Poltergeist (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (DVD)

I don't own the original release of Poltergeist on DVD so even though this new 25th Anniversary release says that it is digitally restored and remastered I personally can't tell you if there is any improvement. However, I have already read in several places that this transfer is far better than the original release, and considering it looks fantastic on my 42" plasma I am willing to take them at their word and tell you if you are looking for an upgrade this is most likely a good place to start.

Poltergeist was released in 1982, which I am sure the mathematicians in the audience already figured that out based on the 25th Anniversary part in the first sentence. Written by Steven Spielberg along with Michael Grais and Mark Victor, this flick was directed by original Texas Chainsaw Massacre helmer Tobe Hooper and packs quite the paranormal punch. An interesting thing to note is that this flick is rated PG. Can you think of any films in the last ten years that featured a character ripping his/her face off receiving a PG rating? And those crazy parents tell us we have become too lax on violence.

Telling the tale of a haunted house that has trapped a little girl in the television, Poltergeist is certainly a classic horror film and one that I think most horror fanatics will tell you is a favorite of theirs. Whether it is the scary ass clown or the thought of haunted houses in general, there is something here to make most people's skin crawl. As for this DVD release, it hardly feels as special as it should have been.

My first question is why Warner Bros. didn't release HD DVD and Blu-ray versions at the same time if they wanted to promote the new transfer and remastered soundtrack? That only would have made sense, and an audio commentary or anything beyond a silly little two-part documentary would have also helped. Personally I love documentaries on scary places and those that investigate the paranormal, but the documentary on here called "They are Here: The Real World of Poltergeists Revealed" is borderline pathetic as it features dopes walking around with Geiger meters and electromagnetic pulse readers. Sorry, if you really want to get people to believe give me something to believe in.

Overall, this is a good upgrade if picture and sound quality are a concern of yours, but if you are looking for something really special then don't look here. My advice would be to just wait as this is a film screaming for an actual special edition with commentaries and special features galore. Why the hell didn't they sit down Hooper or Spielberg or get the cast back together? Imagine Craig T. Nelson and Zelda Rubinstein chatting it up with Spielberg and Hooper on an audio commentary. Now that would be a special edition.