She Was Here pays tribute to Poltergeist star Heather O’Rourke
I’ve wanted to catch Nick Bailey’s documentary She Was Here — listed as Heather O’Rourke: She Was Here on some streaming platforms — for a few months now. If you didn’t catch it earlier this year, you can watch the entire documentary for free on Tubi. And you definitely should check it out, whether or not you’re a fan of the Poltergeist series.
The story of Heather O’Rourke is an innately unsettling and tragic one. Yet it’s a sad story that’s only gotten sadder over the years because of its co-option by people with horrific intentions. For years, people have exploited Heather’s death as some sort of supernatural warning — i.e., conclusive “proof” that the entire Poltergeist series is cursed by some set of metaphysical means. That’s actually the least offensive of the endless parade of hysterically false conspiracy theories surrounding the actress’ untimely death. Corresponding with the rise of MAGA, a large group of horrible people on the internet allege that Heather’s death was the result of some non-existent sex cult sacrifice … to the point some sorry sacks of shit, sans any evidence whatsoever, claim that she was murdered by Steven Spielberg.
You can see the overarching themes that make She Was Here such a difficult film to watch. It’s a movie about a family that can’t even grieve over a loss without sociopaths spitting on Heather’s grave and turning her death into a false “gotcha” for their insane political beliefs. It should be a cautionary tale about overworking children in the film industry and an even more damning indictment of the health care industry — whose unconscionable misdiagnosis of Heather’s disease directly led to her death when she was just 12 years old. But no, here we are, almost 40 years later, and assholes are still insulting her needless death as the residual effects of demons and cults.
A documentary like She Was Here is a difficult film to make. There’s not much “new” information here, but that’s beside the point. It isn’t a film about her all-too-brief life and acting career, it’s about the impact she made on those around her. It’s, first and foremost, a film about a grieving mother and a family that knows it will never get the answers it seeks. It’s a movie about people unable to find closure who have to make do with what they have. Even though you know how the story plays out, the impact is still heartbreaking, in so many different ways.
It’s not really a film about the Poltergeist franchise. Of course, it’s a big part of the narrative, but it’s not front and center like you might expect from a film of the like. You get a few comments from Craig T. Nelson and Nancy Allen, who co-starred with Heather in the series, but there’s not a lot of behind the scenes talk. Most of the talking heads, save Heather’s surviving friends and family, seem a bit hesitant and reluctant to reflect on their time working with O’Rourke. You can tell that decades down the line, they’re still having a hard time processing the loss.
There’s a lot of archival footage here, which make sense, considering so many people involved with the Poltergeist franchise have since died. There are a lot of newly recorded interviews, though, including some poignant statements form Poltergeist III director Gary Sherman. There’s one section in particular where JoBeth Williams recounts working with Heather and it’s absolutely gut-wrenching stuff. If this movie doesn’t make you cry, you’re devoid of anything that makes you human.
There actually is a pretty good amount of footage filmed by Heather herself, who even at 10 years old aspired to be a feature film director. You get the sense that not only would she have made it, she probably would’ve been an industry leader in the process. There’s an alternate reality somewhere where Heather, now in her 40s, is walking across the stage to accept an Oscar. Virtually everybody interviewed in the film feels that way — we weren’t just robbed of an incredible child actor, we were robbed of someone who was born to do a lot of good in the film business.
It’s a bit hard to gauge how horror fans will react to this movie. It’s not really about the realm of horror media, even if it is about the star of one of the biggest genre series of the 1980s. Nor is it necessarily a film about filmmaking in the abstract — it’s much more the story of a young girl who tried to live a normal life, when it was pretty much determined from the outset that she wouldn’t and couldn’t. You get the sense that Heather was an unbelievably driven person and that in some ways, it probably led to her early death. She never complained, she always fought through her chronic health conditions, she never put herself first. There’s tragedy on top of tragedy in She Was Here, and by the time it’s over you’re going to really be in a down mood.
As depressing and demoralizing as She Was Here may be, I still contend that it’s very much worth seeing. It’s an excellent character portrait that digs deep into the psyche of a person who was wise beyond her years. There’s so much great side material from her school friends and extended family that you can’t help but smile from time to time, knowing just how much Heather meant to them. It’s difficult and distressing, but it’s a story that’s worth hearing. So many filmmakers would’ve made She Was Here about Heather’s death, explicitly. Thankfully, Bailey chooses to focus on O’Rourke’s life, as short as it was, and how it’s still resonating and radiating through the people she loved and cared about decades later.
She Was Here, simply put, is one of the best movies of 2026. And genre fans should definitely give it a look even if it isn’t their usual bag — it’s about as moving a film as you’ll see, fact or fiction, this year.
