Poltergeist (franchise)

Poltergeist is the original film in the trilogy, directed by Tobe Hooper, co-written by Steven Spielberg and released on June 4, 1982. The story focuses on the Freeling family, which consists of parents Steve (Craig T. Nelson) and Diane (JoBeth Williams); teenage daughter Dana (Dominique Dunne); eight-year-old Robbie (Oliver Robins); and 5-year-old Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke), who live Cuesta Verde, a California housing development which comes to be haunted by ghosts. The apparitions, under the control of a demon known as the "Beast", communicate through the family's television set and can only be heard by Carol Anne. Attracted to her life force and believing she will help lead them into the "Light", the specters abduct Carol Anne through her bedroom closet, which acts as a portal to their dimension. Much of the film involves the family's efforts to rescue their daughter, aided by a group of parapsychologists (Beatrice Straight, Martin Casella, Richard Lawson) and Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein), a spiritual medium. Carol Anne is eventually retrieved from the other side and, following a second attack by the Beast that reveals the ghosts had originated from an improperly relocated cemetery beneath the neighborhood, the Freelings flee Cuesta Verde just before the house implodes and disappears into another dimension.[3]

The first sequel, Poltergeist II: The Other Side, directed by Brian Gibson and released on May 23, 1986, is set a year following the events in Poltergeist and offers an alternate explanation of the ghosts' origin. The film also develops the identity and backstory of the Beast, who had lived during the 19th century as a religious zealot named Reverend Henry Kane (Julian Beck). Kane was the leader of a utopian cult, who in anticipation of the end of the world, had sealed themselves in a cavern located directly below what later became the Freelings' property. Kane is anxious to possess Carol Anne in order to continue manipulating his followers after death. The ghosts follow and attack the Freelings at their current household. Aided by an American Indian shaman named Taylor (Will Sampson), the Freelings manage to escape from Kane and his followers a second time.[3][4]

The final film in the original trilogy, Poltergeist III, directed and co-written by Gary Sherman, was released on June 10, 1988. In order to protect Carol Anne, the Freelings have sent her to live temporarily in a Chicago skyscraper with skeptic relatives Pat and Bruce Gardner (Nancy Allen and Tom Skerritt) and their daughter Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle). However, Carol Anne's recollection of her experiences during psychiatric sessions enables Kane and his followers to locate her and make contact through the building's ubiquitous mirrors.[3][5] After the ghosts abduct Carol Anne and then Donna, her boyfriend Scott (Kipley Wentz), Pat, and Bruce enlist the help of Tangina to rescue them; Tangina eventually escorts Kane into the spectral Light, sacrificing herself to save the family.

The reboot of the series, Poltergeist, was directed by Gil Kenan and released on May 22, 2015. It centers on a family struggling to make ends meet who relocate to a suburban home and like the original, the youngest daughter is kidnapped by spirits that possess the house. Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt star as the married couple, Kennedi Clements plays the daughter, and Jared Harris plays the host of a paranormal-themed TV show who comes to the aid of the family.

On April 10, 2019, it was announced that Russo Brothers would helm a new remake of the franchise.[6]

A spin-off television series, Poltergeist: The Legacy, ran from 1996 to 1999, though it does not have any connection to the films other than the title.[7]

The following table shows the cast members who played the primary characters in the film series.

The "Poltergeist curse" is a rumored curse attached to the Poltergeist trilogy and its crew, derived from the deaths of two young cast members in the six years between the releases of the first and third films.[3][17] The rumor and the surrounding deaths were explored in a 2002 episode of E! True Hollywood Story titled "Curse of Poltergeist".[18]

• Dominique Dunne, who played the eldest daughter Dana in the first film, died on November 4, 1982, at age 22 after being strangled by her ex-boyfriend John Thomas Sweeney.[19] He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to six years in prison, but was paroled after serving three and a half years.[17] This was her only motion picture appearance before her death.

• Heather O'Rourke, who played Carol Anne in all three Poltergeist films, died on February 1, 1988 at the age of 12 due to complications from an acute bowel obstruction.[20][21][22]