Poltergeist III (1988)

Director:

Gary Sherman

Writers:

Gary Sherman (writer)
Brian Taggert (writer)

Release Date:

10 June 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

He's found her.

Plot:

Carol Anne is staying with her aunt in a highrise building, and the supernatural forces that have haunted her previously follow her there.

Plot Keywords:

Building | Supernatural | Good Versus Evil | Psychologist | Surrealism

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Tom Skerritt	...	Bruce Gardner
Nancy Allen	...	Patricia Wilson-Gardner
Heather O'Rourke	...	Carol Anne Freeling
Zelda Rubinstein	...	Tangina Barrons
Lara Flynn Boyle	...	Donna Gardner
Kipley Wentz	...	Scott (as Kip Wentz)
Richard Fire	...	Dr. Seaton
Nathan Davis	...	Reverend Henry Kane
Roger May	...	Burt
Paul Graham	...	Martin Moyer
Meg Weldon	...	Sandy
Stacy Gilchrist	...	Melissa
Joey Garfield	...	Jeff
Christian Murphy	...	Dusty (as Chris Murphy)
Roy Hytower	...	Nathan

Also Known As:

Poltergeist III: The Final Chapter (Australia)
Poltergeist III: We're Back (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Germany:16 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | USA:PG-13 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (edited for re-rating) | USA:PG (original rating) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Following the death of Heather O'Rourke in February of 1988 after she finished her work on the film (April-June 1987), it was the decision of director Gary Sherman to temporarily shelve the project during its post-production phase. However, due to the amount of money that had already been spent, MGM insisted that the film be finished and released as scheduled for June of 1988 or they would find someone else to do it. Apparently, after the film was given a PG rating by the MPAA in November 1987, the studio had already decided to have Sherman re-shoot the ending with more graphic scenes, in order to "up" the rating to PG-13. Planning for this re-shoot began in December 1987 and continued into January 1988, but was temporarily put on hold when O'Rourke died Feb. 1. The re-shoot (which used a stand-in for Heather) eventually took place in March, and the film was then "re-edited" and given a PG-13 by the MPAA in April 1988. Director Sherman would later claim that no such "re-shoot" took place, instead insisting that Heather died before they could film the "original ending" and that the current ending using the body double was what they hastily threw together when forced to "finish" the film by MGM. However, he is contradicted by at least six other people who also worked on the film who confirmed that the original ending was in fact filmed before Heather died and that the re-shoot of the ending took place after her passing. These people include producer Barry Bernardi, actor Kipley Wentz, assistant editor Jeanne Bonansinga, composer Joe Renzetti, special effects makeup artist Doug Drexler and the man who provided the voice for the Rev. Kane, Corey Burton.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the end sequence, you can see that one of the mirrors is faked, by having cables run floor to ceiling to simulate the seams. One of the actors bumps in the cable and you can see it vibrate.

Quotes:

Pat Gardner: You look great! Now remember, LESS IS MORE!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Moonlighting: Poltergeist III - Dipesto Nothing (#3.10)" (1987)

Soundtrack:

NIGHT RIDER

This series is worn out by now

Although "Poltergeist II" wasn't a box office smash, MGM still decided to make another entry - possibly because then MGM was considered the last stop in Hollywood by producers wanting to make feature films (and still is to a degree), and MGM then *really* needed the money (and still does to a degree). The end results really look like a token effort made to make a quick buck. Despite the luxury high-rise setting, much of the movie looks somewhat impoverished. There are a few good special effects (I saw a TV program that revealed that many of them were actually all done on set, instead of being added to the movie after principle shooting), but there are some shabby effects as well (specifically the "ice" effects seen several times in the movie.) The script contains a number of unanswered questions, more if you haven't seen any of the previous movies. The cast (especially the male actors) all seem to be phoning it in, showing their feeling to the entire enterprise. MGM put this out on DVD with part II, probably because they thought (correctly) that no one would buy part III on its own.