In 1982, audiences met the Freeling family, a typical American suburban family dealing with unknown spirits and the revelation that their house was built on a graveyard. The Tobe Hooper-directed/Steven Spielberg produced Poltergeist was a huge commercial and critical success, amassing over $75 million-plus in the United States alone and becoming the highest-grossing film of the year. A sequel was always going to be a hard bar to clear. Four years later on this day, Poltergeist II: The Other Side debuted and, like most sequels, it was immediately compared to the original and deemed wanting.
It’s easy to see why. While original screenwriter Michael Grais and Mark Victor returned, director Tobe Hooper didn’t, replaced by British director Brian Gibson. And while most of the original cast also came back for the sequel, the original film had a cloud of tragedy hanging over it as actress Dominique Dunne, who played eldest daughter Dana, was murdered by a jealous boyfriend just five months after the original film’s release. So while Poltergeist II: The Other Side still grossed $75 million at the box office, off a $19 million dollar budget, the overall feeling was mixed. Reviews were kind, but many felt the original movie didn’t need to be continued.
