''Poltergeist II: The Other Side'' (also known simply as ''Poltergeist II'') is a 1986 American
supernatural horror film
Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of horror film and supernatural film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common theme ...
directed by
Brian Gibson, and starring
JoBeth Williams
Margaret JoBeth Williams (born December 6, 1948) is an American actress and television director. Her directorial debut with the 1994 short film ''On Hope'' earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. In 2009 she began ...
,
Craig T. Nelson
Craig Theodore Nelson (born April 4, 1944) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Hayden Fox in the sitcom ''Coach'' (for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series), Deputy Ward Wilson in the 19 ...
,
Heather O'Rourke,
Oliver Robins,
Zelda Rubinstein
Zelda May Rubinstein (May 28, 1933 – January 27, 2010) was an American actress and human rights activist, known as eccentric medium (spirituality), medium Tangina Barrons in the Poltergeist (film series), ''Poltergeist'' film series. Playing "Gi ...
,
Will Sampson
William Sampson Jr. (September 27, 1933 – June 3, 1987) was a Muscogee painter, actor, and rodeo performer. He is best known for his performance as the apparent deaf and mute Chief Bromden, the title role in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' ...
,
Julian Beck
Julian Beck (May 31, 1925 – September 14, 1985) was an American actor, stage director, poet, and painter. He is best known for co-founding and directing The Living Theatre, as well as his role as Reverend Henry Kane, the malevolent preacher ...
, and
Geraldine Fitzgerald
Geraldine Mary Fitzgerald (November 24, 1913 – July 17, 2005) was an Irish actress and a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 2020, she was listed at number 30 on ''The Irish Times'' list of Ireland's greatest film actors.
Early li ...
. The second entry in the
''Poltergeist'' film series and a direct sequel to ''
Poltergeist'' (1982), it follows the Freeling family who again finds themselves under attack from the supernatural forces led by "the Beast", revealed to be the spirit of an insane preacher who led an apocalyptic
cult during the 19th century, attempting to claim their daughter. In their efforts to save their daughter, the family finds help in a
Native American shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...
.
Filming of ''Poltergeist II'' took place in California and Arizona in the spring of 1985. The majority of the original film's cast reprised their respective roles, with the exception of
Dominique Dunne
Dominique Ellen Dunne (November 23, 1959 – November 4, 1982) was an American actress. Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, Dunne studied acting at Milton Katselas' Workshop, where she appeared in stage productions. She made her ...
, who was murdered shortly after the first film's release in 1982. Surrealist artist
H. R. Giger
Hans Ruedi Giger ( ; ; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was a Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as " biomechanical". Giger later abandoned airbrush for pastels, mark ...
designed the creatures featured in the film.
Released in the spring of 1986, ''Poltergeist II: The Other Side'' was a financial success, earning nearly $75 million worldwide. Critical reviews were mixed, but the film nevertheless followed its predecessor with a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, as well as two
Saturn Awards
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
.
Plot
The film is set one year after the events of the
first film. The Cuesta Verde neighborhood has been turned into an archaeological dig centered around the spot where the Freelings' home stood. The excavation leads to the discovery of a cave by a ground crew. Its existence is revealed to
psychic
A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws ...
Tangina Barrons, who informs her friend Taylor, a Native American
shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...
. After investigating the cave for himself, Taylor realizes that the spirit of Rev. Henry Kane, a deceased, insane preacher, whom he has seen in dreams is after Carol Anne and goes to defend her.
The Freeling family has relocated to
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
, and now lives in a house with Diane's mother, Jess. Grandma Jess is highly
clairvoyant
Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...
, and believes that Diane and Carol Anne possess the same abilities. Jess later dies from natural causes, but not before telling Diane one last time that she'll always "be there" if she needs her.
Taylor shows up as Kane begins his first assault on the home. Unable to get in through the television as the family has removed all television sets from the home, Kane's minions are forced to find another way in, this time through Carol Anne's toy telephone. The attack fails, and the family gets out of the house quickly. Taylor introduces himself and convinces them that running would be a waste of time since Kane would only find them again, and they return to the house.
Kane shows up at the home one day in human form and demands to be let in, but Steve refuses. Taylor congratulates him for resisting Kane, then takes Steve to the desert and gives him the "Power of Smoke", a Native spirit that can repel Kane. Tangina shows up at the house and helps Diane to understand Kane's history and how he became the Beast that is now stalking the family. She also points out that Diane is unique in that she is one of the only people on earth who have been to the spirit world while living. Diane has visions of Kane in the mid-19th century when he was the head of an apocalyptic
cult. Kane led his followers through the desert and into the cave, because he believed that the end of the world was coming, but then kept them trapped and captive there to slowly die with him after the day of his prediction came and went. Because he was so deranged and evil, Kane became a monster after death and controls the souls of his followers. Taylor warns the family that Kane is extremely clever and will try to tear them apart.
With Taylor having left, the family's morale drops. Steve lets his guard down and gets drunk, swallowing a
Mezcal worm
A mezcal worm is an insect larva found in some types of mezcal produced in Oaxaca, Mexico. The larva is usually either a ''gusano rojo'' ("red worm") or a ''chinicuil'' ("maguey worm"), the caterpillar of the '' Comadia redtenbacheri'' moth. The ...
that is possessed by Kane, who then temporarily possesses him. The possessed Steve tries to rape Diane, who cries out that she loves him, weakening Kane's hold. Steve then vomits up the worm possessed by Kane, which grows into a huge, tentacled horror. In this form, Kane attacks Steve from the ceiling, but Steve uses the smoke spirit to send him away. The Beast launches another assault before the family flees. The Freelings decide to confront the Beast on his own turf, the Other Side.
The Freelings return to Cuesta Verde and, with Tangina, enter the cavern below their former home, where Kane pulls Diane and Carol Anne over into the Other Side. Steve and Robbie jump in after them through a fire started by Taylor. On the Other Side, which appears as a place of floating limbos without the sense of direction, Steve, Diane, Robbie, and Carol Anne unite, but the now monstrously transformed Kane grabs Carol Anne and begins to drain her life force, but she is saved after Taylor gets a charmed Native spear into Steve's hands, and he stabs Kane with it, defeating the monster. Carol Anne nearly crosses over into the afterlife, but Jess' spirit appears and returns her to the family. The Freelings then return safely and thank Taylor and Tangina.
Steve gives the family car to Taylor after he had expressed affection for it previously, and Taylor drives away with Tangina. After the Freelings realize that they now have no ride home, they chase after Taylor.
Cast
Production
Several scenes that appeared in press stills or promotional posters were cut from the finished film, including one in which Tangina confronts Kane when he tries to enter the house, and another in which Steven and Diane see a flying toaster during a breakfast scene.
Casting
The majority of the central cast of the original ''Poltergeist'' reprised their roles, including Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams as parents Steven and Diane Freeling,
as well as Heather O'Rourke and Oliver Robins as Carol Anne and Robbie, respectively.
[ Dana, the eldest daughter of the Freeling family, was intended to appear in a sequence while away at college, but the sequence was scrapped as Dominique Dunne, the actress who portrayed her in the original film, had been murdered in 1982. Zelda Rubinstein also reprised her role as Tangina Barrons, the psychic who assisted the Freelings in the original film.][ JoBeth Williams commented that she was skeptical of making a sequel, but became convinced upon reading the screenplay.][ Beatrice Straight was asked to reprise the role of Dr. Lesh from the first film, but she was ill and not willing to work at the time. Richard Lawson was also asked to reprise the role of Ryan, but his schedule clashed with MGM because he was busy filming the TV movie ''Under the Influence'' (1986) with ]Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his character ...
and Keanu Reeves.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
of ''Poltergeist II'' began in May 1985 in Los Angeles. The original production schedule spanned 64 days.[ A private residence in ]Altadena, California
Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish language, Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena, California, Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 ...
, served as Grandma Jess's Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
home, while tract homes in Encino served as a stand-in for the Cuesta Verde neighborhood.[ The opening desert scenes featuring Will Sampson involving the Hopi obelisk were filmed at the ]Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Canyon de Chelly National Monument ( ) was established on April 1, 1931, as a unit of the National Park Service. Located in northeastern Arizona, it is within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation and lies in the Four Corners region. Reflecting on ...
in Chinle, Arizona.[
For interior sequences that required elaborate effects, replicas of the Altadena residence were constructed on Stage 30 of the MGM Studios in Culver City, California.][ The studio's Stage 27 was used to construct the desert sweat lodge visited by Craig T. Nelson and Will Sampson's characters, as well as the cavern in which the film's finale takes place.][ Commenting during the shoot, JoBeth Williams said: "It hasn't been as physical as the first film. We don't have as much mud and goo; there is more of the sort of psychological terror, although certainly there will be a lot of effects."][
]
Special effects
Swiss surrealist
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...
artist H. R. Giger
Hans Ruedi Giger ( ; ; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was a Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as " biomechanical". Giger later abandoned airbrush for pastels, mark ...
was commissioned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to create several designs for the film, specifically the "Great Beast" manifestation of Kane that appears in the astral plane during the film's finale.[ Because Giger did not want to leave Zurich for long periods of time, his colleague Cornelius De Fries was hired to represent Giger at the studio during production.
Giger was ultimately disappointed with the end result, later attributing the failure to his lack of presence. "When the movies eventually came out I thought, 'Oh shit.' But I couldn't change it," said Giger. "There was no more time. So I thought that was the wrong way to work. If you work on a film you have to be there all the time and be always looking at what they're doing otherwise they'll do what they want." Only two of Giger's designs appear in the final cut of the film, including "The Great Beast" version of Kane.][
]
Post-production
After actor Julian Beck
Julian Beck (May 31, 1925 – September 14, 1985) was an American actor, stage director, poet, and painter. He is best known for co-founding and directing The Living Theatre, as well as his role as Reverend Henry Kane, the malevolent preacher ...
's death, voice actor Corey Burton
Corey Gregg Weinberg (born August 3, 1955), known professionally as Corey Burton, is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake, Dale and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on '' The Transformer ...
was brought in during post-production to loop some of his lines.
Music
The musical score for ''Poltergeist II: The Other Side'' was composed and conducted by composer Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the ''Rambo'' franch ...
, who had written the Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-nominated soundtrack to the first film. Though "Carol Anne's Theme" returns from the first film's soundtrack, the score for ''The Other Side'' consists of mostly new material blending traditional orchestral elements with new electronic sounds. The soundtrack album has been released five times: through Intrada Records
Intrada is an American record company based in Oakland, California, owned and managed by Douglass Fake. The company specializes in movie and television soundtracks, notably those by the late Jerry Goldsmith.
Intrada was founded in 1985 by owner ...
and Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer r ...
in 1986, Intrada in 1993, a deluxe edition by Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer r ...
in 2003, a 2-CD set from Kritzerland in 2013, and a 3-CD set from Intrada Records
Intrada is an American record company based in Oakland, California, owned and managed by Douglass Fake. The company specializes in movie and television soundtracks, notably those by the late Jerry Goldsmith.
Intrada was founded in 1985 by owner ...
in 2018.
Release
Box office
Released theatrically on May 23, 1986,[ ''Poltergeist II'' grossed $40,996,665 at the United States and Canadian box office. Internationally it grossed $33.9 million for a worldwide total of $74.9 million.
]
Critical response
Nina Darnton of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' wrote that "the movie, like most sequels, has no reason for existing beyond the desire to duplicate a financial success. There are no hanging threads left over from the first tightly woven script that can be pulled out and reworked. Instead, the film seems like a string of special effects held together by a far-fetched storyline with an unsatisfying sticky-sweet ending." ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' stated, "Script has enough humorous breaks and high-wire moments to make up for some of the expository sections in the dialog. While the payoff is a bit weak and less tension-filled than would be expected considering what the Freeling family has just endured, tech credits from beginning to end look like they cost a mint, and filmmakers probably figured they had to stop somewhere." Gene Siskel of the ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' gave the film 1 star out of 4 and wrote that director Brian Gibson "simply runs the family through a maze of Indian rituals, ghostly vapors, and astral projections. Lots of sound and fury signifying you know what." Michael Wilmington of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' stated, "The trappings of 'Poltergeist II' are fairly effective: Jerry Goldsmith contributes another eerie score, and H. R. Giger ('Alien') has dreamed up some loathsome monsters ... But the second film never has the hardness or urgency of the first." Paul Attanasio
Paul Albert Attanasio (born November 14, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film and television producer. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, for ''Quiz Show'' (1994) and ''Donnie Brasco'' (1997).
...
of ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' wrote, "There are movies that make you want to mince words, and then there's ''Poltergeist II: The Other Side'', a movie so ineffably bad, you can't even find the words to mince."
As of November 2021, the film holds a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 54 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "They're back, but this hollow sequel retains none of the charm or suspense that made the original ''Poltergeist'' such a haunting specter".
Accolades
Home media
MGM released ''Poltergeist II'' on DVD on August 26, 2003, in a double feature collection along with ''Poltergeist III''. To date there has been no standalone DVD release of the film in Region 1. On September 13, 2011, MGM released the film on Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
.
MGM has also released the film on DVD in Region 2 and Region 4. It was released in the UK on October 23, 2000, and in Australia on September 1, 2006. A double feature pack containing ''Poltergeist II'' and ''III'' together was released in Region 4 on November 8, 2010.
On January 31, 2017, Scream Factory
Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
released a Blu-ray Collector's Edition of the film including new commentaries and featurettes.
Novelization
The novelization, titled ''Poltergeist II: The Other Side'', was written by James Kahn
James Kahn (born December 30, 1947) is an American medical specialist and writer, best known for his novelization of ''Return of the Jedi''. Born in Chicago, Kahn received a degree in medical studies from the University of Chicago. His post-gra ...
and published by Ballantine Books in 1986. The cover features an image similar to the film's poster.
The book also better explains many of the unexplained things in the film. The older sister Dana is said to be away at college. There is a better establishment of the psychic powers in Carol Anne, Diane, and the grandmother, which is what attracts Kane.
The absence of Dr. Lesh is explained. Tangina spent time post the first film exploring the plane between worlds and encountered Kane. She reached out to Lesh in her dreams who was drawn in and died. Making Tangina's guilt over her failure double. Thus Tangina reached out to Taylor for assistance. Taylor was a descendant of a former member of Kane's cult that left before they sealed themselves in the cavern. Thus explaining his connection and inside knowledge of Kane.
See also
* ''Poltergeist'' (franchise)
* List of ghost films
Ghost movies and shows can fall into a wide range of genres, including romance, comedy, horror, juvenile interest, and drama. Depictions of ghosts are as diverse as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Beetlejuice, Hamlet's father, Jacob Marley, Freddy Kru ...
References
External links
* at MGM.com
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poltergeist II: The Other Side
Poltergeist (franchise)
1986 horror films
1986 films
American supernatural horror films
American sequel films
1980s English-language films
Films scored by Jerry Goldsmith
Films directed by Brian Gibson
Films shot in Arizona
Films shot in California
American ghost films
American haunted house films
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Films with screenplays by Michael Grais
Films with screenplays by Mark Victor
Films set in Phoenix, Arizona
1980s American films