Having been in the pipeline since 2008, this year will finally see the release of the “contemporary reimagining” of the 1982 classic Poltergeist from Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg, but if you were hoping for an R-rated interpretation, then I’m afraid you’re out of luck. Speaking to Collider, star Sam Rockwell has described the film as “a kids’ movie”, stating that it’s not “like Conjuring type of scary.”
“The 10-year-old boy is really the protagonist this time. JoBeth Williams was the protagonist for the most part in the first one, and now the kid – it’s really through his point-of-view. So it’s more of a kids’ movie, so I don’t know if it’s gonna be like rated-R scary. It’s not like Conjuring type of scary. You know, it’s a different kind of movie. It’s more of an adventure. It’s essentially a child abduction film when you come down to it. I mean, the original Poltergeist is too.”
As it happens, the new Poltergeist has already received a PG-13 rating from the MPAA for “intense frightening sequences, brief suggestive material, and some language”. So, “kids’ movie” aside, it sounds like it could be fairly comparable to the original, which received a PG rating back in ’82 after Spielberg and Hooper appealed the initial R (PG-13 didn’t exist at the time). Or, given that it’s directed by City of Ember and Monster House helmer Gil Kenan, it really could be a kids’ movie…
Poltergeist is set for release on July 24th, with a cast that includes Sam Rockwell, Jared Harris, Rosemarie DeWitt, Saxon Sharbino, Kyle Catlett, Kennedi Clements and Jane Adams.
Originally published January 18, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
