Poltergeist III (1988)

Carol Anne is staying with her aunt in a high-rise building, where the supernatural forces haunting her make their return.

Director:

Gary Sherman

Writers:

Gary Sherman, Brian Taggert

Stars:

Heather O'Rourke, Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen

2 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Carol Anne has been sent to live with her Aunt and Uncle in an effort to hide her from the clutches of the ghostly Reverend Kane, but he tracks her down and terrorises her in her relatives' appartment in a tall glass building. Will he finally achieve his target and capture Carol Anne again, or will Tangina be able, yet again, to thwart him?

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Plot Keywords:

mirror | building | little girl | haunting | teenage girl | 

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Taglines:

If you remember how the Poltergeist ghouls knocked a house flat, wait till you see what they do to a Chicago skyscraper!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lara Flynn Boyle also played a character named Donna in Twin Peaks.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Tangina: Kane! Give her back her family. You don't need them. You don't need Carol Anne! I can lead you into the light. I have the KNOWLEDGE... and the POWER!

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Crazy Credits

A text in the credits reads "The character of Reverend Henry Kane was originally portrayed by Julian Beck"

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Connections

Follows Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)

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Soundtracks

Jungle Music
(uncredited)
Written by Simon Stokes and Billy Cioffi
Vocal by Simon Stokes

User Reviews

So-So End to the Trilogy

I'm a huge Poltergeist fan and I must say,I was hugely disappointed when I found out that only 2 of the main characters of the series were coming back to do this second sequel.I think this movie had the potential to be better than it was.It had an interesting plot of Carol Anne being sent to live with her aunt and uncle in Chicago,so that she could go to this school for gifted kids with mental problems,though I would suspect that Diane and Steven wanted to get Carol Anne away so they could have some semblance of a normal life,at least for awhile,the writers putting this in mostly so that they could have this in an urban setting,in a skyscraper.The most ridiculous aspect of this movie is how Dr. Seaton and Aunt Pat (Nancy Allen),must be the two dumbest characters,they still cling to the notion that all that's happening is just Carol Anne brainwashing everyone into believing that the entire building is being haunted by ghosts,no matter how many times the ghosts make it plainly clear and obvious that this isn't all in their heads. Nathan Davis is no match in comparison to the original Reverend Kane (played by Jullien Beck).Tom Skerritt plays the compassionate uncle who treats Carol Anne (the late Heather O'Rourke),like his own daughter. Apparently,Aunt Pat is not happy to have Carol Anne around,and it might have to do with some sibling rivalry she and Diane (JoBeth Williams),had growing up,though this is never explored.I think the mirror-thing was pretty innovative as well.Admittedly,having Carol Anne playing with a 'Speak-N-Spell' was rather ridiculous,being that she's supposed to be almost a teenager herself now (and so was having her wear those red, one-piece,footed blanket sleeper pajamas (Don't most of these have zippers? I've never seen button-up footsie pajamas before),though I think the writers added that so as to play to the subplot of the ghosts zapping the building out of it's heat and energy,making it freezing inside the building.Until I saw this movie,I didn't even know they make footsie pajamas that big,for preteen kids),and some of the other subplots could've used some work,or had been explored more in this film, overall this movie wasn't too bad,but admittedly,the first two movies in the series were much better,and the ending to this movie made no sense (I think they were planning a much better ending,but Heather died before they could do this,so they had to do this lame-excuse for an ending.Worst of all,what happened to Scott? Did he go to 'the light' with Tangina,Kane,and the other ghosts? Without Heather O'Rourke (whose life and career were cut tragically short),this movie would've gotten only a couple of stars from me,but because of her 8,or 9-star (out of 10), performance,I give this second sequel 5 out of 10 stars,so watch this if you may,but if you want a top-notch horror movie,look elsewhere!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 June 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Poltergeist III: We're Back

Filming Locations:

Francis W. Parker School - 330 W. Webster Ave. Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,344,308, 12 June 1988

Gross USA:

$14,114,488

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,114,488

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1