, then go back to the light. By the time the move's over, you're pretty well sick of Carol Anne.

I HATE THIS FUCKING MOVIE!!

they're here

Very scary movie. Especially the scene where the Mom walks back into the kitchen, and all of the chairs are stacked up on the kitchen table. Creepy! I also really enjoy the sequel.

love this movie

watch now me shall

Never seen this one either.

Very well written and constructed horror film that involves the entire family. One of the best special-effects film of the time. Recommended.

I saw it when I was a kid, don't remember much about it

That litle girl is s adorable!

This movie is a classic! It still freaks me out! I never get sick of this movie!

I am still afraid of mirrors!! damn movie

Like the only movie that I will not watch because of how much it scared me when I was a kid.

I was scared to watch t.v. @ night after I watched this and I had to get rid of my stuffed clown!

talking television.

This is a classic and while I don't know how well it holds up today (been a while since I've watched it) it was definitely entertaining. Its a must see at least once.

I am not sure this movie should be under the "horror" category. Nevertheless, it is one of the best Spielberg movies, and the acting is impressive. Spielberg is the all time genius in working with kids and make them so... believable. I still feel shivers when watching the scene when Carol Anne's spirit passes through her mother's soul. Brilliant.

Loved it! The sequels were mediocre, but the original was great!

I like JoBeth Williams, so I nudge this up to a three. Otherwise, it would be in danger of sinking out of sight.

This is a very scary movie!

What's not to like about this film? I can't believe it's not rated in the top 10. Not even the top 20! Take "The Lost Boys" or "Halloween" out of that list and put this one in.

Plenty of scary parts and great fx. When I was younger, I used to judge a horror movie by how many sleepless nights I spent after seeing the movie. This one was a five star, two thumbs up, gives me the creeps movie. Still hate clowns to this day.

Spielberg's "family friendly" touch spoiled an otherwise good haunted house movie. That family was SO annoying in a way only Spielberg can create that I was glad to see their house haunted!

Yes....I have to say this movie was one of the creepiest I watched as a child. It ruined clowns for me too.

that movie was suposed to be scary? the only thing scary about it was what happened off camera....u know what i mean....

that movie was full of surprises!!!!

i never thought this movie was all that scary. now the things that have happened to the cast and crew of the movie is just a little too spooky for me.

OK, wasnt really scary though

Very creepy! I agree, a great family movie. But after you see it the first time, it's a bore.

A HORROR MOVIE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. MORE SUSPENSEFUL THAN SCARY, IT WILL MAKE YOU SHUT THE TV OFF BEFORE YOU GO TO BED.

One of my favorite horror movies. Still scares me everytime I see it.

This movie has always creeped me out. Heather O'Rourke was perfect as Carol Anne. May she rest in peace.

Scared the crap out of me as a kid and only gets better now that I'm an adult.I loved CarolAnne!

I am rating this from a 12 yr olds state of mind since that is when I saw it for the first time. At that time, I lived in Evergreen, Colorado in a huge log cabin surrounded by tons of trees. It just so happened that I had a tree just outside my bedroom window. I wouldn't sleep in there for wks.

This movie is fun to watch, but doesn't really frighten. I enjoyed it, after all Spielberg directed it; his wife stars in it; trees attack people in it. what's not to like? But the seriousness of the movie is thrown out the window, as the movie becomes too comical from time to time. The sequels are terrible. If you are going to watch one, watch this one.

Fantastic!!! Wonderful story and terrific acting!

I'm sorry, I didn't find this film at all scary. A kid getting sucked into the TV? Oh come on!

The sequals were the best the orignal sucked kinda weird huh? I don't see what's so great about steven speilberg.

another scary film personally i've found haunted house movies to be scariest if their done well and this ones the best in the tradition of amityville horror and burnt offerings two previous good but dated haunted house flims. this is the best though. i mean even the little girl was scary for some reason. i couldn't watch this movie even in my teen years and didn't view until i was well into my 20's. still don't care much for sleeping in bedrooms/living rooms at night with t.v. sets. nuff said.

Not really all that scary, but very well done. It's more scary to think about all the things that happened to the actors. Dominique Dunne being murdered by a jealous boyfriend, and the little girl dying so suddenly. Anyway, I would recommend it for a Halloween night movie marathon.

Even ten years ago, I might have rated this differently, but it is so cheesy and hokey to watch now... Bad acting, bad effects. Happy, sappy ending. Plus you can't help but remember that two of the three kids are dead in real life. Plus, I really have this thing against Craig T. Nelson.

This movie still never ceases to scare me. I still hate to watch it alone.

Extremely dissapointing movie. I had heard lots of hype about this film and decided to rent it. Boy was i dissapointed. There is little horror in it, and even less suspense. If you are looking for a scare forget this piece of fluff.

The credited director may be Tobe Hooper (of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre infamy) but the stamp of co-producer/co-writer Steven Spielberg dominates the spooky proceedings which unfold in one of those perfect-looking suburban houses he loves. As a result the film itself has something of a split personality as Spielberg-ish cuteness and Hooper's more visceral interests give this the feel of The Exorcist as processed through a Walt Disney blender. It's also one of the last mainstream films by respected filmmakers where you'll witness suburban mom and dad Steve and Diane Freeling (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams) smoking a joint at the end of another day in paradise. That must've snuck in before Nancy Reagan told everyone to "just say no". Steve, Diane and nuclear family look like they have it all in the Cuesta Verde housing development. Steve's the company's top salesman and is responsible for selling 42% of the lots to like-minded suburbanites. Things couldn't be more perfect until their daughter Carol Anne (the late Heather O'Rourke) utters the immortal words "they're heeere" as invaders from the other side arrive through the television set. It's a brilliant idea to have the terror emanate from the idiot box and after poor Carol Anne is whisked off into limbo land, the show hardly stops for a breath until the no-holds barred finale. Some of the parapsychological babble espoused by a team of spook-busters and midget medium Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) is tedious but Hooper (who hasn't made a successful film since) and Spielberg put on such a dazzling display it hardly matters. It's also fascinating watching state-of-the-art special effects, circa 1982. Some of it looks a little hokey by today’s standards but at other moments it's actually refreshing to witness "live" effects and not the increasingly dull computer generated trickery of today. Pumped along by a full-tilt Jerry Goldsmith score and fuelled by the notion that home is suddenly the least safe place on earth, Poltergeist is a pants kicking spook story that the Shape remembers fondly from his youth.

Movies usually don't scare me, and there have been a select few that have been able to give me goosebumps. I'm a sucker for atmosphere in horror movies and that's why The Shining, Night of The Living Dead & Matango are at the top of my list for the most scariest movies. But Poltergeist may be the only up-and-front scary movie that has gotten to me. I liked this movie. I remember being scared stiff by this one when I was younger. Good stuff.

Some may say that the Poltergeist series is sealed with a curse because of the deaths of many cast member off-set, but what we see here is a pretty good horror movie starring the cute little girl, Heather O Rourke. A tornado almosts hits a family's suburban home, and their daughter is missing. She was sucked into her closet by paranormal sprits that are invading their house, and they had to get whoever was given birth to in the house, or on their grounds. Extremly well done.

Oooh, this is another creepy film that we children of the 80's grew up with! Something about that little girl and the TV set still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up to this day.

This is one of the only two movies that have ever really frightened me. I saw this in second grade it genuenly took my nerves to the breaking point. I finally got up the nerve to see it again in sixth grade and realized this is one of the better haunted house stories ever put to film. Written and produced by Steven Speilberg and directed by the master of the macabre Tobe Hooper the genius behind The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This film is not just about fright but about family as well. It is as heart warming and funny as it is scary. I highky recommend this film.

I had nightmares for several nights. I was the same age as the girl in the movie when I first saw it.

For an old horror movie, Poltergeist is still a good movie to watch to this day. Most of the effects and action are so realistic that it makes your mind go crazy. That's the best part of the movie, that you think that it could happen to you and that's what makes it worth watching over and over again. Some of the background music wasn't all that good, but everything else I wouldn't change.

This is a very old scary movie. I used to hide in my bed because the movie was stuck in my head.

Is this scariest movie of all time? No. Will it still get under your skin? Most definitely. This is more than a movie with scary special effects (Although it contains plenty of those). It makes you seriously consider the possibility of unsettling the dead, of communicating with them. As with other Spielberg films, it explores the innocence of a child, their ability to be open to things which adults are too jaded to see. This movie scared me when I was ten and it still gives me the creeps eighteen years later!

The whole trapped in the TV thing was kinda creepy, not to mention when the guy is eating the chicken leg and it turns into maggots. The clown, oh thank god I was past that stage in my life when I saw this or I would've had to have tossed out anything even resembling a clown. On a side note is it just me or was Joe Beth Williams a babe?

what do people see in this EMPTY movie besides a great strobe light show ?

this movie has no heart & soul, it relys entirely on special effects which, unfortunately, started a trend in Hollywood Horror movies. Jobeth Williams was very good though.

True story - my little brother's best friend Ashley saw this movie at a very young age, and to this day, is terrified of clowns. I remember when my brother was like 12 I took him to Ashley's house so they could go trick or treating together. My brother was wore a clown costume (unnknowingly) and I remember that when Ashley took one look at him she kind of lost it, and I had to take my brother home for his "plan b" costume.