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:

No matter where Carol Anne goes... she never goes alone.

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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

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.

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Goofs

When Carol Anne escapes the stairwell, her hair seems to defy gravity, indicating that the shot was filmed in reverse.

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Quotes

Kane: The necklace!
[Kane slaps Pat violently. She falls over Donna's desiccated body and falls again over Bruce desiccated body so Pat takes the shovel]
Kane: Give me the necklace.
Pat Gardner: No!
Kane: The necklace!
Pat Gardner: No!
[Pat chops off Kane's head and the body falls over the frozen ground while Pat looks at Kane's head and peels off until revealing a mummified skin and shouting a blood-curdling scream]
Tangina: [Kane comes back to life. He comes for Pat but suddenly Tangina appears through the mirror] Kane!

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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

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Hot Tub Time Machine/Chloe/How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Heather O'Rourke is the greatest (her best acting, IMO)

Going in a different direction from the previous two movies in the series, this one took a few chances. The high-rise, mirrors, a new Kane(sad what happened to Julian Beck), etc. I loved this movie for those reasons. Not saying I didn't enjoy the other two because those were excellent, but it seemed like there wasn't anything in there to make them considered a horror movie except for the presence of ghosts with a little bit of suspense. "Poltergeist III" contained murder, suspense, tricky camera angles and most of all, the best acting I have ever seen from Heather O'Rourke. She was so adorable in her red pajamas and I truly believe she carried the movie with up to par performances by Skeritt, Allen, Rubenstein, Fire, Flynn Boyle and Wentz. Her presence on screen while watching this movie is so magnificent and very believable. When I was little, she was my first crush and I loved her, I only found out on 6-4-2005 that she passed away and it crushed me. I say this is the best of the series and I know I am the minority, but hey, to each his own. I realize the first movie is pretty much legendary for her famous line "They're Here", but I feel the acting here is better. The way they made the concept of the mirrors work is amazing and I thought it was a great attempt a something new. I gave this movie a 9/10 because of how much I enjoyed Heather O'Rourke's performance. Check it out.