POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE(1986)
(Directed by Brian Gibson)
"It's what you really don't want in a sequel."- Signed by MartialHorror.
Plot: The Freeling family, after the first film, is trying to move on with their lives. However, the poltergeists continue to haunt them and it’s up to a Native American to save them. Review: I suppose that in the end, a sequel to the “Poltergeist” was inevitable. It would be hard to pull off, as it was arguably the best ghost movie ever made. Considering that neither Steven Spielberg or Tobe Hooper(whoever directed it) would return for the sequel, things weren’t looking too good for it. If sequels are whores movies(according to William Goldman, the most famous screenwriter), then you can’t be more of a whore than “Poltergeist II” and “Poltergeist III”, the first which makes the themes explored in its predecessor pointless, and in the latter, making the themes explored in the 2nd film pointless. I just like to pretend neither sequel existed. Although to be fair, both films manage to be okay. “Poltergeist II”, much like the followup, starts off on a wrong note. We are introduced to the enigmatic Taylor(Will Sampson), a Native American who goes through some spiritual ritual that involves special effects. This is Strike 1, as it shows us that this is a special effects bonanza. Gone is the mystery or crisp direction of the first film, which used the SFX as a tool. Here, the director isn’t controlling the SFX, the SFX are controlling him. Maybe I’d be okay with this in 1986, where CGI and the likes were new. But CGI tends to age badly, especially in the 80’s(and even worse in the 90’s). He then visit’s the town of the first film. It’s pretty eerie in how all the houses have been deserted, although the tumbleweed was a bit much to emphasis the point. But then they use stock footage from the first film, reminding us what went down. I hate stock footage, so strike 2. We see the house- or what used to be the house- from the original as well. Strike 3 is Zelda Rubinstein’s(Tangina, the psychic) acting. Wow, it is pretty bad here. Actually, Strike 3 can be summed up as the characters and acting in general. While Taylor is cool, the Freelings are freaking annoying. The kids get more screentime(NEVER A GOOD SIGN), Diane(JoBeth Williams) is whiney and has some corny flashbacks and Steve(Craig T. Nelson) has become very unlikeable. Nelson spends the 1st act overacting, and then acting like a skeptical jerk to Taylor. I don’t know about you guys, but if I had been through what the Freelings have gone through, I’d be willing to believe a guy who says he can help, especially if he has connections to the person who saved them before. So Strike 3, the movie is out. Well, not really. In truth, the film gets better as it goes on, although it never becomes good. So the Freelings deal with another poltergeist, while Taylor tries to help them out. Brian Gibson has a few good moments, but mostly is pretty standard as the director. He fails, in my opinion, at making the special effects creepy or engaging(at least when it’s not a practical effect), and the finale was downright silly. He suffers from the fact that he’s no Steven Spielberg, or Tobe Hooper. I don’t know who was responsible for the first film(look into that controversy on your own), but it felt more like a Spielberg film than a Hooper film. But usually, when there is a Spielbergless sequel to a Spielberg film, you don’t realize how big of a mistake that is. Like when Joe Johnston directed “Jurassic Park 3”(which made me realize how underrated Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park 2” was) or when Jeannot Szwarc did “Jaws 2”, it just feels that the energy of Spielberg’s film has been sucked dry. They all feel like studio tools. This film is rarely intense, rarely creepy, and rarely effective at all…Although to be fair, Gibson has his moments. But what kept the film together for me was Julian Beck as Kane, the main poltergeist. Holy crap this guy was scary. Gibson must have realized how good this guy was, because suddenly he steps up his game for it. Whenever Kane appears on screen, Gibson goes all out in making this guy creepier. The best scene in the movie is when Kane is walking up the driveway, singing a religious song, and it starts to rain. The man is magnetic and terrifying, and every time he was on screen, everything just felt so much tighter. Even Craig T. Nelson suddenly does a great job, feeling like he was genuinely afraid of the guy. Unfortunately, Beck died before the production wrapped, so his screentime is limited. But nevertheless, they create an interesting monster in his likeliness, so it’s not as distracting in the same way that Heather O’Rourke’s(Carol Anne) death effected “Poltergeist III”. Oddly, this might be the only horror trilogy where more people die during the filming of the movie than in the movie itself. But I still can’t say I liked “Poltergeist II: The Other Side”. As I said, the family was annoying. The plot went too far with the supernatural element, while often making little sense(a character gets possessed by swallowing a worm, the hell?), Craig T. Nelson’s character needed to be punched, good ideas were squandered(the breaking of the family unit), the SFX-whoring was overdone, it was corny and the general impact of the movie was low. It is still a competent film, but I don’t want competent. Sometimes being competent is worse than being bad. At least if it sucked, I could write a funny review. The acting isn’t always on, which is something I blame the director(why else does everyone do better in the original?). Even though I keep trashing Craig T. Nelson(Steve), most of my problems with him has to do with how the character is written. He has some great moments, but overacts a lot. Also, he ends up making things a bit campy, which felt out-of-place. JoBeth Williams(Diane) does pretty good. Heather O’Rourke(Carol Anne) is okay for a child actress, but is too adorable and to be honest, I have difficulty being critical of her due to her untimely death(she‘d only have a few more years to live). Oliver Robins(Robbie) does fine and has nice chemistry with O’Rourke. Will Sampson(Taylor), who would die in the same year as O’Rourke, does great. I like how he brought a sense of humor to the role. Julian Beck(Kane) is the one thing I will remember about the movie. In fact, he tends to be the one thing anyone remembers about the film. He is easily one of the best villains to appear in film. Geraldine Fitzgerald(Gramma Jess) is a classy lady and is the only one in the family that didn’t bug me. Zelda Rubinstein(Tangina) just felt off to me. If you’re wondering where Dominique Dunne(Dana from the first film) is, she died at the hands of her asshole boyfriend before this went into production. Yikes, this trilogy is cursed! “Poltergeist II: The Other Side” is a passable ghost film. It has its moments, decent effects and Julian Beck and Will Sampson kept the movie together. It’s nowhere near as good as its predecessor and personally, I think I prefer “Poltergeist III” a bit more. It accomplishes more, although to be honest, it completely rapes the themes of the first two films. The family ends up sending Carol-Anne away because of the haunting(the jackasses) and the movie ends with the implication that Carol-Anne isn’t free yet, despite the fact that the actress had died and it would be more fitting if the character was finally free. I can understand and even respect that movies are made to make money, but at least show respect to the series. I hear that a remake is in the works and to be honest, I wouldn’t mind one. Just hire a capable director and turn it into a worthwhile experience. Violence: It has some gruesome moments. PG-13 worthy easily. Nudity: There is an attempted rape and was it just me or did Kane come across as a pedophile? Overall: I wouldn’t bother with “Poltergeist 2”, but it isn’t a complete waste of time either. 2/4 Stars 
