After getting some general information and set pictures yesterday, the first trailer for "Poltergeist" has arrived today, offering a disturbing glimpse of director Gil Kenan's reboot of the early 80s horror classic.
Produced by Sam Raimi, the film appears to stick pretty close, almost too close one could say, to the plot of the original fright flick. In the new movie, Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt portray Eric and Amy Bowen, parents to two young children. The family moves into a new home in what appears to be an ordinary neighborhood, only to discover that supernatural forces are at work...and have dark designs on their little children.
"Poltergeist" is the third film from Kenan, following his 2006 animated debut, "Monster House," and the 2008 live-action adventure "City of Ember."
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the script for the remake; he previously collaborated with Raimi on the colorful fantasy "Oz the Great and Powerful."
Raimi, of course, is returning to his horror roots not only with "Poltergeist" but also with a new Starz series, "Ash vs. Evil Dead," set to hit the airwaves this year.
While I'm not totally against reboots and remakes, personally, there are some films that just don't need to be rebooted or remade...and "Poltergeist" is one of those films, in my opinion. The 1982 version holds up damn well in 2015. I would assume that's why what we see in this trailer doesn't deviate from the original a whole heck of a lot...beyond a few special effect tricks here and there.
Regardless of what I think, the new "Poltergeist" is scheduled to be in theaters on July 24, according to The Verge.
Check out the trailer below: