The Freeling family have a new house, but their troubles with supernatural forces don't seem to be over.The Freeling family have a new house, but their troubles with supernatural forces don't seem to be over.The Freeling family have a new house, but their troubles with supernatural forces don't seem to be over.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 5 nominations total
JoBeth Williams
- Diane Freeling
- (as Jobeth Williams)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe only family member absent from the film is Dana, who according to the script is off at university, but a scene explaining away her absence was never filmed. Dominique Dunne was murdered by her boyfriend John Thomas Sweeney (who later changed his name to John Maura and disappeared) shortly after "Poltergeist (1982)" premiered. Ultimately, no mention is made of Dana in the final film, or of her being in college. It was decided by the filmmakers to retire the character and not recast her out of respect for the deceased actress and her family.
- Goofs(at around 38 mins) When Kane walks up the lawn toward the house, it begins to rain. As Diane runs out to get Carol Anne, Diane's hair is already wet. Then moments later when she talks to Kane on the porch, her hair is dry. The next scene shows her walking into her bedroom, and her hair is damp again.
- Crazy creditsThe opening credits take nearly five minutes to play out.
- Alternate versionsDuring post production, at least 15 minutes were cut from the film during the final editing stages, and some of the remaining scenes were re-arranged chronologically. Scenes rumored to be cut included: 1. A line mentioning "Dana," (the eldest daughter from the original film) being away at college. 2. A scene involving JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson and a floating toaster oven in their kitchen. 3. A scene in which the "Rev. Kane" appears at the house again and is confronted by "Tangina" right before she is about to leave after visiting "Diane" (Zelda Rubinstein was said to be very upset that this sequence was cut, as she felt it was one of her best scenes). 4. A longer "other side" sequence at the end featuring the family's battle with the Beast. 5. Longer versions of existing scenes featuring additional dialogue. Publicity stills from some of these scenes can be seen at: the fan site: http://www.poltergeistii.poltergeistiii.com/deleted.html
- ConnectionsEdited from Poltergeist (1982)
- SoundtracksIf I Fell
(uncredited)
Written by John Lennon (uncredited) and Paul McCartney (uncredited)
[sung by Craig T. Nelson (uncredited) to JoBeth Williams]
Featured review
So-so first sequel
"Poltergeist II: The Other Side" is a mostly average sequel to the superb 1982 horror movie about unfriendly ghosts terrorizing a suburban family. This movie is not real bad like most people say it is (I did like some of it), but it's not real good either.
"Poltergeist II" takes place in Arizona, which is where the Freeling family now resides. But no matter where you go you can't keep a nasty ghost down, and those pesky spirits are back to terrorize the family once again. Where the first film was scary with a great sense of humor, the second film comes off more funny than scary. Not a good sign for a horror film where you're expected to be scared. And there isn't much scares this time around. Plus, the special effects this time around aren't as effective as they were in the first film. Nevertheless, the effects received another Oscar nomination, which to me was surprising.
If there's anything to like about "Poltergeist II", it's the acting. JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O'Rourke, Oliver Robins, and Zelda Rubinstein are all back reprising their roles from the first film, with a few new faces add to the cast. The new cast members add some spark here. Will Sampson is very good as the Indian medicine man who also happens to be an exorcist, and comes in to help out the Freelings; Julian Beck makes a strong presence as the evil preacher who happens to be the leader of the ill-mannered ghosts (Beck was reportedly very ill when he made this, and it shows on the screen; he died right after filming completed); and the great veteran actress Geraldine Fitzgerald has a nice small part as Grandma Freeling. So to sum up this film: good acting, bad story, so-so effects, which makes for an average movie.
*** (out of five)
"Poltergeist II" takes place in Arizona, which is where the Freeling family now resides. But no matter where you go you can't keep a nasty ghost down, and those pesky spirits are back to terrorize the family once again. Where the first film was scary with a great sense of humor, the second film comes off more funny than scary. Not a good sign for a horror film where you're expected to be scared. And there isn't much scares this time around. Plus, the special effects this time around aren't as effective as they were in the first film. Nevertheless, the effects received another Oscar nomination, which to me was surprising.
If there's anything to like about "Poltergeist II", it's the acting. JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O'Rourke, Oliver Robins, and Zelda Rubinstein are all back reprising their roles from the first film, with a few new faces add to the cast. The new cast members add some spark here. Will Sampson is very good as the Indian medicine man who also happens to be an exorcist, and comes in to help out the Freelings; Julian Beck makes a strong presence as the evil preacher who happens to be the leader of the ill-mannered ghosts (Beck was reportedly very ill when he made this, and it shows on the screen; he died right after filming completed); and the great veteran actress Geraldine Fitzgerald has a nice small part as Grandma Freeling. So to sum up this film: good acting, bad story, so-so effects, which makes for an average movie.
*** (out of five)
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- ITTMovieFanatic
- Jun 2, 2004
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Poltergeist II
- Filming locations
- 1589 Homewood Dr., Altadena, California, USA(Gramma-Jess's house)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $19,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $40,996,665
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $12,357,190
- May 26, 1986
- Gross worldwide
- $40,998,097
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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Top Gap
What was the official certification given to Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) in Brazil?
Answer