MAKING a sequel to a hit movie is always a gamble. When the original has
the signature of a giant talent, and the sequel doesn't, it's a long
shot. ''Poltergeist II: The Other Side'' finishes out of the money - at
least artistically.
The film, which opens today at the Loews Orpheum and other theaters,
offers some spectacular special effects and excellent ensemble acting,
including two virtuoso performances by Geraldine Fitzgerald and the late
Julian Beck. But the movie, like most sequels, has no reason for
existing beyond the desire to duplicate a financial success. There are
no hanging threads left over from the first tightly woven script that
can be pulled out and reworked. Instead, the film seems like a string of
special effects held together by a far-fetched story line with an
unsatisfying sticky-sweet ending. Although the director, Brian Gibson,
has created some scenes that are individually powerful, his film does
not build inexorably and draw the audience into its vortex - as the best
films of this genre do. It remains largely on the same plateau of
tension throughout.
In ''Poltergeist II,'' the malevolent spirits have followed the Freeling
family to an idyllic country retreat. It is clear from the opening
shots that the stakes are high. The spirits are coming back to claim
little Carol Ann (who is now 10 years old) and this time they intend to
keep her.
Jobeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson play Diane and Steve Freeling with
the same warmth and charm they showed in the first film, and Heather
O'Rourke and Oliver Robins are equally convincing in their return as
Carol Ann and Robbie. Geraldine Fitzgerald manages to create the kind of
grandmother every little girl might want - not only loving and gentle,
but also clairvoyant, which gives her connections in the world beyond.
When Gramma Jess discovers that Carol Anne is also clairvoyant and tells
her not to be afraid, she does it with such grace and love that the
audience might actually be moved -even though the decision to make the
Freelings extraordinary in this way is dead wrong. It reduces the
important contrast between the ordinary, everyday, American-as-apple-pie
Freeling family and the mad forces that try to destroy them.
The original ''Poltergeist'' had an internal coherence, a nightmare
generated by an active intelligence, that ''Poltergeist II'' lacks. The
sequel is written and produced by Michael Grais and Mark Victor, the
same team that wrote ''Poltergeist.'' But the first film had Steven
Spielberg as co-producer and co-writer, and that, alas, made all the
difference.
H. R. Giger, who created the terrifying creatures of ''Alien,''
conceptualized a horrifying - if similar worm-creature for the Beast,
and the visual effects supervisor, Richard Edlund, who also worked on
''Poltergeist,'' has seen to it that the film has some striking special
effects. But these effects, when not harnessed to a powerful unifying
energy source, don't explode into the kind of nighttime terrors that
remind children and adults why they are afraid of the dark.
In fact, the most frightening moments don't come from pyrotechnics but
from touches that play upon internal fears. Julian Beck, the co-founder
of the Living Theater, gives a stunning performance as the Reverend Kane
- a pale, insidious specter of evil who first encounters Carol Ann in a
shopping mall. The child is terrified and calls out desperately for her
mother. Mr. Beck bends down with a sinister smile and drawls, ''What's
the matter honey, are you scared?,'' his voice dripping with
honey-coated menace. It is a chilling moment and is produced not by
special effects, but by the older magic of a gifted actor.
There is an example in which visual effects are used successfully to
dramatize psychological horror - a scene in which Steve Freeling
accidentally swallows the Beast, in the form of a worm in a bottle of
tequila, and assumes its evil persona. Mr. Nelson effects the change
convincingly, and children will find the idea of a parent turning
against a child deeply frightening. The expulsion - and appearance - of
the despicable creature is effective.
The film adds a spiritual element that was lacking in ''Poltergeist.''
It introduces an Indian shaman, played with appropriate dignity by Will
Sampson, who is endlessly preachy about how to be a man, face fear and
accept the spirit world. ''Poltergeist'' brilliantly captured the
feeling of a good ghost story. Told around an evening fire, ghost
stories are meant to scare you, not to convince or convert you.
''Poltergeist II: The Other Side'' is more concerned with affirming the
existence of a world beyond appearances. It tries too hard, offers too
many explanations, is too unsubtle and ends up losing the sense of
illusion and mystery that caught, in the first film, the dark underside
of childhood.
''Poltergeist II: The Other Side'' is rated PG-13 (''Special Parental
Guidance Suggested for Those Younger Than 13''). It contains some scenes
that might frighten small children. They're Back POLTERGEIST II,
directed by Brian Gibson; written and produced by Mark Victor and
Michael Grais; director of photography, Andrew Laszlo; edited by Thom
Noble; music by Jerry Goldsmith; released by the MGM Entertainment
Company. At Loews State, Broadway and 45th Street; Loews Orpheum, Third
Avenue and 86th Street; Loews 34th Street Showplace, between Second and
Third Avenue; Loews 84th Street Six, at Broadway; Loews New York Twin,
Second Avenue and 66th Street.
Running time: 92 minutes. This film is rated PG-13. Diane
Freeling...Jobeth Williams; Steve Freeling...Craig T. Nelson; Carol Anne
Freeling...Heather O'Rourke; Robbie Freeling...Oliver Robins; Tangina
Barrons...Zelda Rubinstein; Taylor...Will Sampson; Kane...Julian Beck;
Gramma Jess...Geraldine Fitzgerald; Old Indian...John P. Whitecloud;
Vomit Creature...Noble Craig; Daughter...Susan Peretz; Mother...Helen
Boll; Young Jess...Kelly Jean Peters; Young Diane...Jaclyn Bernstein.
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