A report claims that Amazon is mooting a return to the Poltergeist franchise, as well as revisiting other classic MGM titles.
1982’s Poltergeist remains as a classic in the spook stakes, with Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg combining memorably to create one of cinema’s defining haunted house tales. Whilst the film spawned a couple of sequels and a 2015 remake by Gil Kenan, it followed the oft-worn path of diminishing returns that we tend to see occur, especially with horror sequels. Still, whilst the two follow-ups weren’t without merit, it’s the 1982 original that has maintained a foothold in audiences’ minds. With Amazon now possessing all of MGM’s vast library (and reportedly looking to make a splash in theatrical exhibition), the streamer is said to be browsing through its newly-acquired back catalogue to figure out which titles of note to resurrect.
Entertainment journalist Jeff Sneider (speaking on the Hot Mic podcast) has claimed that a Poltergeist revival is near the top of that list and it’s easy to see why. Horror is generally cheaper to make and has continued to do very well during a turbulent few years at the box office, where some other genres have struggled. Sneider goes on to point out that the whole situation is “complicated by the fact that Spielberg would likely need to be involved” but this of course offers a huge opportunity too. Using a Poltergeist revival to forge a relationship with Spielberg wouldn’t be bad business for Amazon as it seemingly looks to move it film towards larger-scale film production.
Sneider points out that the project is by no means guaranteed, adding that “all this stuff is so up in the air”. If nothing else though, the story offers us a further glimpse of the direction the studio seems to be heading.
Ever since it was announced last November that Amazon would be ploughing a billion dollars into annual theatrical releases of a dozen or so movies, we’ve seen similar moves made by the studio including a reboot of George A Romero’s iconic Night Of The Living Dead horror series. This report, whilst very much unconfirmed seems to fall in line with that strategy. We’ll bring you more on this one as we hear it.
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