Poltergeist II: The Other Side
Released four years after Poltergeist, 1986’s Poltergeist II teaches the unfortunate Freeling family a sticky lesson that goes something like “you can escape the house built over the graveyard, but you can’t escape the graveyard’s hunger for your soul.” Without the hovering presence of Stephen Spielberg, there’s perceptibly less magic in this sequel, which also features some dated stereotyping of Native American mysticism—a holdover from the original film that’s unfortunately amplified here. But Poltergeist II does have quite the scary villain in Rev. Kane (Julian Beck), the corporeal form of “the Beast” who stalks the Freelings’ young daughter not from the static of their TV, but in broad freaking daylight.
