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 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

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:

Guess who's back in town.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

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, 10 June 1988

Gross USA:

$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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although there was an internet rumor that Jerry Goldsmith was originally contracted to score this film but quit due to budget cuts (and then supposedly used his "unused" P3 score later in The Haunting (1999)), this rumor is untrue. Goldsmith was unhappy with the results of Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) and did not have an interest in doing the third film. Also, it's clear that MGM did not want to spend the extra money they knew it would cost to hire Goldsmith, considering that "Poltergeist III" was being made on a lower budget than the last film. Ultimately, "Poltergeist III" was scored by Joe Renzetti, who director Gary Sherman recommended, having worked with Renzetti previously on his other low-budget movies.

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Goofs

When Doctor Seaton is hypnotizing Carol Anne, he puts his hand on her face to calm her down. When she does, her head slants. In the next shot of her, her head is dead centered.

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Quotes

Scott: The Puddle! *The puddle*!

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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

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Independence Day (1983) (2016)

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Soundtracks

JUNGLE MUSIC
(uncredited)
Written by Simon Stokes and BILLY CIOFFI
Vocal by Simon Stokes

User Reviews

Overall Disappointing Sequel

Poltergeist III was overall disappointing sequel which is nothing new! The third ghost film has Carol Anne living with her uncle and aunt in a skyscraper apartment building of some sort and now goes to a private school for "gifted" children and has a bald headed psychiatrist who can really test your nerves. OK! Whats up with the obsession with the mirrors in this one! It's an original idea but the villain known as Kane (introduced in the better sequel) gets on your nerves also as he keeps calling Carol Anne's name over and over and over. That's not spooky that's stupid and annoying. The thing with this one is that it resorts too much to the 80' slasher cliches; gore, violent disgusting images, teenagers acting like fools getting into trouble, and very lame dialogue! The first two lacked these qualities which made them good! They avoided the cliches while still being entertaining. This one is about half as entertaining as the first (don't get me wrong! it is entertaining at times but not enough!) and the ending is rushed and pointless. Check out the critics' slamed reviews and the failing box office numbers. You'll see what I mean! 4 out of 10 I'm being a little generous!