MovieChat Forums > Poltergeist (1982) Discussion > Some observations (yes, rehashing a bit)

Some observations (yes, rehashing a bit)


I’ve watched this movie many times through the years and I have lots of observations…

1. How would a haunted house enable a tornado to suck up a tree into the sky? I guess the same way it’d suck a house into the ground?

2. Why would Diane have Carol-Anne slide across the floor? That’s insane, she has NO idea of the force that is moving her.

3. It makes no sense that the family stays in the house after they get Carol-Anne back. No way. And Steven stopping by the office?! How asinine. I would’ve been out of there immediately once we had her back.

4. This house would easily prove there is an afterlife (or some spiritual world). The footage they got could be worth $$$

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1. The haunted house enables lots of things to happen beyond the realms of believability. It has a tree outside come alive and attack Robbie, bursts water pipes along the road, brings up skeletons from the ground and in the swimming pool. You can kind of go with the flow as far as it creating a tornado. Although when we talk about the haunted house we really mean this evil entity, but then as this tornado serves as a sort of saviour for Robbie and the dad by sucking up the tree while it's attacking, maybe this tornado comes from another (positive) force, looking out for them? Or maybe it is the haunted house and it's just doing away with the tree now it's achieved the goal of taking Carol-Anne? I'm actually not sure how to interpret this myself.

2. At this point Diane thinks the "TV people" are being playful and there is no harm in it, more fun than anything. She's probably seen that there is no danger to this after seeing the same thing keep happening and experiencing it herself.

3. This gets talked about a lot on here as an unrealistic part of the film and while I can understand how most people would just get the hell out of their ASAP, they were preparing to move already that night and were given assurances the house was clean from an expert, with seemingly no more sign of any paranormal activity going on after they rescued their daughter. From that perspective it makes some sense that they thought they'd be safe.

4. True. Something like that happening with documented evidence as well as the events at the end with the house and the street, it would create big news. I can't remember if it was addressed in the sequel or not, but that's where it would be relevant, since this is all about the unfolding of these events.

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For #3, I would think the ptsd/trauma alone would prevent me from ever setting foot in the house again. Have movers go in and clear it out. Stay in a hotel. I can’t imagine ever thinking staying there another night would be anything but further trauma.

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Yeah, I wouldn't care if the psychic thought the house was clean. I would be taking no chances. Not to mention the horrible memories the house held for them.

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1. It wasn't a haunted house, it was a house built on top of an Indian Burial ground. So it affected the entire area

2. While it defied logic, she didn't see it malicious or dangerous. It didnt amount to anything anyway. No one was hurt in that scene.

3. Aren't they in the process of moving out? I think they are only there for another day after they get her back, and they can be seen packing and moving boxes

4. Even if there were books written and documentaries produced, noone would believe it anyway.

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To number 4, they’d literally have no choice to believe it since the house just magically disappeared. There’s no way on Earth that humans could make that happen like that. Even the giant sink hole theory would at least leave remnants of some form. They also have the footage of the spirit coming downstairs and multiple eyewitnesses. A documentary would be lucrative in this case.

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Yeah but we have video, audio and pictures of ghosts, aliens, bigfoot, the loch ness monster etc in real life, and most people don't believe in them. The default is to deny it. The house disappearing is harder to deny, but the only real evidence is the eye witnesses that saw it happen. You can see it in the sequel, the insurance company is already giving them a hard time about it

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Also, why would she jump to the house being clean that fast anyways? Diane had to go in through a portal and bring her daughter back. There was no indication of spirits finally at rest. Also, isn’t that worst judgement call of all time?!

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She senses the presence of the spirits in the house and at that point I don't think there were any, so she wasn't exactly wrong. It's just she was deceived. It fooled her into thinking it had gone for good after they retrieved their daughter, only for it to come back again. Maybe in her past work she's never experienced this happen before?

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