Poltergeist is a strange beast. A $121.7 million haul in 1982, on a $10 million budget, makes it one of the most successful horror movies of all time. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, named by the Chicago Film Critics Association as the 20th-scariest film ever made, and is No. 84 on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years, 100 Thrills list of America’s most heart-pounding movies.
Yet it is a very mixed bag. You can see the tension between Tobe Hooper’s style and that of Spielberg, as it tonally veers wildly from creepy and truly terrifying to all-out horror-fantasy. A genuine shiver up the spine is, at times, followed by a laugh-out-loud moment of Evil Dead-style hi-jinx. For this reason, it is possible that it might just be a little overrated and protected by nostalgia armor.
However, with stats like this, it was always ripe for remakes. Gil Kenan-directed 2015 version didn’t make much of a splash but still made $95 million against a $35 million budget. Sequels also largely disappointed.
Now Amazon has acquired MGM, they are looking at the staggeringly large MGM back catalog and wondering what they can leverage. Poltergeist is on that list.
On The Hot Mic podcast, Jeff Sneider identified the franchise as a priority for Amazon Studios. Legal issues need to be looked at, as Sneider says that rights issues mean Spielberg would need to be involved, at least as an executive producer.
Either way, it is likely that a new Poltergeist will be making its way toward screens, large or small, sooner rather than later.
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