Movies - TV
50 Takes Of Crawling On The Ceiling Left Poltergeist's JoBeth Williams Bleeding
By MATT RAINIS
"Poltergeist" is an absolute classic of the horror genre and even managed to scare the cast while filming, the true test of how terrifying a horror movie is. This included a scene where Diane Freeling, played by JoBeth Williams, is thrown onto the ceiling and thrashed around by the titular poltergeist.
According to Williams, the scene required somewhere near 50 takes — and repeatedly being jerked around on a ceiling resulted in Williams getting bruised and bloodied. The scene was filmed on a massive gimbal, designed to look like a replica of the bedroom, where Williams would then roll around on the "walls" and "ceiling.”
“What they didn't say was that I'd be doing 50 takes of it, and by the end, my elbows and knees were bleeding," said Williams. Despite the injuries sustained, Williams still says "Poltergeist" is one of the films she's proudest of working on.