Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
The Freeling family move in with Diane's mother in an effort to escape the trauma and aftermath of Carol Anne's abduction by the Beast. But the Beast is not to be put off so easily and appears in a ghostly apparition as the Reverend Kane, a religious zealot responsible for the deaths of his many followers. His goal is simple - he wants the angelic Carol Anne.
Poltergeist II is a competent but diminished sequel that recycles the haunted-family formula without the original's freshness or Spielbergian warmth. The plot mechanics are formulaic—the Freelings are once again terrorized by supernatural forces wanting Carol Anne—though Reverend Kane (Julian Beck) is a genuinely unsettling villain whose gaunt, cadaverous presence elevates the acting category. Cinematography is serviceable horror-sequel work, with a few effective creature effects (the tequila worm sequence stands out) but lacking the original's visual imagination and ILM magic feels more dated here. Novelty is low: it's largely a retreaded premise with a new antagonist slotted in, offering little conceptually new beyond Kane himself. The ending resolves hastily and unsatisfyingly, failing to deliver the emotional or horror catharsis the buildup promises.