POLTERGEIST (1982) Midnights at The Tivoli This Weekend

“This house is clean.”

POLTERGEIST  (1982) plays midnights this weekend (October 6th and 7th) at the Tivoli as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight series. Tickets are $8.

POLTERGEIST  had all the hallmarks of the Spielberg blockbuster production – a small-town suburban family setting, fantastic special effects, fast-paced action and a liberal smattering of Spielberg’s own brand of natural humor. Rumors have persisted for decades that he wrested the direction away from credited director Tobe Hooper, but the influence and style of Hooper are also evident and, rather than detracting from the considerable input of Spielberg, they complement it in a way which results in a movie of subtle originality.

POLTERGEIST is fun, extremely well-made, and is packed full of terrific scares. It took the opposite approach from normal; there’s no big old spooky house or gruesome back-story of some patriarch walling people up in the tower. By contrast, the Freelings (Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Heather O’Rourke, Oliver Robbins and Dominique Dunne) are the most normal family you could imagine and Cuesta Verde could be any middle-class suburb anywhere. The movie uses this backdrop of ordinariness to really bring the hauntings and monstrous visions to life. Both Zelda Rubinstein (as the four-foot tall psychic) and seven-year-old O’Rourke are truly iconic; Rubinstein’s hair-raising whispered speech about the evil spirit is a highlight – “It keeps Carol Anne very close to it and away from the spectral light. It lies to her. It says things only a child can understand … “, Then there’s the fabulous tracking-in photography of Matthew F. Leonetti and a super-creepy score by Jerry Goldsmith which alternates the numerous nail-biting sequences with unsettlingly pleasant nursery-rhyme lullabies. It’s been a long time since audiences has had the opportunity to see POLTERGEIST on the big screen, so don’t miss yours this weekend at The Tivoli.

The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!

The Tivoli’s website can be found HERE

http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/st.louis/tivolitheatre.htm

Coming up at midnights:

Oct. 13-14            RE-ANIMATOR 

Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 27-28              ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW  with live shadow cast, Samurai Electricians!
All tickets $10

Reel Late at the Tivoli takes place every Friday and Saturday night and We Are Movie Geeks own Tom Stockman (that’s me!) is there with custom trivia questions about the films and always has DVDs, posters, and other cool stuff to give away. Ticket prices are $8. We hope to see everyone late at night in the coming weeks.