'Created’ by Steven Spielberg yet officially directed by Tobe
Hooper, Poltergeist (1982) can be best described as ‘family
horror movie’ both in its target audience and in its narrative
context, the story of an All-American suburban family, the
Freelings, whose home suddenly becomes the site of a spectacular
haunting, apparently summoned by their young daughter. The film is
somewhat of an anachronism and this Devil's Advocate explores this
in both the scope of production and narrative. The book discusses
the duality of the text highlighting debates surrounding both
Spielberg's somewhat saccharine portrayal of middle-class Americana
and his more subversive cinematic endeavours. The duality of the
text also will also be discussed in the context of the film's
production – with both Spielberg and Hooper on set for much of
the time, the result was a movie with the production values,
effects and marketing of a high budget mainstream cinema
blockbuster apparently directed by a subversive 'grindhouse' cinema
auteur. Yet Poltergeist is neither nor both of those things,
instead being a unique hybrid of genres and styles taking the best
and worst from both aspects of family blockbuster and cult horror
film, and as such can be seen as a text that is something unique
– a classic modern take on the traditional haunted house story.
General
Imprint: |
Liverpool University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Series: |
Devil's Advocates |
Release date: |
July 2023 |
Authors: |
Rob McLaughlin
|
Dimensions: |
190 x 135mm (L x W) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
128 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-80085-697-4 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-80085-697-0 |
Barcode: |
9781800856974 |
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