Last week at the movies vol. 6
It ended up being a retro movie viewing for me last week, both in the horror genre. Let’s get into what I saw, shall we?
First up, we go back to the year 1982 and the classic horror movie, Poltergeist.
“They’re here.”
“Who is honey?”
“The TV people.”
This movie was a staple with me and my friends when I was a teenager in the 1980’s. I became so obsessed with it that I truly believed that an abandoned house down the street from me had a poltergeist living in it, and we attempted to try and excise the demon ourselves. Sad that the little girl actress in the film passed away at such a young age. The sequels weren’t that great, but even with the poor CGI you see compared to movies nowadays, this movie holds up on both comedic beats as well as jump scares and just overall creepiness, just look at Zelda Rubensteins’s performance as the psychic medium.
Pan’s Labyrinth was first released in 2006, and it is currently in many theaters around the country showing it’s 20 year re-release after being re-mastered by the director. I first bought this movie on Blu-Ray without every having seen it on the big screen, and I remember it being a powerful cinematic experience, so I was excited to see it again in a movie theater. I donated my copy to charity years ago.
I missed learning about the Spanish Civil War the first time around, but watching it the second time, you can see the parallels to the affects of war, fascism and a country torn apart in the families and worker’s portrayed in the film. I love the fantastical elements and creatures, as well as the acting. What bothered me though was, in my opinion, the noticeable changes in how the film looked after being remastered. It looked bad, really bad. The contrasts in the world done so beautifully in the original had too much contrast in this re-release, and it took me out of several scenes. However the message of the story and the fairies, The Faun, The Pale Man, and The Giant Toad’s role in the little girl’s life all come across with heartfelt wonder and sadness.
