You see the famous lion roar gracefully. Then you hear The Star Spangled Banner and immediately you start to have doubts about whether or not you just rented a horror movie. You know you got in the Horror section, but today’s genre standards at video stores are often quite dodgy.
But then you get an up close and personal glimpse at the television and as we pull away from the television and get a glimpse of our current location, the dark living room, as it is being attacked by the frantic flickering light. You start to realize that there’s something kind of creepy about this, and already you are starting to realize that there is something special about this movie. If a movie can make the light radiating from a television seem eerie already in the first two minutes, then it has already beaten the expectations of most assembly line horror movies these days.
The television is the first crucial element we meet in the film. We get to meet the second as we wonder around the house with the faithful golden retriever, E-Buzz, who is aimlessly scavenging for things to eat. E-Buzz is the vessel we use to discover, one by one, the Freelings, our surrogate
family for the next couple of hours, as they are far along in their nightly slumber. The first one to wake up is little Carol Anne Freeling, who we follow back to the television we saw moments ago. She begins striking up aloud conversation with the tv static, waking up the various family members, who get up and watch this strange event.
Now that we have met the family and have gotten a general overview of the house’s geography, it’s time to meet the suburban neighborhood, Cuesta Verde. We follow an unnamed character as he transports beer on his bicycle. Some pesky kids sitting on the curve decide to gang up on the man and sabotage his mission via two remote cars, which pass in front of him, causing him to crash on his bike. The man grabs what’s left of the beer and runs inside the Freelings’ household where Steve Freeling and some friends are watching a football game.
Once again, in a lesser film, we’d establish the characters through a down to earth style. We’d probably meet them at the table eating breakfast, a scene we’ll get later after we’ve already met and got to know the Freelings. But instead, the filmmakers treat the simple, early, non-horror sequences with excitement and humor, giving you the proud feeling that you are watching something fresh and not the run of the mill horror gorefest. It’s also noteworthy that we meet the Freelings years after they’ve settled into their home, which is in the middle of the ever-so-safe suburbs.
Wait a minute! Shouldn’t we be meeting the characters as they are just now purchasing the house, which is normally a spiderweb-infested scary place with loose nails, and human shaped chalk markings galore? I guess that old, victorian house was plowed over years ago to make way for new, super duper shopping center, so the Freelings had to settle for a normal, every day home. Sorry, Dr. Fankenstein, your house is now a Wal-Mart!
Right from the get-go, we get the feeling that this whole mundane setting is sort of smiling through it’s teeth, and that in all actuality, something is wrong. Carol Anne’s pet bird Tweetie (yes, it’s a yellow bird) has just died and we get to see a tender little funeral for Tweetie. As this occurs, we are introduced to the next antagonist, an old tree, which accepts the part as one of little Robbie Freeling’s two arch nemesises. In daylight, Robbie is not afraid to climb it, but in a nightly storm, Robbie practically soils his pants at the sight of it. With that tree, the storm, and his toy clown, we get the sense that Robbie Freeling would jump at the sign of his own shadow. But we soon learn that Robbie has a reason to fear those things.
The children end up sleeping in their parents’ bed, where we are yet again treated to the closing anthem of a daily programming’s end. This time, when the white noise pops up, we hear faint, whispering voices. Carol Anne approaches the television once again. This time, a ghostly arm creeps out of the television and shoots towards the wall causing the ground to quake, waking up the parents, to whom Carol Anne announces “They’re Here!” The next morning, Diane Freeling asks Carol Anne to clarify that statement. She tells us that it’s “the TV People” who are “here.”
When she experiences the ghouls’ antic first hand, Diane actually turns an open mind to the situation and has a bit of fun with it, before letting her husband, Steve, in on it. Steve is a bit bewildered and cautious towards the idea of chairs and little blonde girls sliding across the kitchen floor. He orders Diane not to let anybody in the kitchen for a while, but it’s too late. Another storm rolls in, and the scary tree smashes through the window, grabbing Robbie and dragging him outside. His parents rush out to save him from being digested by the wicked tree while a huge tornado is rolling past them. We soon discover that the tree is a diversion so “the TV People” can snatch Carol Anne for their own purposes. Carol Anne, along with the contents of her room, is sucked into the closet as Robbie is pulled out the tree just in time as it is sucked into the eye of the tornado, which now dissipates. The family realizes that Carol Anne is gone. While the family is searching throughout the house, it’s Robbie that soon discovers that Carol Anne is far beyond their grasp, as he hears her voice echoing from within the television! Now we realize that we are dealing with more than just our average “peek-a-BOO!” ghosts. If these guys can make trees eat you and kidnap you away to the unknown, then we are in seriously deep trouble!
