What’s it rated? PG
When? 1982
Where’s it showing? Netflix and Amazon Prime
“They’re here.” Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) directs this 1982 horror classic about a family’s home that’s haunted by paranormal activities. Co-written by Steven Spielberg and Michael Grais, it follows Steven and Diane Freeling (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams), who’ve moved their family to Cuesta Verde, a quiet California planned community.
When their youngest of three children, Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke), begins conversing with the television as it transmits static, things quickly get weird. Furniture rearranges itself, silverware bends, and then Carol Anne is sucked into a supernatural vortex, leading to a call to parapsychologists to examine the house. Eventually spiritual medium Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein) is called in, Carol Anne is recovered, and Tangina declares, “This house is clean.” Not by a long shot!
What makes the film so potent, besides being pretty darn scary, is the family dynamic. This is really about a family coming together to save one of their own, and the tale is told through their eyes, hence the fear is palpable. This one’s always worth revisiting. (114 min.) Δ
This article appears in Oct 29 – Nov 8, 2020.