Fresh and Exciting

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

A-Z Horror Movie of the Day..."Poltergeist 2: The Other Side" (PG-13 - 1986 - US)Sub-Genre: Paranormal/Sequel My Score: 6.6Cast=8 Acting=7 Plot=7 Ending=9 Story=6 Scare=4 Jump=5 F/X=7 Creep=8 Sequel=5The Freeling family have a new house, but their troubles with supernatural forces don't seem to be over. "Alright then! I'll sing you a song...until your mom comes back!" God can stay in his holy temple as I watch this awaited sequel. I still liked this, but the script wasn't as good. Reverend Kane was as creepy as all get out and it had a solid ending. The story had holes in it and the scares were lacking, but it's still worth seeing for the paranormal fan. One thing's for sure...they're gonna have to move again!

WARNING: This review contains spoilers that may ruin the first movie.This movie starts with a Native American ceremony which I feel could've been cut out and just replaced with Tangina meeting with Taylor at the site of the Freelings's house.The Freelings are now living with Diane's mother while Steve is now selling vacuum door-to-door while trying to successfully file an insurance claim for their old house. The Freelings got rid of every TV in Diane's mothers house and now get entertainment from a small portable radio. One of the Freelings doesn't appear and that's Dana, the eldest daughter from the first movie.One day while at a mall, Carol Anne is separated from Diane and Robbie. A creepy old preacher keeps her company until they find her.Later that night, Diane's mother passes away in her sleep and the spirits that were after them in the first movie are after them again, except it's revealed that the spirits were not of Native Americans but instead those of members of a religious sect led by Reverend Kane, the old man from the mall, in the early 1800s. He convinced them all that the apocalypse was coming and they sealed themselves in an underground cave. When the day came and went, Kane wouldn't let anyone leave and they all starved to death in the cave which is under where the Freelings's house was. Kane was so evil that his soul became a monster and they want Carol Anne because she almost lead them into the light.Several Native Americans appear at the house and do several things to protect the house and the Freelings.Tangina shows up eventually, saying they all have to go back to the site of their house and fight Kane. Upon trying to, their car gets smashed up by the spirits while they're still in the garage but they manage to escape.The big climactic battle with the Kane Monster happens and he is defeated. Taylor says that their car wants to go with him so he drives off. The Freelings realize they need the car to get back to Diane's mothers house and they start chasing after him on foot. Roll end credits.Overall, this isn't a very good sequel for a number of reasons. First of all, Dana's disappearance. She couldn't physically appear because the actress who played her, Dominique Dunne, was murdered by her boyfriend shortly after the first movie was released. What bothers me is that she isn't referred to or mentioned even once. When Tangina says they all need to go back as a family, no one mentions contacting Dana, the siblings never talk about wanting to see their older sibling. In the script it was written that she was attending college in this movie which would've worked to explain her absence.Second, the spirits belonging to members of a cult that starved to death in a cave instead of Native Americans in a burial ground underneath the house ruins the first movie a little bit but also raises some questions; if none of the people in the cave died in a coffin, how were there coffins popping up inside the house?Third, I felt that the scene with Robbie's dentures being used to wrap up him and Diane and nearly electrocute them was too over the top.Overall, I do not recommend watching this movie. It is very inferior to the first and some of the writing ruins the first movie. Only watch if you're that much of a die-hard Poltergeist or supernatural horror fan.

Here we have yet another belated, completely unnecessary sequel that only barely gets by. After their otherworldly encounters, the Freeling family has relocated and are now living with Dianes' (JoBeth Williams) mother (Geraldine Fitzgerald). They don't get much of a breather before supernatural forces again begin to plague them. And these forces still want to get their hands on little Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke). Diane, Steve (Craig T. Nelson), Carol Anne, and Robbie (Oliver Robins) this time receive assistance from a wise Indian (Will Sampson), while Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) makes an encore appearance.Technically, "Poltergeist II: The Other Side" is reasonably well made. But it's so lazily conceived that it's very hard to care what happens here. Making things tolerable are a still very likable bunch of actors, but they have some pretty bad material to work with this time around. A lot of the dialogue is simply abysmal. Attempts at humor largely fall flat. Director Brian Gibson is no Steven Spielberg, or Tobe Hooper, and can't generate any suspense or excitement at all. The efforts of a very talented visual effects team (supervised by Richard Edlund) can only do so much to help. It's hard to believe this was written by the same guys who wrote the first film.This is not to say that this sequel is devoid of highlights. One pleasure is in watching the supremely creepy Julian Beck as a malevolent "reverend" who puts a human face, of sorts, on the antagonistic spirits. One ingenious moment involves Robbies' braces; the other is a sequence many people do enjoy about this sequel. That would be the "vomit creature" sequence. It turns out there are consequences for swallowing the worm at the bottle of a tequila bottle.The family is still worth rooting for; young O'Rourke is as adorable as before. It's just too bad they're stuck in such a blah story.H.R. Giger ("Alien", "Species") is credited with conceptual design.Sadly, the final film for both Beck and Sampson.Five out of 10.

JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O'Rourke, Oliver Robbins, Will Sampson, Julian Beck and Zelda Rubinstein star in this 1986 horror sequel. In this entry, the Freelings, Diane (Williams), Steven (Nelson), Carol Anne (O'Rourke) and Robbie (Robbins) are once again terrorized by dark, supernatural forces. The late, Beck plays Reverend, Henry Kane, an evil spirit who is the cause of it all and is determined to have Carol Anne lead him into the light with his minions. The late, Sampson plays Taylor, a Native American, medicine man who helps the Freelings fight against him and Rubinstein also reprises her role as psychic, Tangina who is Taylor's friend. This is a good supernatural sequel with a good cast, neat effects & great score by Jerry Goldsmith as usual. I recommend this.