‘Poltergeist’ Remake Finds Writers and Loses Interest

Posted by Rob Hunter (rob@filmschoolrejects.com) on August 20, 2008

MGM’s Poltergeist remake is inching closer to the light with the announcement that two curiously named writers are set to tackle the new screenplay. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Juliet Snowden and Stiles White have been tasked with rebooting the franchise. The duo previously co-scribbled Boogeyman and plan to re-imagine The Birds for Universal. This is normally where I’d say something snappy about how shitty Boogeyman was and how crappy The Birds and Poltergeist remakes are bound to be, but I’m trying to cut down on my perceived negativity. Plus, I’d probably get comments from Robert Fure saying he watches a lot of films starring 7th Heaven cast members and Boogeyman was the scariest of the bunch (after Boogeyman 2.)

The Oscar-nominated Poltergeist was co-written and directed (under the pseudonym Tobe Hooper) by Steven Spielberg, and is an undisputed classic of the horror/comedy genre. Two sequels and a short-lived series didn’t fare quite as well. The movie is full of memorable scenes… from the creepy clown under the bed, to the muddy pool filled with bobbing corpses, to the iconic little girl pressing her hands to the static-filled television screen. I’m partial to the disturbing and gross bit withthe investigator pulling the flesh from his face in the mirror. (And yes, the pseudonym crack above is in joking reference to one of the two long-standing rumors swirling around the film. The other involves a death curse.)

Finally, apologies to our optically challenged, cock-loving readers who may have read this post in excited error… there are currently no plans for a remake of Troma’s classic Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.

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