A
note on a film: Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)
I have to admit, I didn't
love this film. While the potential was there to take the story in a different
direction, pushing the film further into the realms of the supernatural, or
even the psychological, too much of the narrative falls back on trying to 'one-up'
the effects-driven haunted house set-pieces that made the first film such a
success.
Never quite delivering on
the promise of its intriguing sub-title (where rather that emphasise or explore
"the other side" as a
central component of the plot, the filmmakers instead relegate it to a generic,
last-minute depiction of the afterlife, necessitated to bring the story to a
close), the film is simply too mired in unconvincing scenes of domestic
melodrama and ridiculous special effects. For a supposed horror film, Poltergeist
II does very little to generate tension, suspense or actual fear, with any
semblance of the unsettling provided only by the towering performance of Julian
Beck as the film's antagonist, the Reverend Kane, and a short sequence
involving a more conventional movie-monster, this time provided by the
surrealist artist H. R. Giger.
However, there are some
elements to the film that are nonetheless quite remarkable, given the particular
circumstances, and are possibly worthy of a closer inspection here.
Firstly, what I liked most
about Poltergeist II was the way the development of the character Kane (as well
as his personal back-story) both deepens and subverts an element from the
original film that could be seen, by today's standards, as a little basic; even
derivative. In the original Poltergeist (1982), the reason for the initial
haunting is suggested as being the result of the family's house having been
built atop the site of an ancient burial-ground; the phantoms and apparitions
that take vengeance against the family are effectively the displaced spirits of
the dead.
In Poltergeist II however,
the spirits are revealed to be the ghosts of a religious sect condemned to
death by their wandering leader: the aforementioned Reverend Kane. Eager for
his clan to show their devotion, and convinced that the world is about to end,
Kane has his band of followers entombed alongside him in an underground cavern;
consigning each of them - men, women and children - to a slow and painful
death.
Poltergeist II: The Other
Side [Brian Gibson, 1986]:
By itself, this element of
the plot is both harrowing and unsettling. It's an example of a horror film evoking
something that is terrifying because
it's relatable; because it presents an instance of avoidable tragedy and human
genocide that is all too real. The hopelessness of the followers' situation,
the claustrophobia inherent in the subterranean setting, and the way the director
Brian Gibson emphasises the pain and anguish on the faces of children (as their
parents forever cling to the sermons of the evermore maddening Kane), are redolent
of this more plausible, more human image
of terror.
However, this element of
the plot gives the film an added depth that is absent from its otherwise
superior predecessor. As a character, Kane could be seen as a stand-in for
almost any modern leader; a self-aggrandising individual willing to take his
followers into oblivion in order to prove a point. There's an element of this
that speaks to the dark heart of American history; the reality of people
looking to men with no answers to provide them with a direction in times of
great difficulty; as well as how these acts of self-sacrifice and religious hysteria
gave fuel to the rhetoric of racism (one supporting character remarks that the Native
Americans were initially blamed and persecuted for the disappearance of Kane
and his followers).
Kane's presence could also
offer an anti-theist commentary on religion in general, as the character enters
the film like an anachronism; a skeletal preacher dressed in the garb of a
pilgrim; softly singling 'God is in His Holy Temple' as he stalks his way up to
the family's front door. Combined with the subtle inference of paedophilic
intent - as Kane immediately focuses-in on the family's "little
angle"; their youngest daughter, Carol-Anne - the spectre of religious
fundamentalism, death cults and the devastating reality of abuse within the
church, all feed back into our subconscious interpretation of the character and
his attempts to infiltrate the family unit.
Poltergeist II: The Other
Side [Brian Gibson, 1986]:
While this particular
reading will always work to underline our own fears, concerns and suspicions
(as triggered by the reality of daily news-coverage and what many of us learned
as "stranger danger" at
school), I still prefer to think of Kane as more of a general commentary on 'the
banality of evil', as opposed to anything more specific. Rather than simply
portray a conventional 'bogeyman' figure, or a monster in the lineage of Freddy
Kruger or Jason Voorhees, the Reverend Kane is a more complex and multi-dimensional
character; a supernatural entity that nonetheless feels like an embodiment of a
very real trait; one that compels individuals in positions of power to act out
of arrogance and self-belief (instincts that often result in the suffering of
innocent people).
It's worth pausing here to
once again compliment the performance of Julian Beck as the Reverend Kane. Beck
was a multi-talented artist (a writer, painter, theatre director and performer)
whose rare forays into the cinema also included an appearance in Pier Paolo Pasolini's
extraordinary film of Oedipus Rex (1967) and a late appearance in Francis Ford
Coppola's underrated The Cotton Club (1984). At the time of Poltergeist II Beck
was sadly in the final months of a battle against cancer, and his incredibly
frail, old-before his time appearance
lends a powerful credibility to his characterisation here.
Oedipus Rex [Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1967]:
As a respected avant-garde
performer working in the mainstream, Beck doesn't seem to have approached the
role as something that was beneath him. Instead, he invests the character with
a keen intelligence and elevates it to the level of something powerful; Kane is
horrifying but oddly sympathetic.
One of the strongest
sequences in the film, both in terms of the narrative construction and in its basic
filmmaking approach, is the scene in which Kane first arrives at the house of the
main protagonists. Initially engaging in polite (but oddly portentous)
small-talk, the scene quickly escalates into something more threatening; as
Kane's efforts to influence the family seem charged with a supernatural force.
As a moment of great cinema, the scene stands out as the defining moment of the
entire film, and remains - in its own right - a masterclass in screenwriting,
direction and performance.
Poltergeist II: The Other
Side [Brian Gibson, 1986]:
Part of me can't help suspecting
that this particular scene may have had an influence on the later films of David
Lynch; in particular Lost Highway (1997) - in which the protagonist Fred Madison
encounters the sinister Mystery Man at a party in the Hollywood hills - or the
filmmaker's as yet final feature, Inland Empire (2006) - in which a strange,
initially beguiling, but soon threatening older woman arrives at the home of
the film's main character.
Lost Highway [David Lynch,
1997]:
Inland Empire [David
Lynch, 2006]:
In each of these films,
the sense of anxiety and discomfort comes from the threat of the home invasion;
the very real fear that many of us have about letting a seemingly benign stranger
into our homes, only then to be confronted by the dangerous reality of their true
intentions. Again, the scene works because it's relatable. We understand this
situation and the fear that the family might face because it's something that
could actually happen.
Scenes such as the ones
mentioned above are thought-provoking and compelling, but they stand out as
rare occurrences in a film that too often becomes preoccupied with empty visual
excesses and scenes that feel derivative of the previous film. Sequences of
inanimate objects brought to life and attacking the family are ridiculous
because they're so divorced from anything that could ever really occur. While the
fear of a stranger turning up on your doorstep and taking a worrying interest
in your youngest child is so close to some semblance of reality that it
triggers something of our natural anxieties, a chainsaw floating through the
air and attacking a station wagon, by contrast, seems rather silly.
Had Poltergeist II
emphasised more moments like the ones discussed above - or chosen instead to explore
the "the other side" of its
title as some kind of metaphysical labyrinth (a precursor to 'the black lodge'
of the long-running Twin Peaks perhaps
- to once again evoke Lynch) - then it may have proven to be a film worthy of
Beck's incredible performance and the more interesting themes that exist only within
these faint fragments of interpretation.
