Tomorrowland may have taken the top spot at the box office in its debut weekend, but things still look awfully grim for the George Clooney sci-fi vehicle. Not only did the film open far below expectations, it faced serious competition in Pitch Perfect 2, which continued to kick aca-butt in its second weekend. And it wasn’t the only new release to under-perform, with the Poltergeist remake also falling short of early predictions. If you were a new release this weekend, things were awfully rough.
Everything that goes wrong in Poltergeist stems from an act of desecration; the building of a cookie-cutter housing development on top of an old cemetery. Some might find the sheer act of attempting a remake of Poltergeist similarly disrespectful; the 1982 original is something of a masterpiece of suburban terror. But if viewers can look past the sheer audacity of attempting another Poltergeist, they’ll find a solid modernization, the cinematic equivalent of a decent cover version of a great rock song. It’s totally superfluous, and not nearly as satisfying as the original, but well-performed and effective in its own way. It’s nice (or, in this case, deeply unsettling) to revisit an old classic in a new arrangement.
Pro-tip: if you're scared of clowns or creepy dolls, you might want to skip the new ‘Poltergeist’ trailer. If you're all good with evil clown dolls coming to life and attacking young children, what are you waiting for?! You can watch the new ‘Poltergeist’ trailer above.
It was confirmed earlier this year that a 'Poltergeist' remake is most definitely in the works with Sam Raimi involved in the project, but now we're hearing that Raimi might just be directing the remake himself... Probably...
At a recent speaking engagement at the University of Denver, MGM CEO Roger Birnbaum was quite chatty about the studio’s upcoming projects — particularly its remake plans, which include a ‘Poltergeist’ reboot they’re negotiating with Sam Raimi to direct.