Poltergeist is a 1980s classic produced by Hollywood titan Steven Spielberg, but that doesn’t mean it was exempt from the whims of Pizza Hut. As far as 1980s horror movies go, Poltergeist is unquestionably one of the greatest, and endures as a great film nearly 40 years after its original release. Its success isn’t easy to duplicate either, as both sequels came up short of the original’s acclaim, and the 2015 remake came and went with so little fanfare that many seem to have forgotten it ever happened.
While the film is often said to have been the target of a curse, that certainly hasn’t extended to people getting sick of watching it. Conversely, while they obviously still exist today, Pizza Hut arguably hit its peak of cultural popularity in the 1980s. Its advertising was everywhere, and it became a true household name. Its battles with competing chain Domino’s are also a clear memory for most who lived through the flashy decade.
Poltergeist and Pizza Hut might at first seem to not have much in common, but it turns out they directly intersected during Poltergeist‘s post-production. Unfortunately, the movie and restaurant brand didn’t meet on friendly terms, leading Pizza Hut to extend a personal pan punching toward Poltergeist.
Why Pizza Hut Forced Poltergeist to Edit a Scene
At around 34 minutes into Poltergeist, Diane Freeling is explaining to husband Steven about the odd but exciting phenomena happening in their kitchen. She’s cut off in mid-sentence, and a jarring jump cut edit sees Steven and Diane now on their neighbor’s front porch talking to him, again, mid-sentence. It’s extremely awkward, and especially so since a giant like Spielberg produced the film. However, there’s actually a logical explanation for the cut, albeit one that’s a bit laughable.
Shortly before the cut happened, Carol Anne had remarked about her mom not making dinner, and Diane said they would just get Pizza Hut. In the original cut of the film, Steven responds with a groan and says “I hate Pizza Hut.” Late in the game, as in after the movie had locked picture and gone to print for distribution, Pizza Hut found out, and complained to MGM, leading the exchange to be removed. What makes much less sense is why several additional surrounding lines were chopped that had nothing to do with Pizza Hut.
Some fans claim they remember once seeing a cut of Poltergeist with the full Pizza Hut dialogue included, but that appears to possibly be a case of the Mandela Effect, as most reports say the scene was axed before the film debuted in theaters. At the very least, no prints of that version are reported to exist currently, and every home video version dating back to the VHS days has the same awkward jump cut.
