They’re Here…Maybe…We Think: Poltergeist Remake On?

Rumors have been zipping around about a Poltergeist remake for a while, but now Bloody-Disgusting is reporting that it’s a definite go. Mandate Pictures has acquired the rights for the remake and will produce it for MGM. No other specifics on shooting, casting, etc., until the strike is resolved.

B-D was on this story a year ago, noting in November 2006 that the purported prequel, Poltergeist: Kayeri had been shelved in favor of a remake. AICN describes the now-in-limbo Kayeri as a period piece that explained the origins of the Freeling family’s adventures. There also is supposedly a spec-script written by Michael Grais, the screenwriter for the 1982 original, called Poltergeist: In the Shadows, dealing with the grown-up Carol Ann.

Remaking Poltergeist seems like a thankless task (not to mention, to many, an unwelcome one). The 1982 film is in many ways, an example of the whole being greater than the parts, a mix of the right script, the right director, the right cast, and the right timing. It’s a triumph of atmosphere and some memorable moments that moviegoers hold fondly in their hearts.

So what do you do now? If you try to make it too close to the original, you’ll suffer by comparison. If you try to put too different a spin on it, you either end up with something that people say desecrates the memory of the movie or something so far afield that they wonder why you bothered calling it Poltergeist.

There’s the question for the producers and director of a remake, or similarly, someone who covers a classic song: what are you trying to do here? Do you think you’re going to do it better? Do you have something special to bring to it that makes it different enough that a remake is worthwhile? Do you want to make a slavish copy as an homage to the original? The first is unlikely, the second depends on finding exactly the right personnel, and the third is no, thank you, please send a card, some candy, and a worshipful documentary instead.

So anyway, we await news of director choices rather squeamishly. Casting choices, too–really, who the heck is going to play Zelda Rubinstein’s part?