Poltergeist II was a huge step down, but it’s still worth watching

Few horror films are as influential as the first Poltergeist. Released in 1982, it’s at the top of the list when it comes to director Tobe Hooper’s best-loved works. The start of the movie remains unforgettable: Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke), the youngest daughter of the Freeling family, murmurs into a static-filled TV screen. As her father dozes, we get the eerie sense that the television is, somehow, speaking back to her. It remains one of the most subtly chilling opening scenes in horror history, and continues to be referenced and homaged all these many years later.