“They’re here.”

That one line still sends chills down the spine. Suburbia is supposed to be safe, but when your dream home is built on a cemetery where only the headstones were moved… well, welcome to hell.

At 4267 Roxbury Street in Simi Valley, the Freeling family—Steve (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), and their three children Dana (Dominique Dunne), Robbie (Oliver Robins), and Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke)—become the unwilling hosts of a relentless haunting.

Welcome back to the spectral world of Poltergeist, produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Warner Bros. has unleashed the film in dazzling 4K Ultra HD. Its production may be surrounded by urban legends and eerie stories, but none of that diminishes the film’s enduring power.

For many horror fans, Poltergeist was the first film to truly terrify us: chairs sliding across the kitchen floor, a clown doll springing to life, skeletal tree branches clawing at a child, and a little girl forever altered by her brush with the supernatural.

It all begins with Carol Anne’s innocent late‑night chat with the family’s television, glowing with static after sign‑off. Horror hounds will remember those nights—when the broadcast ended, the screen hissed, and bedtime meant the Boogeyman might be waiting. Carol Anne doesn’t heed the warning, and soon the family is besieged by escalating poltergeist activity.

The terror peaks when Carol Anne vanishes inside her own home, pulled through a portal in her closet while her brother Robbie is attacked by the monstrous tree outside. Hooper’s direction, guided by Spielberg’s steady hand, makes the surreal chaos chillingly believable.

Enter parapsychologist Dr. Martha Lesh (Beatrice Straight) and her team, including the unforgettable medium Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein). Tangina’s plea to the spirits—“All are welcome. Go into the Light. There is peace and serenity in the Light.”—remains one of horror cinema’s most iconic moments.

Poltergeist changed the game for haunted‑house stories. With unforgettable lines (“Let’s go get your daughter!” and “You only moved the headstones!”), practical effects that still spark debate (real skeletons, anyone?), and groundbreaking visuals, it carved its own legacy. Though sequels and a lackluster 2015 remake followed, the original stands alone as a masterpiece of supernatural terror.

This 4K release isn’t just a restoration—it’s a resurrection. Pure magic, forty years later.

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray - The Film Vault Special Edition with Steelbook (Limited/Numbered)

Home Video Distributor: Warner Bros. - Film Vault Range
Available on Blu-ray - September 17, 2025
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH; French; German SDH; Italian SDH; Spanish; Danish; Dutch; Finnish; Norwegian; Swedish
Video: DTS‑HD Master Audio 5.1
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0; French: Dolby Digital 2.0; )German: Dolby Digital 2.0; Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0; Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0; Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A

"They're here." At first, the ghosts haunting the Freelings' new home seem playful, rearranging furniture and interfering with their TV reception. Then, little Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) is abducted into their netherworld, and her parents (Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams) fear they may have lost their child to specters with more malevolent intentions. Produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper; Zelda Rubenstein, Beatrice Straight co-star.

VIDEO

The 40th anniversary 4K Ultra HD release of Poltergeist is nothing short of a revelation, breathing new life into Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper’s haunted suburban nightmare with crisp detail, vibrant color, and a clarity that makes every spectral scare hit harder than ever; from Carol Anne’s chilling “They’re here” to the infamous clown attack and Tangina’s unforgettable plea to the spirits, the film’s practical effects, eerie atmosphere, and iconic performances shine brighter than they did in 1982, reminding us why this supernatural classic remains one of the most influential horror films of all time.

AUDIO

For horror fans revisiting Poltergeist in its 40th anniversary 4K release, the audio mix is just as important as the visuals, and Warner Brothers delivers with a DTS‑HD Master Audio 5.1 track that surrounds you in spectral chaos—chairs scraping, trees clawing, and Tangina’s voice echoing with eerie clarity. Dialogue is crisp, effects are balanced, and the low‑end rumble adds weight to every scare. A stereo option is included, but the 5.1 mix is where the film truly comes alive, preserving the atmosphere that made this suburban nightmare unforgettable. It’s not Atmos, but it doesn’t need to be—the sound design remains powerful, immersive, and faithful to the original experience

Supplements:

Commentary:

• For the Film Vault SteelBook 4K release of Poltergeist, there’s no new commentary track included. The disc ports over the same archival extras from earlier Blu‑ray editions—featurettes, trailers, and production notes—but Spielberg, Hooper, or cast/crew commentary is absent. That’s been a long‑standing frustration for fans, since a fresh retrospective or director’s commentary could have added real depth to this anniversary edition.

Special Features:

So here’s the deal: the Film Vault SteelBook release of Poltergeist looks gorgeous sitting on your shelf, but don’t expect it to suddenly cough up a treasure trove of new extras. The disc’s special features are basically the same old ghost stories dragged out from past editions—featurettes, trailers, production notes—nothing fresh, nothing spooky. The real ‘special feature’ here is the shiny SteelBook artwork and the collector’s box that screams, ‘Please display me so your friends know you have taste.’ Sure, it’s stylish, but if you were hoping for Spielberg to pop out with a new commentary track, sorry, you only moved the headstones.

• Vintage Featurettes – archival behind‑the‑scenes looks at the making of Poltergeist
• Documentary Segments – short retrospectives on the film’s production and legacy
• Original Theatrical Trailer – restored promotional material from the 1982 release
• Production Notes & Galleries – stills, artwork, and promotional images
• Film Vault Packaging Extras – exclusive SteelBook artwork by Matt Ferguson, collector’s box, and memorabilia items (postcards, art cards, and numbered certificate)

	Movie
	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: PG.
Runtime: 114 mins
Director: Tobe Hooper
Writer: Steven Spielberg; Michael Grais; Mark Victor
Cast: JoBeth Williams; Heather O'Rourke; Craig T. Nelson
Genre: Horror
Tagline: From a dimension beyond the living, a terror to scare you to death.
Memorable Movie Quote: "They're here."
Theatrical Distributor: MGM/UA Entertainment Company
Official Site:
Release Date: June 4, 1982
Synopsis: A typical family in a quiet suburb of a normal California faces a frightening ordeal when its home is invaded by a Poltergeist. Late one night, 10-year-old Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O'Rourke) hears a voice coming from inside the television set ... At first, the spirits that invade the Freeling's home seem like playful children. But then they turn angry. And when Carol Anne is pulled from this world into another, Steve and Diane Freeling (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams--In the Land of Women) turn to an exorcist (Zelda Rubinstein) in this horror classic from director Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre films) and producer and screenwriter Steven Spielberg.