Poltergeist 3 (1988)

The building of mirrors

After recently discovering the original Poltergeist, I had to check out the sequels. But unfortunately, this one can not compare to the original, nor come even halfway to be as good as the first one.

The story to this one goes is that Carol Anne from the first movie is now living with her Aunt and her family. They think she is able to suggest and manipulate what people see, due to her shrink being a whack job himself. He is convinced that Carol Anne can make people think they see something, and suggest to another to break a mirror or something to give the impression there is a poltergeist doing it.

However, it turns out the shrink does not know best, there really is one and Carol Anne is kidnapped into the between world again, along with her cousin and her boyfriend as her Aunt and Uncle desperately search for her.

Some of the scenes in this movie are simple FX shots with split screens, but have a pretty cool look to them, but it's the whole lack of action and suspense that leave this movie feeling like it's not as good as could have been if a better script had been written for it.

I dunno about anyone else, but I really felt the ending was not what it should have been, it should have been like the original, like just when you think it's safe, all hell breaks lose again. And, I guess they did try for something like that, but it was too predictable that it was not over yet, because you kind of want it to start up again AFTER they get out of the reflection dimension. I felt disappointed when that happened and then the credits roll.

*spoiler* (don't read on from here if you havent seen this, but intend to)
I thought they should have kept the movie going, and done the next part around the two poltergeists that come into there world via the bodies of the daughter and the friend. It kind of seemed like it was done, and forgotten about, leaving me think, "well, what happened to those 2?"
However, it might be a lead way for Poltergeist 4.

Also, the thing that I think let's this movie down in ways, is it does not really seem like a poltergeist, it's more like just a ghost movie where one Ghost is trying to abduct everyone in the family. I have the feeling this might have been written as an interesting idea for a spooky movie, but then someone had the idea to customize it to make it a 3rd installment.

I say that with the reason of it not seeming all that poltergeist-y (is that a word?) and that the rest of the sub characters seem like they did not play much point in the movie, and had no real meaning to be there, almost like it was put into the script at the last minute without any real detail to any of the characters.

Overall, it's watchable, it's far from the worst movie of all time, I just think it leaves too many gaps, and a lot of things that where not explored that would help make the movie a lot better then it is. June 22, 2008

Heather O'Rourke DID Finish This Movie

There seems to be a lot of misinformation floating around about this movie and whether or not Heather O'Rourke had finished it before she died. Here are the facts:

1. Principal photography began in Chicago in April 1987 and was completed by the end of June 1987.

2. In November of 1987, the FINISHED film was given a PG rating by the MPAA.

3. In December 1987, plans were made to re-shoot the ending. Planning continued into January 1988.

4. February 1, 1988, Heather O'Rourke passed away.

5. The script pages for the planned re-shoot were re-worked, and the new ending using a body double stand in for Heather was shot during the week of March 14, 1988.

6. In April, the film was re-edited and re-submitted to the MPAA, and then given a PG-13 rating.

So, Heather DID finish this movie. It's very likely that the original ending is stashed away in the MGM archives somewhere. For more details, visit [...]
March 3, 2007

One of the best final chapters

P3 was one of my favorite movies. Sadly, Heater O' Rourke died b4 they were finished filming. This film is dedicated to her memory. It was sad to see a 13 year old actor die. Own this final chapter and prepare to be scared October 22, 2005

The final film of Heather O'Rourke.

JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson and Oliver Robins do not appear in this film.
Heather O'Rourke and Zelda Rubinstein do return as this poltergeist story goes off into a different direction.
Carol Anne (now 12) is staying with her aunt Pat (Nancy Allen) and uncle Bruce (Tom Skerritt) in Chicago for a while. They live in a penthouse above the Galleria in this skyscraper tower (actually is the John Hancock Tower).
Carol Anne is enrolled in a school for gifted children. She has a cynical psychiatrist, Dr. Seaton (Richard Fire) that does not believe in her psychic ability, but is trying to bring her fears of 1982 and 1986 back to surface. Carol Anne has her psychiatrist all figured out and is cautious.
The unusual phenomenon has already begun inside the tower and the evil preacher, Kane (now played by Nathan Davis) is after Carol Anne again.
Not the best Poltergeist film and there is a reason for it, but it does have some great "mirror" effects.
Before this film was released, we all heard the sad news that Heather O'Rourke had unexpectedly died. The film was on a four-month hiatus. O'Rourke had a blocked intestine and it had burst. She died February 1, 1988.
So much money was put into the film that it was decided they had to finish it by re-writing the ending and using a stand-in to play "Carol Anne". The story of the movie became totally different all together due to the death of Heather O'Rouke and not being able to re-shoot scenes with her.
Nice added touch of writing was the mention of Will Sampson's character, "Taylor", having given "Tagina" the amulet. Will Sampson, who was in Poltergeist 2, passed away June 3, 1987.
Also in the cast: Lara Flynn Boyle, Kip Wentz, Joey Garfield, Catherine Gatz.
Due to the death of Heather O'Rourke, they never made another Poltergeist movie, however their was the Showtime tv series, POLTERGEIST: THE LEGACY (1996-1999).

***Update: August 21, 2008, MGM has decided to go ahead with their plans for a "POLTERGEIST" remake. The scriptwriting is continuing. The film could be released in 2010. June 10, 2005

Third Time Is Mediocre

Since POLTERGEIST was a masterpiece, and POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE was merely serviceable, what does that make POLTERGEIST III then? Unfortunately, the answer is, in a word, Mediocre.

Heather O'Rourke, who died shortly after this film was released, returns as the clairvoyant Carol Anne Freleng, who is still haunted by the Cuesta Verde spirits, including the Reverend Kane (Nathan Davis, taking over for Julian Beck, who had the role in POLTERGEIST II). This time, she is at the mercy of the evil Kane in a high-rise where she now lives with her aunt (Nancy Allen), uncle (Tom Skerritt), and their daughter (Lara Flynn Boyle). Once again, she has to rely on her own resources and those of the one and only Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein, making her appearance here one of the film's few real pleasures).

With this third film, if not in the second, the POLTERGEIST story degenerated into tired and tiresome Hollywood exploitation. Minus the genius of co-producer/co-writer Steven Spielberg, Carol Anne's story really has no place to go. Both O'Rourke and Rubinstein are, not surprisingly, quite good given the mediocre screenplay handed them by Brian Taggert and director Gary Sherman (RAW MEAT). Sadly, however, the film lacks the warm family structure that Jobeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson provided her; and in their place are Skerritt, Allen, and Boyle, who, though extremely capable actors, play truly unsympathetic characters who regard Carol Anne as an abberation in their lives. Without the sympathetic family, plus Jerry Goldsmith's music scoring genius, POLTERGEIST III is a film with almost nothing left in the tank. April 13, 2005

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