POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE (1986) – Episode 296 – Decades of Horror 1980s

“You’re all gonna die in there! All of you! You are gonna die!” Well, for heaven’s sake, we all die. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they check out Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), the sequel to the Spielberg-Hooper blockbuster.

Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 296 – Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)

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ANNOUNCEMENT
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Synopsis: The Freeling family has a new house, but their troubles with supernatural forces don’t seem to be over.

• Director: Brian Gibson
• Writers: Mark Victor & Michael Grais
• Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
• Cinematographer: Andrew Laszlo
• Makeup Department:
  • Lynda Gurasich (hair stylist)
  • Todd Masters (special makeup effects producer)
  • Ben Nye III (makeup artist) (as Ben Nye Jr.)
  • Adam Hill (special makeup effects moldmaker: Boss Films) (uncredited)
• Conceptual Artist: H.R. Giger
• Visual Effects: Boss Film Corporation; including Richard Edlund (visual effects supervisor), Steve Johnson (creatures creator), Randall William Cook (creatures creator), Screaming Mad George (creature crew)
• Selected Cast:
  • JoBeth Williams as Diane Freeling (as Jobeth Williams)
  • Craig T. Nelson as Steve Freeling
  • Heather O’Rourke as Carol Anne Freeling
  • Oliver Robins as Robbie Freeling
  • Zelda Rubinstein as Tangina Barrons
  • Will Sampson as Taylor
  • Julian Beck as Kane
  • Geraldine Fitzgerald as Gramma Jess
  • John P. Whitecloud as Old Indian
  • Noble Craig as Vomit Creature
  • Susan Peretz as Daughter
  • Helen Boll as Mother
  • Kelly Jean Peters as Young Jess
  • Jaclyn Bernstein as Young Diane
  • Robert Lesser, Jamie Abbott, Ann Louise Bardach, Syd Beard, David Beaman, Hayley Taylor (as Hayley Taylor-Block), Pamela Gordon, Chelsea Hertford, Whit Flint (as Whitby Hertford), Rocky Krakoff, Carrie Lorraine, Kathy Wagner, Bill Schroeder as KANE’S PEOPLE
  • Corey Burton as Reverend Henry Kane (voice) (uncredited)

The 80s Grue-Crew head back to sequel land for this episode and stumble into Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986). The Crew love the cast (Julian Beck, Heather O’Rourke, Will Sampson, Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Oliver Robins, Zelda Rubinstein, Geraldine Fitzgerald) and the practical effects from the likes of Steve Johnson, Randall William Cook, and Screaming Mad George, but found the story lacking… with reasons. Just when we thought we were winding up the episode, we entered into a thirty-minute debate on whether Brian Cox or Anthony Hopkins made the better Hannibal Lecter, prompted by several Grue-Believer comments on our episode on Manhunter (1986). What a fun episode!

At the time of this writing, Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) is available to stream from Kanopy, Hoopla, Roku, MGM+, and multiple PPV sources. The movie is available on physical media as Poltergeist II: The Other Side – Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray [4K UHD] from SHOUT! Factory.

Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Chad, is Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) with a screenplay by Ray Bradbury based on his novel. Dark’s Pandemonium Carnival is coming to town!

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