Not all reviews were as positive. Gene Siskel gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four, writing that the film "is very good at getting the details of suburban life right—in other words, it sets its stage beautifully—but when it comes time for the terror to begin, the whole thing is very, very silly." Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" observed that the film "looks and feels decidedly patchy, as if it had been assembled by different hands frequently working at cross purposes." Sheila Benson of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote, "In terms of simple, flat-out, roof-rattling fright, 'Poltergeist' gives full value. In terms of story, however, simple is indeed the word, and dumb might be a better one. And when so many effects are lavished on a story this frail, you have a lopsided film."