Poltergeist is a forthcoming reboot of the 1982 supernatural film being produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert (Evil Dead) and Roy Lee (The Woman in Black, The Strangers) for MGM and the director is Gil Kenan, who previously helmed animated family horror movie Monster House. The hugely successful 1982 original was produced by Stephen Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre).
Perhaps indicating that this new version lacks focus, a host of writers have so far worked on the production: Scott Derrickson (Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose), Juliet Snowden (The Possession), Stiles White (The Boogeyman) and Paul Harris Boardman (The Exorcism of Emily Rose). David Linsay-Abaire (Rise of the Guardians, Rabbit Hole and Robots) wrote the most recent draft of the film, which suggests that it may be mild horror.
According to Bloody Disgusting, the plot details are as follows:
The new version follows Eric Bowen and his family who, after he loses his job, relocate to a new town to start anew. His daughter, Madison, is abducted, making him truly understand what’s important in life: family. In the new version, Eric’s wife, Amy, can communicate with the dead.
Another interesting new character is Carrigan Burke, a television personality who hosts “Haunted House Cleaners.”? The supernatural doesn’t scare this guy. Dr. Brooke Powell is Carrigan’s ex-wife who is a parapsychologist at a local university. Her team investigates the supernatural events surrounding the disappearance of the Bowen girl.
Meanwhile, Moviehole have reported that the new film will indeed be a sequel, rather than a remake as initial reports suggested:
Firstly, the Kenan-directed Raimi-produced reboot – much like the “Evil Dead” remake – exists in the same world as the previous “Poltergeist” films. So while it is a ‘reboot’ of the franchise, it’s also somewhat of a sequel – taking place years after the Freeling’s were ran out of town.
In one scene in the new film, the kids’ find some things behind the sliding panel in the attic. Yep, you guessed it – they find some of the Freeling’s possessions, intentionally left behind. There’s the Star Wars bed sheets (from Robbie’s room), a black-and-white TV set (why, of course!), and some Christmas decorations.
Although the new film may possess new characters and somewhat of a different storyline, all the “familiar beats” from the original “Poltergeist” films are in it. There’s the scary tree that proves a looming threat to our youngster (and gets pulled underground), the freaky ‘clown’ that sits upon a rocking chair in the bedroom (in this case, the clown sits in younger brother Griffin’s room), and of course there’s ‘phone’ trouble (in this case, older sister Kendra’s iPhone gets damaged by unseen forces), and of course the little girl – Madison – who makes friends with ‘The Lost People’ that nobody can see (but who don’t mind ‘showing off’ – making Madison’s hair stand up like she’s just been struck by electricity, being just one of their ‘tricks’).
