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The ''Poltergeist'' movies are a trilogy of . Michael Grais and Mark Victor co-wrote the first film with Spielberg, wrote the second film on their own and also co-produced it. Brian Taggert and an uncredited Steve Feke co-wrote the third film. Spielberg's long-time friends (and then-married couple) Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy co-produced the first film. Freddie Fields and Lynn Arost co-produced the second film, and the third film was co-produced by Barry Bernardi . The scores of the first two films were composed by Jerry Goldsmith . H.R. Giger did conceptual designs for the second film. PLOT SUMMARY In the first, and most successful, Film (released on June 4 1982 ), a group of seemingly benign Ghost s begin communicating with five-year-old Carol Ann Freeling in her parent's Suburban California home via Static on the television. Eventually they use the TV as their path into the house itself. First, there are a few signs that the ghosts have arrived. Tweety, Carol Ann's pet bird, dies. An earthquake that only the Freeling's feel. Carol Anne announcing "they're here." The next morning, glasses break at breakfast, forks are bent by themselves, and when the mom Diane, played by JoBeth Williams , asks Carol Ann "what did you mean, who's here?" She honestly answers - "the TV people." At first the ghosts play harmless tricks and amuse the mother, including the chairs in the kitchen moving around by themselves. Of course, Diane must convince Steven that night by showing him. His dominant father mode kicks in, announcing that "nobody goes into the kitchen until I know what the hell is going on." Unfortunately, the ghosts have their own agenda. During a terrible thunderstorm, they break through to our dimension, distracting the family with a tree coming to life and grabbing Robbie - Carol Ann's brother - through a window, and then getting what they really came after. Like a wind tunnel, they take Carol Ann through her bedroom closet into their dimension. With Robbie rescued, and the belief that it was a tornado, the family can't find Carol Ann. They search the entire house - including the new swimming pool - until Robbie hears Carol Ann through the TV. With that, her father Steven, played by Craig T. Nelson , reluctantly calls on a group of Parapsychologists from UCLA : Dr. Lesh, Ryan, and Marty, who are awestruck by the manifestations they witness. With the parapsychologists present, the Freeling's show them things they've never before seen. Witness the unbelievable faces when the door to the children's room swings open, and over 50 toys are flying around by themselves, with voices laughing in the background, lights flashing and doors slamming. Previously, one of the para-psychologists described a Matchbox car taking 7 hours to move 7 feet, calling it "...fantastic. Of course, this would never register on the naked eye..." After they see the Freeling's house, they are all humbled. Over coffee (and coffee urns that move by themselves), the parapsychologists explain to the Freelings the difference between a poltergeist and a haunting. They determine that indeed, it is a poltergeist they are experiencing. Turns out, however, the ghosts have an agenda of their own. The spirits have left this life but have not gone into the Light - Heaven, another plane, what have you. They are stuck in-between dimensions, watching their loved ones grow up, but feeling alone. Carol Ann - born in the house and only 5 years old - gives off her own life force that is as bright as the Light. It distracts and confuses the spirits, who think Carol Ann is their salvation. Hence, they take her. What is also in the other dimension with the spirits is a hateful spirit, the Beast. He likes that the spirits are confused and lost, and uses Carol Ann as a distraction so they cannot move on into the Light. He "lies to her and tells her things only a child can understand. To her, he simply is another child. To us, he is the Beast." After witnessing a paranormal episode where they hear Carol Ann talking to Mom through the TV, see spirits, and hear the pounding footsteps of the Beast, they leave, admitting they need more help. When they return, they bring a spiritual Medium , Tangina Barrons, who informs Diane that her daughter is "alive and in this house." Using Robbie's simple but ingenious idea, they realize the entrance to the other dimension is through the children's bedroom closet. By tying a rope around a live person who can enter, and presumably exit the other side, with enough time to grab Carol Ann, they could bring her back. Diane is the only choice to go. What happens next is a terrifying sequence where Diane gets Carol Ann, and Tangina coaxes the agonized spirits away from Carol Ann to the real Light. Diane comes through the living room ceiling clutching Carol Ann and holding on to a new head of grey hair, presumably from fright. Tangina pronounces that "this house is clean." Unfortunately, though the spirits have moved on, the Beast hasn't, and wants revenge. On their final night in the house, when they are almost packed up and ready to go, the Beast punches a hole back into our world to reclaim what he believes is his: Carol Ann. This time, it's much more than a poltergeist. The house is completely possessed, with monsters in the hallways and angry talons reaching out for the children. Through skill and luck, the Freeling's finally escape the house, but not before the anger of the Beast reveals the reason for the spirits being there in the first place - coffins and bodies begin exploding out of the ground throughout the neighborhood. Turns out the real estate developer Steven worked for moved the cemetery but left the bodies, building houses right on top of them. As the Freeling's flee down the street in their car, the Beast is so angry, and he pulls so hard, that the house literally implodes into the other dimension, completely disappearing in front of the eyes of the entire neighborhood. to the second Poltergeist film]] PLOT SUMMARIES OF THE SEQUELS The two sequels (released in 1986 and 1988 ) followed Reverend Henry Kane , "The Beast" who kidnapped Carol Anne in the first film, stalking Carol Anne and her other family members too. In Poltergeist II: The Other Side, the Freeling family moves in with Diane's mother in an effort to escape the trauma and aftermath of Carol Anne's abduction by the Beast. But the Beast is not to be put off so easily and appears in a ghostly apparition as the Reverend Kane, a religious zealot responsible for the deaths of his many followers. His goal is simple - he wants the angelic Carol Anne; but the love of her family and the power of psychic Tangina once again unite, along with an elderly native American, to fight for her life. In the third and final installment, Carol Anne has been sent to live with her Aunt and Uncle in an effort to hide her from the clutches of the ghostly Reverend Kane, but he tracks her down and terrorises her in her relatives' appartment in a tall glass building (The John Hancock Building in Chicago). TRIVIA Some of the stars in the movie suffered unfortunate fates, for which the movie series has been dubbed as having a Poltergeist Curse . PARTIAL CREDITS Cast:
OTHER INFORMATION Movie producers had planned to film more sequels, but those plans were dashed by O'Rourke's death at the age of 12. In late October 2005, reports emerged that Hilary Duff is likely to star in the fourth film in the series, in the role originated by O'Rourke. {Link without Title} Warner Home Video has plans to release a 25th anniversary DVD of the first film in 2007 . London based Filmmakers Burning Vision Entertainment made the award winning short film, Bella , which was heavily influenced by the original Poltergeist. SEE ALSO
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