Unearthed Tombs:
An Analysis of Poltergeist and Poletergeist II
By
Christopher Highland
For Horror Bob's Blog
I have said that I
don’t buy what was explained in Poltergeist, but there are reasons for
that. There are puzzle pieces that are either not seen, or intentionally
left out. Whether these pieces I will
bring up have been noticed by those involved in the films, or anyone
else, I know not. But, these are films
that do what a select few of horror films of the 1980s, or any
other time, manage to do. They scare.
They cut across
all manners of taste, perceptions, thresholds, and do more than what most
horror films do, which is merely entertain. Not only do they scare, but they cut across
various contexts as to why they scare.
These films have
depths that most horror films do not. They
are horror films with clues and subtleties that give them layers and angles that most would
not imagine, no matter how much one would go over them with a fine-toothed comb. A distinction among mediocrity, those who
worked on such a film should be honored if a horror film falls into
this category, whether such depth is known to the crew or not.
I have mentioned
that there are specific reasons why these two films scare, terrify, or at the
very least, fill one with trepidation. I will explain not only that, but how and why events in these films
happen the way they do, and also the way they could. I will also explain the real motive for the
villain, which is hinted at, but never rightfully explained.
These are films I
have put out of my mind for decades due to the level of fear they brought
me. After experience has let me see them with new eyes, tumblers and
gears within my mind suddenly clicked into place, and I noticed what others are not aware of. There is much buried treasure to be had, if
one knows where, and how, to look. After all, these films have many hearts.
One aspect of these
films I will discuss throughout will be metaphysics, which is a paramount
factor in key plot points, and why they happen the way they do. It even ties in to the villain’s motive. Now, in order for all this to be understood, it’s important to
re-examine certain scenes. Firstly, the
construction of the pool wakes up the spirits buried underneath, causing
problems with tv’s within the house and neighbors. This also
allows for the spirits to enact their playful nature by moving members of the family along the floor, and moving the chairs. Keep in mind at this point that they are not
under any influence or control of “The Beast”, for he had not woken up
yet.
When the villain
does wake up, he takes control by splitting his power three-ways. First, with the animation and manipulation of the tree; attempted eating or
swallowing alive of Robbie by the tree, second with the kidnapping of Carol Anne, and third, with
the tornado. All this caused the beast
to expend a great amount of energy, leaving him exhausted and
the other spirits in control for the most part, yet now under his influence.
The villain is now
forced to appear to Carol Anne as a child, at least for the time being, keeping
her with him until his strength can fully return.
Remember it was the
wish of the spirits to cross over, which was explained. It was not explained what the ultimate goal of “The Beast”, although it was alluded to
and left up to the imagination. Given
how much energy he uses within the course of the film is quite
telling.
The spirits moving
objects around in the bedroom while under the influence of the villain does
cost him some energy, but not too much. It’s the same as putting a car in cruise
control, or resting one’s foot on the gas pedal.
When the spirits
are seen walking down the stairs, this also costs him energy. Given there is no malevolence of any kind on the part of the spirits or “The
Beast”, it is at the time where he is at his weakest, allowing himself to be seen on film.
Also, when Marty
hallucinates in the bathroom, this takes some energy to occur, although the
villain does not have that much at this point. He has just enough to
pull this off. This scene would have gone differently if he had more energy. Furthermore, it is the general consensus that
“The Beast” bit Marty in the film, and not one of the other spirits. This gives further depth to the bathroom
scene. There is enough energy to spare for Marty to be lifted up into the
air, which is detailed in a deleted scene, and bit, but not enough to take over his body and make him tear
into himself for real; not enough for the complexity needed to take over his mind fully: just enough
to hallucinate it.
Now, when Tangina
comes into the picture, this causes a shift in “The Beast”’s power. Her presence causes it to be swept aside and held at bay, scaled
down. This allows her to go into Carol Anne's bedroom with no danger abounding. Seeing the situation for what it is, and what
is needed, the rescue is able to occur, although “The Beast” is able to slip his
bonds and frighten the father, causing him to let go of the rope.
When the spirits
leave the house and pass into the dimensional vortex, leaving the control of
“The Beast”, his power bounces back from being restrained, being
able to fool Tangina. Over the course of
a day, his power has
built up to a point where he can easily attempt a second kidnapping involving
Carol Anne and Robbie, along with warping reality in the hallway
by making it appear longer, appearing in front of the bedroom door as a demonic sentinel, and making
coffins and bodies rise up from the ground.
When the house is
finally sucked into the dimensional vortex at the end of the finale of the
film, it is quite telling. It is telling that even within the finale
there is a build-up to his power. He
could not have sucked in the house when he wanted to; say, at the start of
the finale when the mother is lifted onto the ceiling. It built up
during the hallway, when it is perceived to be longer. It built up further for
the second attempted kidnapping, and “The Beast” appearing as a
sentinel in front of the bedroom door.
It built up further
when the corpses and coffins rose from the ground. It came to a crescendo with the house being sucked into the dimensional vortex. If he had the amount of power he wanted, when
he wanted it, he could have easily kidnapped Robbie and Carol
Anne, and most likely the mother. He could have waited for the father and Dana to come back, and had
them sucked into the vortex, along with the house.
Now, what I have
said so far may be thought of as enough to clash with what was explained in the
film. But, not quite. It
was never explained that the excavation of the pool was what woke up the
spirits in the first place. It
was never explained to the paranormal investigators, or Tangina, that this was
the case, nor were they aware that the family’s house was brand
new. It was also never explained to them that the spirits’ bodies were still buried on the house’s
property.
The only one who would
know or suspect would be Tangina, but as much as says in the film, there’s also much in what she does not say.
The amount of
energy “The Beast” generates throughout the film is also telling. Within the context of the film, and although it is the wish of the spirits, and
not the villain, to cross over, this alone suggests his motive , his ultimate objective, is on a grand
scale. For no one deals with energy on
that grand a scale unless their goal is on an equally grand scale, or
much grander scale, which the use of energy in the film is highly suggestive of.
***
There is a theme
that runs concurrent throughout the film. It is much more evident in the second
film than the first film. All the ways this theme manifests itself is not always obvious to the
audience, and may not be obvious to the films’ crew, but as I have said
before, it does exist therein. It is a
theme that cuts across, and cuts to the quick. It works consciously,
and subliminally. Timeless, effective,
it can be used in all sorts of ways. It is the theme of being buried alive.
First, it has come
to my attention that there are faces which can be seen within the tree when
Robbie is climbing it if one looks closely. Faces of spirits buried within said tree, one
might say.
Speaking of the
tree, it comes alive and either tries to eat, or swallow Robbie into its
trunk. This is not very far away at all when it comes to being buried
alive. Rather, almost the same
thing. Also, the tree’s limbs grab hold of Robbie and try to drag him into the
ground. Of course, the other evidence
of the theme within the film may not be quite as obvious.
Another part of the
film that falls into this theme is the bathroom scene, where Marty
hallucinates. Originally, I didn’t think it had anything to with the
theme, but after thinking about it from every which way that I can, I have found that it does. The skeletal
features of the face when delved into, combined with the clawing action of the
hands, hints of the spirits’ bodies trying to claw their way out of
their graves. It also strongly hints
that there is something buried within the property. This scene also foreshadows the finale with
the coffins and bodies rising up from the ground.
Naturally, of
course, the pool scene, along with the coffin rising from the ground, is the
most obvious evidence for the theme existing within the film. Even though “The Beast” at this point is
causing the coffins and bodies to rise, and though the construction of
the pool woke them up in the first place, their rising up is highly suggestive of some life stirring within
their bones.
Also, the difficulty the mother has in trying to escape the makeshift pool is highly
suggestive of being buried alive as she fights her way past the bodies and claws
her way out as her hands keep slipping in the mud.
***
Poltergeist II, on
the other hand, is a whole other beast altogether. Some have said that it copies many things from the original film, and in some ways it
does, but as a sequel, what it does achieve well is that it is scarier than the first film. Of course, there are not merely aesthetic
reasons for that, but also scientific. The time between the continuity of the two
films has nothing to do with this, however. At the end of the first film, the villain has grown in
power. He has managed to take hold of
his flock again and absorb them into himself, making him even stronger.
This has allowed
for him to follow his prey from California to Arizona. But, as much power as he has now, it is not enough for him to walk in and take Carol Anne
when he wants to. Her Grandmother’s existence forms a psychic barrier of protection, but once
she dies, that barrier is gone, and the villain, now known as Rev. Henry Kane, manages to slip the power of
his flock into the house.
Coming in through
her toy phone, the spirits are now Kane’s right hand, infesting the house the
family now lives in. Though,
he cannot come inside yet. It is at this
point when the family tries to leave, the Indian, “Taylor”, shows up.
But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Before this happens, Kane shows up in human form at the local outdoor mall, appearing only to the
family and no one else. Making sure only the family sees him shows his growth in power.
When the family
returns after trying to leave, the spirits are nowhere to be found, but that is
only a short-lived respite. Kane show up again, at the family’s home, and does his best to convince
them to let him inside. All the
while, the mother has visions of Kane, due to his close proximity. His powers have grown which allow for him to nearly mesmerize the father to
let him in, but Carol Anne breaks Kane’s concentration. For
all his power at this point, he is still at his weakest when he appears human.
Since he cannot
merely walk in and take Carol Anne, he does his best to wear the family
down psychologically. The
mother has a dream that turns into a nightmare that shows her walking in the backyard and corpses reach up from the ground and pull her
in with them. In a deleted scene, and which is also featured in the novelization, Carol Anne has a
dream/nightmare where Kane appears to her and reaches into his chest and pulls out his heart.
Rev. Henry Kane
transcending the dreamscape on two occasions to give two characters nightmares, and himself appearing in one of them, is further evidence of
his growth in power.
He then further
attacks by influencing his flock to attack Robbie by making his braces come
alive in the bathroom and cocoon him on the ceiling, acting as a
diversion the same way the tree attacking in the first film was also a diversion. Taylor guarded Carol Anne this time,
preventing Kane from taking her, showing that he was for all his power, he was not
all-powerful.
I must address
another deleted scene that occurs when Tangina shows up again to help. This is when the father, and Taylor, go off in the Arizona desert, and
Taylor gives him the smoke spirit to help him.
Kane shows up in human form while they are gone and
confronts the mother and Tangina, whom he recognizes. This is
another instance showing his limitations when he appears human.
Kane finally
manages to gain access to the house in the cleverest way. Taking advantage of
Steven’s, the father’s, drinking as he does one night outside, Kane
takes possession of the worm inside the tequila bottle from which Steven drinks. After swallowing the worm, Kane proceeds to
possess Steven’s body and thus enter the house.
Confronting the
mother, arguing, and attempting to rape her, she tells him desperately that she
loves him. Unable to stand
a genuine, pure sign of love, Kane is disgusted. It breaks his concentration and hold over Steven’s body and is forcibly expelled. It oozes under the bed, forming a demonic
amoeba, and quickly grows into a skeletal worm creature.
Being able to take
possession of living people, and non-living things such as the worm in the
tequila bottle, not only shows Kane’s growth in power, but clever
resourcefulness, ingenuity, as well as desperation.
After gaining
access to the house, it attacks Steven, but now in the form of a Medusa-like
creature, grabbing him by the neck with claw-like appendages. It is here that the smoke spirit comes out
of Steven’s mouth and acts as the equivalent of mace sprayed in
the face to Kane. Another instance of Kane not being all-powerful.
The family escapes
the house and decides to fight Kane on his home turf, going back to where their
old house disappeared from.
Going down into the caves underneath the property, and finding the
skeletons of Kane’s flock, and of Kane himself, the mother and Carol
Anne are easily kidnapped by Kane and taken to the other side; the dimension he currently inhabits.
The ease and
swiftness in which he kidnaps them is further proof of his growth in
power. But, the ultimate proof is when the father and son go after
them. After appearing as the medusa-like
creature
again in the dimensional void, it is here that the faces of
the spirits of Kane’s flock can be seen in the creature’s abdomen. These spirits that have been absorbed by Kane are proof positive not
only of his growth in power, but also his lust for ever-increasing
power.
It is also proof as
to why Kane was after Carol Anne in the first place.
His attempted
possession and absorption of Carol Anne into his abdomen is proof that with his
level of power that that moment, if he achieved this act, his level
of power would have been tipped over the edge. It is an edge
from which his power would have soared to unimaginable levels. If he did achieve this possession, he would have been able to transcend many
barriers that make up the physical world and spiritual world, such as time, space, and many
dimensions.
His lust for power
would have drawn him to seek out key figures in various points in time, unique beings throughout the universe, and beings of matter or
anti-matter in dimensions. Seeking
beings of high intelligence and psychic perception would cause his
power to grow exponentially. It would
also cause him to remake whatever world, dimension, or time, in
his own image, for it would be irresistible to him.
It is the only
path he could have been on. The levels
and type of power he used, and the growth of power caused by possessing his flock. From the first moment of the kidnapping in
the first film to the final attempted possession in the second film, it is this
grand jump in power in which he initially covets.
***
I have mentioned
before the buried alive theme exists within the first film. It is more obvious in the second film, and in some instances, maybe even less obvious
for some. The skeletons found at the beginning and at the end of the film, in the cave, ties in
with the flashback vision the mother has of Kane leading his flock into the underground cave, sealing it up,
and not letting them leave. Also the nightmare the mother has where she is pulled into the ground
by corpses.
When Robbie is
attacked in the bathroom and his braces come alive and cocoon him on the
ceiling is another example.The
Kane worm possession infecting Steven does not appear to fall into this theme, but looking at it from a rather roundabout manner, from how
Kane takes over Steven’s body and mind, to how the worm exits his body, I believe it technically
counts.
Lastly, the medusa
form in which Kane appears in at the end of the film; The faces of the souls of
his flock that appear in his abdomen; the souls that he has
buried within himself, and which he tries to do the same to Carol Anne.
***
Before I conclude,
I want to bring you to attention of the influence of H.P. Lovecraft within the
two films. I am not an expert of his work, nor do I prefer it
among others of the horror genre, but the general otherworldliness, and the tentacles coming out of the vortex
towards the end of the first film, and the physical nature of Rev. Henry Kane’s medusa form at the end
of the second film, would seem to be enough to support this. I’m sure a true expert on Lovecraft can point out all the ways he has influenced
the film better than I could.
In the grand scheme
of things, horror films entertain for the most part. Even in the heyday of eighties, when the cinematic genre was at its peak in every way
possible, only a handful managed to truly terrify, then, and now.
Sometimes there are puzzles within these films, waiting for the right
person to solve them. I hope I have
brought to your attention things you may not have thought of regarding these
films, as well as a new understanding.
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