Mmmm.... Poltergeist. Christ on a stick, I love that movie. And I don't think the scene with the man's face is that bad at all. SFX technology was a lot rougher when the film was made, and they did a good job with what they had. It looked better than some of the cartoonish CGI monsters I see in movies today.
The rating system WAS a little kinder then, but Poltergeist was originally supposed to be rated R. It was changed after Spielberg and Marshall lobbied the ratings board, saying it should be PG since it contained no sex and only mild language.
The little girl died during the filming of Poltergeist III from an infection caused by intestinal blockage. (A stand-in was used for the rest of it.) A lot of other cast members died or nearly escaped death in freak accidents, which led some people to think that the series was cursed.