The American Dream and American Nightmare: The Toxic Pursuit of Nostalgia and Happiness Presented in Poltergeist (1982) and Poltergeist (2015)

This chapter’s intent is to analyse Hollywood studios mining of Intellectual Property that continues an ongoing trend of remaking films via the lens of purposefully curated nostalgia and how, within these films, there is an attempt by the film’s protagonists to achieve happiness in their environment. This critique will be presented using the case studies of Poltergeist (Directed by Tobe Hooper. Meter-Goldwyn-Meyer, Beverley Hills, 1982) and Poltergeist (Directed by Gil Kenan. Meter-Goldwyn-Meyer, Beverley Hills, 2015) to evidence that while remakes do provide a yearning for curated nostalgia, even “unsuccessful” remakes hold validity and agency in presenting evidence of social and political toxicity that persist today and how curated or selective desire for the past ignores these toxic elements.