Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) MGM/Horror RT: 91 minutes Rated PG-13 (mild profanity, some violence, alcohol abuse, intense scenes of terror) Director: Brian Gibson Screenplay: Michael Grais and Mark Victor Music: Jerry Goldsmith Cinematography: Andrew Laszlo Release date: May 23, 1986 (US) Cast: JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O’Rourke, Oliver Robbins, Will Sampson, Julian Beck, Zelda Rubinstein, Geraldine Fitzgerald, John P. Whitecloud, Noble Craig. Box Office: $40.9M (US)
Rating: * ½
Remember how some people criticized 2010, the sequel to the sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey? They said explaining the mysteries of the original movie took away the magic and wonder of Arthur C. Clarke’s existential space journey. The same theory can be applied to Poltergeist II: The Other Side, a ridiculous, unnecessary sequel to Tobe Hooper’s terrifying ghost story. You know it’s in trouble right from the start when Native American mumbo jumbo is introduced into the story.
After participating in some sort of religious ritual, Taylor (Sampson, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) is summoned to the remains of the old Freeling house in Cuesta Verde by his friend, diminutive psychic Tangina (Rubinstein, Anguish). A huge underground cavern has been found underneath the cemetery the house was built over. It contains the remains of an early 19th century religious cult led by insane Reverend Kane (Beck, The Cotton Club) who convinced his followers the end of the world was at hand. They all followed him into the cavern, but his prediction did not come true. He forced his followers to stay in the cavern anyway and they all died. Kane was so evil that he became “The Beast”, an entity that absorbs spirits to increase his strength. This is who took Carol Anne (O’Rourke) in the first movie and why. Now that I know this, it takes away a good part of the mystique of Poltergeist. That’s not even the worst part of this terribly misconceived sequel.
It’s been a year since the events of the first movie. The Freeling family now lives with Grandma Jess (Fitzgerald, Easy Money) in Phoenix. They’re struggling financially because they lost all their money after the paranormal incident in their previous home. The insurance company keeps denying their claims, asserting the house was not destroyed but “misplaced”. Shortly after Grandma dies in her sleep, strange things start to happen…. again. Since father Steve (Nelson, All the Right Moves) won’t allow a TV in their home (for good reason!), the evil gets in through Carol Anne’s toy telephone. This time, she gets to say, “They’re back!” Not long after, Kane starts showing up. When they try to flee, Taylor shows up to warn them running away is pointless because the evil spirits will follow them wherever they go. They have no choice but to stand up and fight Kane on his own terms. This entails, among other things, the whole family taking a trip to “the other side”.
Director Brian Gibson (What’s Love Got to Do with It) throws a lot of stupid stuff at the audience in Poltergeist II: The Other Side. For example, Grandma Jess is clairvoyant, a gift that keeps on giving, genetically speaking. Mother Diane (Williams, The Big Chill) and daughter Carol Anne have it too. Is this what enables them to see Kane when nobody else can? If that’s the case, why can Steve see him too? He’s not psychic. He can see them before his trip to the desert with Taylor where he’s gifted with the “Power of Smoke”. What’s that, you ask? It’s more Native American mumbo jumbo, but it’ll help Steve fight off the evil. There’s a lot of mumbo jumbo once Taylor hits the scene, yet none of it has anything to do with the main story. Oh yeah, one other thing. What about the Freelings’ oldest daughter Dana? In real life, actress Dominique Dunn was murdered by her boyfriend shortly after the first Poltergeist came out. In the movie, her absence is never explained. In fact, everybody acts as though she never existed. Could it be she’s in the same void as the similarly mysteriously departed Chuck Cunningham? Actually, a scene explaining her absence was written (away at university), but never filmed.
The most disappointing aspect of Poltergeist II: The Other Side is in the title. I’m talking, of course, about the “other side” or as most folks call it, Limbo. Something wonderful and awesome could have happened here, but instead we find the big OS is nothing more than a dull light show. It looks cooler in the imagination than it does on the big screen. As for the big fight, it involves little more than Steve fighting the Beast with a magic Indian spear.
Most of Poltergeist II: The Other Side is ludicrous, but the biggest indicator of Spielberg’s non-involvement with the sequel is the depiction of the Freelings. In the original, they were a satirical version of the modern American nuclear family. They were believable people in an unbelievable situation. In the sequel, they’re like a goofy sitcom family. They’re unbelievable people in an unbelievably dumb situation.
There are a few good scenes in Poltergeist II: The Other Side like when son Robbie’s (Robbins) braces envelop him in the bathroom and the family tries to rescue him from a mass of twisted metal. I couldn’t help but think of Tetsuo the Iron Man. Although the effect is sickening, I have to admit I liked the Vomit Monster even though it’s born of a silly idea. Steve gets drunk on tequila and swallows the worm at the bottom of the bottle. He is then temporarily possessed by Kane. When he realizes what’s going on, he vomits up the worm which has become a monster. If nothing else, Poltergeist II: The Other Side has decent special effects work. Too bad it isn’t as scary as its predecessor.
Poltergeist II: The Other Side stops short of not being scary at all because of Julian Beck. His character is creepy as hell! This can likely be contributed to a combination of effective makeup artistry and the fact the actor was terminally ill with stomach cancer during filming. He died in September ’85 shortly after filming completed. Fitzgerald is good despite having only about five minutes of screen time. O’Rourke is still good as Carol Anne; I can’t say the same for the rest of her on-screen family.
Sampson is a caricature of a Native American rather than a Native American character. I honestly don’t understand how Native American culture fits into Poltergeist II: The Other Side. I’m thinking the makers ran out of good usable ideas and went with something not many non-Native Americans know about. In any event, his character becomes superfluous after the scene in the desert.
I’m afraid that there’s very little that makes sense in Poltergeist II: The Other Side. It’s choppy and incomprehensible. This, however, isn’t necessarily the fault of the writers. The studio cut it down by 40 minutes in order to rush it into theaters by Memorial Day weekend. Crucial scenes, like a second encounter with Kane at the Freelings’ home, are gone. Ultimately, we’re left with a disappointing sequel that bears only the barest resemblance to the original. Aw hell, why am I mincing words? It’s bad!
