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A suburban family seeks the help of paranormal investigators after their youngest daughter is kidnapped by malevolent spirits inside their own home. Poltergeist, written and produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), is an emotional and visceral thrill ride that I have cherished since childhood. The story's family, the Frelings, are quirky but entirely believable. You get invested in them before the supernatural shit hits the fan, and this gives weight to all the scares and spectacle that follows.

Stars Craig T. Nelson (TV’s Coach) and JoBeth Williams keep the human element of the story up front and center through a dazzling array of special effects — some of Industrial Light and Magic’s finest work ever. Beatrice Straight (Oscar-winner for Network) and Zelda Rubinstein are great as two of the investigators. Rubinstein, with her short stature and high voice, still scares the crap out of me when she talks about “The Beast” keeping the Freling’s little girl close to him, lying to her, ‘saying things only a child can understand’.  What parents wouldn’t be terrified to know their little girl was The Devil’s plaything?

Poltergeist goes for the universal jugular, but keeps the terror mostly on a psychological level for the sake of its PG rating. Add to the plus column a surprise double-ending that pulls out all the stops, and a fantastic score by Jerry Goldsmith, and you have one of my personal all-time favorites — a film I watch at least once a year, and it just gets better and better.

Behind the Scenes Info: Many believe the Poltergeist franchise is cursed. The year the film was released, Dominique Dunne, who plays the Freling’s eldest daughter, was murdered by her boyfriend. Six years later, Heather O’Rourke, who plays the youngest daughter, Carol Anne, died from intestinal stenosis, after completing principle photography on Poltergeist III.

Who ‘really’ directed the film is also a topic of controversy. Spielberg was reportedly on-set for all but three days of the shoot, and oversaw post-production without Hooper’s involvement. Spielberg insists it was a ‘unique collaboration’ with Hooper. Actress Zelda Rubinstein, shortly before her death in 2010, said she only took direction from Spielberg. (The Director’s Guild of America forbade Spielberg from directing two films at the same time; E.T. was produced concurrently with Poltergeist, and the two films were released just one week apart during the summer of ’82.)

Oscar Nominations: Best Visual Effects, Best Music Score (Jerry Goldsmith), Best Sound Effects Editing