Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)

The sequel to Steven Spielberg's Poltergeist of 1982 is the 1986 release, Brian Gibson's Poltergeist II, a movie variously and bewilderingly about car-whispering, teenage smile correction, cult worship, family togetherness, curses, burial chambers, possessed toys, parasitic infection, domestic abuse, alcohol abuse, ghosts, trauma, paranormal investigation, shamanism, Native American steam bath rituals, and evil, and it doesn't make even one word of sense but has some neat effects a la the original.

★★☆☆☆

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Poltergeist (1982)

The Conjuring franchise and all its spin-offs owe everything to this Steven Spielberg-written and -produced supernatural horror of the 80s which starts quirkily with a family enjoying the supernatural oddities it experiences at home but then has family members growing more and more screamy as whatever it is that is haunting them grows malevolent and sucks the daughter into a Mike TV limbo world - putting up with the shrillness of everyone yelling is worth it for the Spielberg set piece serving as the horror-lite movie's climax.

★★★☆☆

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