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It's All Just Static

Who asked for a remake of "Poltergeist"? No, I'm seriously asking.

It's not that director Gil Kenan's film is aggressively terrible; it's just so unnecessary. The movie just goes through the motions of your average PG-13 schlock-fest, with phoned in, shopworn thrills borrowed from every other movie about spirits that inhabit a house. People who will buy a ticket for this movie hoping to be scared and entertained, seek out another movie.

You may have heard this one before. Eric (Sam Rockwell) and Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt) are moving into a new house in a seemingly nice neighborhood. They have two young kids and a teenage daughter. None of their kids are happy about moving, but here they are in their new house. Eric and Amy try to do their best to get their kids to adapt to their new home. Their son, Griffin, (Kyle Catlett) is very skittish, the reason, which briefly explained, is that he senses something is wrong with the house, especially when his younger sister, Madison (Kennedi Clements), begins talking to nothing.

Eric and Amy go to a dinner party one night, leaving the children with their older sister, Kendra (Saxon Sharbino). The lights flicker, appliances and electronics begin working on their own and then, all of a sudden, Maddie is gone. Eric and Amy didn't believe their son at first when he warned them there is something wrong with their house but now they must seek out paranormal experts. They enlist the help of Dr. Brooke Powell (Jane Adams), whose team cannot seem to understand what is happening at this house. They bring in Carrigan Burke (Jared Harris), who has a TV show about ridding houses of paranormal activity.

"Poltergeist" brings up several questions regarding the state of horror films. Can horror filmmakers only turn out remakes and sequels? Last month, there was a glimpse of hope with "Unfriended". That film was predicated on the gimmick of watching the film's action all from the character's laptop screen, but it was entertaining and thrillingly original. It gave a jolt of energy to the genre, which films like "Poltergeist" quickly take away. Screenwriter Davis Lindsay-Abaire (who wrote the beautiful film "Rabbit Hole", based on his play) adapts the story here. He must have done his homework and watched a lot of horror films because all of the elements are here.

It's always interesting when actors like Rockwell and DeWitt show up in a movie like this. Both actors have done their fair share of studio films but thrive in independent cinema. Rockwell and DeWitt are both great actors and give it their all in this movie but you can't help to wonder if they are in this movie just to add a bit of gravitas to this silly outing.

Kenan's film does offer some well-staged scenes and set pieces but nothing about "Poltergeist" sticks. It must have been next on the remake list.