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Poltergeist (1982)

PG  |   |  Horror  |  4 June 1982 (USA)
7.4
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Ratings: 7.4/10 from 95,501 users   Metascore: 79/100
Reviews: 315 user | 209 critic | 7 from Metacritic.com

A family's home is haunted by a host of ghosts.

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Writers:

(screenplay), (screenplay), 2 more credits »
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Title: Poltergeist (1982)

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Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Diane Freeling (as Jobeth Williams)
...
...
...
...
...
Virginia Kiser ...
Martin Casella ...
...
...
...
Lou Perryman ...
Pugsley (as Lou Perry)
Clair E. Leucart ...
Bulldozer Driver (as Clair Leucart)
...
Jeff Shaw
Edit

Storyline

A young family are visited by ghosts in their home. At first the ghosts appear friendly, moving objects around the house to the amusement of everyone, then they turn nasty and start to terrorise the family before they "kidnap" the youngest daughter. Written by Rob Hartill

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

From a dimension beyond the living, a terror to scare you to death. See more »

Genres:

Horror

Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

4 June 1982 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Juegos diabólicos  »

Box Office

Budget:

$10,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$6,896,612 (USA) (4 June 1982)

Gross:

$76,600,000 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (original cut)

Sound Mix:

(35 mm prints) (as Dolby Stereo)| (70 mm prints)

Color:

(Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

When Diane is in the bed with Steve talking about Carol Anne's behavior talking to the TV, Steve takes a book in his hands. This book is "Reagan: The Man, the President", published in 1981 and written by Hedrick Smith, Adam Clymer, Leonard Silk, Robert Lindsey and Richard Burt, all they correspondents of The New York Times at this time. See more »

Goofs

At breakfast: In the shot where Carol Anne calls Robbie a "doggie-bag", Dana is playing with a waffle with her right hand. Then, Dana has the waffle in her left hand, and has a pen in her right hand. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Carol Anne: Hello? What do you look like? Talk louder, I can't hear you! Hey, hello! Hello, I can't hear you! Five. Yes. Yes. I don't know. I don't know.
See more »

Crazy Credits

After the credits and the logo of the MGM lion is shown, we hear children laughing. Fans of the film have assumed that the laughing children are those who have been released from the beast and have crossed over the threshold into the next life. See more »

Connections

Referenced in E! True Hollywood Story: Curse of Poltergeist (2002) See more »

Soundtracks

The Star-Spangled Banner
(1814) (uncredited)
Music based on "The Anacreontic Song" by John Stafford Smith
Arranged by Arturo Toscanini
[Played as TV sign-off music several times]
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

Good Scary Fun!!!
8 April 2004 | by (New England) – See all my reviews

I am not going to go into all the controversy surrounding this movie...everybody knows about the various deaths of cast members, as well as questions over who actually directed "Poltergeist". What I will decribe in this review are my feelings concerning the movie.

"Poltergeist" is a good scary picture which will not only entertain you, but will make you wonder what originally occupied the land where your home is currently standing. This movie makes good use of foreshadowing and building of tensions to move a viewer to believe what they are actually seeing is really happening. While giving the "funeral" for the pet bird, Robbie asks if they can later dig it up so they can "see the bones". At the end of the film he is indeed treated to seeing "dug up bones", only they were not ones he had in mind.

Great movie, great acting, great scary fun! A+


34 of 42 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Does the ending cemetery reveal make sense? Domzer
It just doesn't feel right bbadfish
15 year old daughter, underwear and no brah? Old men hitting on her lol DreadFox
What happened to the dog? tapio_hietamaki
Whispering voices in the TV static? rilian-95781
Anyone seen the remake? detataandrea
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