#31  
Old 01-12-2012, 12:38 PM
ManchestrMorgue's Avatar
ManchestrMorgue ManchestrMorgue is offline
Synthetic Flesh

 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 2,601
1) I first saw this film on VHS. It would have been around 83 or 84, because I remember that it was fairly new at the time.

2) There had been reviews on TV and radio that said it was a good film, and pretty scary.

3) I remember enjoying this film. I think I found it thrilling, but nothing that would have given me nightmares.

4) I haven't rewatched this film. But I think I should.

5) I haven't seen this one in nearly 30 years, so memories for individual scenes are feint. However when I think about it, there is a positive feeling associated with it. I also remember that it was one of the few horror films that my parents were interested in seeing.


Quote:
Originally Posted by _____V_____ View Post
Next one...

1) Do you remember when you first watched it?

2) Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

3) How was the viewing experience? How did it affect you?

4) How many times have you rewatched it? Memories? Does it still hold good even today for you?

5) Anything else you wish to share.
  #32  
Old 01-12-2012, 01:25 PM
Elvis_Christ's Avatar
Elvis_Christ Elvis_Christ is offline
Misanthrope


 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 15,479
1) Do you remember when you first watched it?

Christmas one year round the late 80s. One of the stations used to play heaps of late night movies over the holidays. Think it was one of the first times TV over here went for 24 hours... my memory is pretty hazy because it was so long ago. Think I caught Twilight Zone: The Movie round the same time.

2) Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

I'd heard from a few sources like Fangoria and word of mouth that it was top notch stuff. The famous "They're Here..." line had already been drilled into me from pop culture even before seeing the film.

3) How was the viewing experience? How did it affect you?

I found the film really underwhelming and didn't think it lived up to the praise. It just didn't gel with me at all. I got more bored than scared.

4) How many times have you rewatched it? Memories? Does it still hold good even today for you?

I've seen the film about 3 or 4 times since. I still don't hold it in as high regard as a lot of people but I appreciate it more nowadays. Some great scenes but overall it doesn't blow me away. I don't hate it or anything I just find it a bit bland and I think it's one of the reasons I've never been a big fan of ghost films. I put off watching a lot of great films because I figured they'd be like Poltergeist.

5) Anything else you wish to share?

I've always wondered why Spielberg never ventured into horror more often.
  #33  
Old 01-12-2012, 04:12 PM
The Villain's Avatar
The Villain The Villain is offline
Evil is Better

 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Your Nightmares
Posts: 6,693
1) Do you remember when you first watched it?
I was really young. This is actually one of the first horror movie's i've ever seen. At least one of the earliest i can remember.

2) Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?
Not that i can remember

3) How was the viewing experience? How did it affect you?
Scared the hell out of me. Especially the evil clown (it's the reason i'm afraid of clowns to this day) and the part where the tree tries to eat the kid. We had a huge tree outside our house that looked a lot like that one and so after seeing that i thought the tree was going to eat me.

4) How many times have you rewatched it? Memories? Does it still hold good even today for you?
Too many times to count. In fact i actually just watched it on Sunday with a girl. It doesnt scare me anymore but it's still a great movie.

5) Anything else you wish to share?
Still my favorite haunting movie
  #34  
Old 01-13-2012, 06:32 AM
_____V_____'s Avatar
_____V_____ _____V_____ is offline
For Vendetta
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 31,677

1) Do you remember when you first watched it?

Not exactly. Must have been about 19-20 years ago on VHS, definitely a rental. I bought a VHS copy shortly afterwards.

2) Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

I read about it a lot. Since my early love for all horror was mostly into ghost stories, I was really pumped to see this ever since I read an article on it in a film mag.

3) How was the viewing experience? How did it affect you?

Boy, it was scary! I remember being grossed out by the chicken leg (maggots) scene and the guy pulling off his facial flesh in front of the mirror. And that floating apparition scene had my jaw hanging open. Not to mention that clown! And all those swimming skeletons in the pool at the climax.

It was scary. Brrrr...

4) How many times have you rewatched it? Memories? Does it still hold good even today for you?

Countless times. It has aged well and still holds up for a repeat viewing, I am glad to admit. Tobe Hooper has made a great film. I remember being quite impressed by this and part 2, although #3 was quite a bit of a disappointment.

5) Anything else you wish to share.

A good, effective scary story is always a fantastic viewing experience. Too bad we don't have such films made these days. Or maybe we have become too jaded to feel the horror of similar films in recent times.

Either way, Poltergeist ranks right up there with the finest in cinematic ghost story telling for me. A quality, top-notch film.
__________________
"If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
  #35  
Old 01-13-2012, 08:14 AM
Straker's Avatar
Straker Straker is offline
Midnight toker
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Across the pond.
Posts: 2,244
Do you remember when you first watched it?

Not really, I know I was young, probably around 10

How was the viewing experience? How did it affect you?

I still have a vivid recollection of the skeletons in the pool at the end, so while I dont exactly remember much about my first viewing experience, I'm sure it must've scared me plenty to remember it so clearly.

How many times have you rewatched it? Memories? Does it still hold good even today for you?

Rewatched it a bunch of times over the years. Really big fan of Tobe Hooper and I think he does a great job with this, but its the cast that really make it work.
  #36  
Old 01-13-2012, 09:39 PM
_____V_____'s Avatar
_____V_____ _____V_____ is offline
For Vendetta
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 31,677
Moving on...to everyone's favorite cult classic.


1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? VHS or DVD?

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

3 - How was the viewing experience?

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?
__________________
"If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
  #37  
Old 01-13-2012, 10:05 PM
ZombieDrone ZombieDrone is offline
Evil Dead
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 209
1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? VHS or DVD?
DVD a few years back. One of the first horror films I owned.

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?
I remember when I first heard about it was in a TV guide around 1999 (when it was released uncut as it had been in and out of circulation and banned status with various censorship cuts for years.) Of course I thought the title was just gnarly.

3 - How was the viewing experience?
I remember it having quite the impact on me, and it was a rather intense viewing experience. I've still not seen a horror movie that's scared me quite as much.

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?
I've never watched it since the first time in one sitting, because if it's intensity. I usually have to split it in two parts, but I've not seen it for a while because I've lost track of where my DVD is...but I'm eager to find it.


5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?
  #38  
Old 01-13-2012, 10:08 PM
ManchestrMorgue's Avatar
ManchestrMorgue ManchestrMorgue is offline
Synthetic Flesh

 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 2,601
1. I first saw TCM on VHS. Would have been in the mid to late 80's I guess.

2. You would have to live on a desert island to not have heard of TCM's reputation :D .

3. It was good, but because it had been so hyped, I was expecting something more gory (with more onscreen violence and gore) than I got. Its strength is as much psychological as visual (however that was a bit lost on me as a youngish teenager).

4. I have seen it about 5 or 6 times since that first viewing.

5. This is a movie that I appreciated more on subsequent viewings than I did at first. Not that I didn't like it originally, but I think once I knew what was on offer, I could appreciate it more for what it was (rather than what I thought it would be). Watching it when a bit older, I think I appreciated the psychological aspects of this film much more. This film is truly one of the greats of the genre, and lives up to its reputation.

Quote:
Originally Posted by _____V_____ View Post

1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? VHS or DVD?

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

3 - How was the viewing experience?

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?
  #39  
Old 01-13-2012, 10:29 PM
neverending's Avatar
neverending neverending is offline
Cranky

 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 12,416
1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? VHS or DVD?

None of the above. It was in a dusty darkened theatre at a midnight showing in Omaha, Nebraska, stoned as all fuck, with a group of teenage friends.

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

Oh yes, we knew all about it and couldn't wait to finally see it.

3 - How was the viewing experience?

Blew us away. We indentified quite well with the group of hippies getting stoned in the bus, an experience we'd shared many times amongst ourselves. The audience was dead silent during the showing, something that at the time indicated deep enjoyment and immersion into the film. Something quite different from a theatrical showing these days.

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?

A few times. I tend not to rewatch films, but when I come across this on cable, I watch it because it really is an amazing film, the best thing Tobe Hooper ever did.

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?

Its sick humor was quite unique for the time- something that has certainly been overdone to the nth degree since then. And that iconic image of Leatherface doing his dance at the end is something that can't ever be forgotten.
__________________
Lee Widener, Author Website

Cartoon Artwork, Underground Art, Other Weird Stuff

Last edited by neverending; 01-13-2012 at 10:31 PM.
  #40  
Old 01-14-2012, 07:56 AM
Straker's Avatar
Straker Straker is offline
Midnight toker
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Across the pond.
Posts: 2,244
Do you remember when you first watched it? VHS or DVD?

As a young teen, I had watched plenty of horror before this, but had never seen anything like this before.

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

I watched it with a bunch of people at a house party. I think very few of the people watched it from start to finish, some probably got bored, some probably were trying to hide the fact that they were scared, but I remember it really didnt grab the other people watching it around me.

3 - How was the viewing experience?

It was one of a handful of movies I watched that essentially showed me something I wanted to see before I even realised I wanted to see it. It really is a classic, not just of the genre but of cinema as a whole.

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?

Lots... Watching it as an adult you can maybe articulate why you love it better, but ultimatley the reason I love it now is the same as why I loved it the fist time I watched it. Its raw, its intense, its gritty and it really is an amazing piece of cinematography.

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?

I just remember being frustrated that noone liked it as much as I did when I first watched it. I guess thats when you know you're a fan of something... You see something or do something then take a step back and realise that the average person just doesnt care about it as much as you do.
Closed Thread

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:16 AM.