You just can’t keep a good – well, evil – group of otherworldly spirits down. Not content with invading our world back in the 1982 original (and two sequels), the telly-obsessed terrors of Poltergeist are back in a new, rebooted version of the original tale from producer Sam Raimi and director Gil Kenan. The first trailer has arrived online.
This time around, the focus is on the Bowen family, dad Eric (Sam Rockwell), mum Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt) and kids Kendra (Saxon Sharbino), Griffin (Kyle Catlett) and Madison (Kennedi Clements), the latter of whom becomes the main focus of supernatural attention. Moving into a suburban home, they discover it needs a bit more than just a coat of paint and some new furniture: it’s also linked to the spirit world through a variety of portals. "The original film commented on how we've let television get out of control, babysitting our kids," Raimi tells USA Today. "It's only gotten worse with the handheld portable devices. Screens are everywhere."
While the couple calls in a respected supernatural researcher (Jared Harris) to help out, they really have to depend on each other. "The thing that keeps them a family is what they have to draw on, to stay sane, and also to win Madison back," says Kenan. "The film is super-scary. And it's scary on its own terms. I am excited to finally be able to share that with the world."
The director is also ready for the standard knee-jerk response to the word “reboot” being used about a respected film. "Whenever someone approaches material that's so beloved, there's a reflexive reaction to be worried," says Kenan. "It's a responsibility we take very seriously. We're working to make a Poltergeist film that lives up to the original's legacy." Earlier this week, USA Today landed the first images from the new movie. The film will haunt the UK on July 24.