“They’re heeere…”
Join Ian & Megs for our 301st episode as we grab the remote, face the static, and step into the spectral suburbia of Poltergeist (1982). Liam and Kev? They’re not with us this week — the house they were recording in was built on an ancient podcast burial ground. We haven’t heard from them since, but we’re getting some weird interference through the TV…
This week we discuss:
- 301 episodes in — how did we make it this far without getting dragged into the light?
- How Poltergeist terrified an entire generation while redefining the modern haunted house movie.
- The age-old debate: how much of this film was Tobe Hooper and how much was Steven Spielberg pulling the spectral strings?
- Why the film’s suburban setting hits harder than gothic castles or spooky mansions — horror in the heart of normality.
- The infamous curse surrounding the film’s production — what’s real, what’s coincidence, and what’s just chilling.
- Is Poltergeist actually a family drama disguised as horror, and why does that emotional core make the scares land harder?
- Ian breaks down the film’s special effects and practical wizardry — how they still hold up decades later.
- Ian also shares about some childhood traumas regarding losing beloved toys at school while Megs reminds him that's why you don't bring valuable stuff in
- Why Poltergeist manages to be scary without ever really being gory — and whether that balance is what makes it timeless.
- Why do they have a magic remote control and was the guy costuming Dana a creep?
- And finally, whether Poltergeist is the Best Film Ever — or just the reason we still side-eye our static screens.
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Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor.
Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/
