Watching Poltergeist II on a Sunday morning. This is the way things should be.
Astonishingly enough, i've never watched the whole movie straight through. I've seen pretty much from beginning to middle, and then I always end up falling asleep, or leaving, or changing the channel or something. We even have it on dvd, and yet...
The story revolves around a family who's experiencing some (haha, "some") paranormal phenomena that is centered around their youngest child, Carol Anne. This family escaped certain peril in the first film, but now the haunts are back to scare some ticket sales out of the moviegoing public once more. It was, I think, a mediocre box office success.
Despite not having seen the entire film, i've seen enough of it, and I know enough about the backstory to be interested. The first one rocks, too. Anyone who enjoys these movies needs to check out the E! True Hollywood Story. They did a two hour episode about all three movies, and the weird circumstances that surrounded their filming.
I always enjoy those behind-the-scenes documentaries. I always have. I'm the guy who watches movies with the commentary more than once, and bases his dvd purchases on the special features. I think it has to do with seeing that these films, these stories, are man made. When you watch them, they seem so impossible. They seem so other worldly. We know, deep down, that these actors are people, the effects are computer generated, and that it took an army offscreen to get it all on film, but nevertheless, you never really accept that these people are actually flesh and blood. They're like giants.
In Poltergiest II, our family meets a native american shaman named "Taylor". He is played by an actor named Will Sampson, who was best known for playing Chief Bromden in the film version of "One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest".
As it turns out, Will Sampson got the job for Poltergiest II, partly because he was good friends with the films' star, Craig T. Nelson. The great part is, that if you watch some of their scenes together, you can really tell that they're having fun. They have great chemistry (despite playing opposing character types).
That's one thing that I have to say, I enjoy about theater. The collaboration is part of what makes the experience. To work opposite a friend is really pretty cool. You're comfortable with each other, you respect each other, and yet there is enough good natured competitiveness to keep you both climbing the ladder.
It's fun.
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