POLTERGEIST (2015)

The Bowen family - Eric (Sam Rockwell), Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt), and their three kids - have just moved into a cookie cutter suburban Chicago home after Eric is laid off from his job.  It's a new (if undesired) start, made worse even before they fully move in when six-year-old Madison starts talking to something unseen and hiding in the closet, and son Griffin experiences some weird happenings in his attic bedroom that go beyond the squirrel Eric finds there.  This update of the 1982 classic employs a box full of evil clown dolls instead of just one, a male psychic investigator instead of the wonderful Zelda Rubinstein - and while you'll recognize many of the same "moments" from the first film, giving you a sense of familiarity, this is a soulless remake that has zero chemistry among the family members (possibly the biggest strength of the original), making you care very little about their plight.  A few nice moments, but they should have left well enough - and Tobe Hooper - alone. (rated PG-13)  D