POLTERGEIST Remake to Hit Theatres in November 2010

They’re here…It seems there’s some forward momentum on MGM’s remake of Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper’s 1982 haunting classic, “Poltergeist”. “House of Sand and Fog” director Vadim Perelman is slated to direct a script by Juliet Snowden and Stiles White, which tells the tale of a suburban family beset by ghouls, ghosts, and little-girl-eating-televisions after finding out their home was built over sacred burial lands. The clown scene alone makes me wonder if it’s possible to top the original. Read on for musings on death, the afterlife, and scary-as-hell living dolls after the jump.

A reboot of this story may be necessary after two mediocre to bad sequels and a bizarre television series even if they did make for a damn entertaining “E True Hollywood Story”. The inclusion of Perelman as director leaves no doubt that the visuals will be great and the atmosphere suitably creepy, however the screenplay itself is a big question mark right now as the writers are also responsible for flicks like “Boogeyman” and the recent Alex Proyas clunker, “Knowing”. My biggest hope is that they do what no ghost stories out of Hollywood in the last 10 years have done: actually be scary. The best way to do this? Strong characters and avoiding an over-reliance on CG. Those images are never scary, especially when ghosts are involved, and that’s why scenes from “Ghostbusters”  are scarier than those in most straight horror films these days (don’t pretend you don’t pee a little when that librarian gets all monstery).

Still, this could very well be a project worth following and there’s some strong talent here already in the form of a director who certainly has a vision. Here’s hoping they get round up a great cast and a strong make-up and practical effects team. I’m now going to have nightmares about that clown doll tonight.