After the events of Poltergeist, the Freelings move in with Diane’s mother where they discover Carol Anne’s gifts as a budding clairvoyant. Diane, wishing the gift (or curse) had skipped a generation, tries her best to deal with the situation as tragedy strikes.. and Grandma passes away. As the death of a family pet, before.. so too this death triggers the events to follow.. and Carol Anne finds herself lost in the Mall, only to be found by the Reverend, Henry Kane. The good Reverend keeps Carol Anne company until her mother returns.. and all too soon, they find that he is not what he appears to be, and the Freelings are in trouble again.
OK, so not as good as the first movie, but still every good acting from an exceptional cast. Later on we are joined by Tangina Barrons and her new associate Taylor, a native spiritual leader, who moves in with the Freelings in an attempt to protect Carol Anne from the spirits that desperately want her light..
Taylor is a strong character, but also witty as he continuously torments Steven about his rapidly deteriorating car. Tangina has been reduced to a secondary character, only appearing in the beginning and ending of the film.
Now, this movie scared me when it first came out.. probably moreso than the original. I was just 14 years old, and this was the first time I had gone to see a horror movie by myself at the theater. I was in a row all by myself, it was dark, and, although I never wore braces, the braces scene got my blood racing.
The only scene a had a huge issue with was the ending. The “Other Side” was.. disappointing. Nothing by the Freelings free-floating in an orange ethereal sky with a light, and the Entity after them. I do like how they portrayed the entity – a cluster of dark souls, that honestly looked like the Tree from the first movie. However, the good-feelings ending always bothered me.
Definitely worth a watch!
