Customer Reviews

Poltergeist 3 [VHS]

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

The original Poltergeist is a legendary horror film. Directed by Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), written and produced by Steven Spielberg (E.T., Jaws), a 1982 box office hit that brought horror to a "family" audience with skilled writing, sensitive acting and dazzling special effects...it was touching, flashy, terrifying and sometimes gruesome (i.e., the researcher who ripped his face off in a bloody mess, Carol Ann and her mom covered in after-birth when they return from the other side...etc.), pushing the limits of it's PG rating. The 1986 sequel, Poltergeist II: The Other Side, seemed less ambitious...nearly a half-hour shorter in length than the original, it felt a little rushed, as if it didn't want to take it's time to savor each scene, and relied on a few "flashback sequences" (which I always find distracting, not helpful). Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper did not return for the sequel, but the original's co-writers and co-producers did, as well as the entire ensemble cast (with the exception of Dominique Dunne, who died after the first film's release; as a result, the character of oldest daughter Dana is not present here and there is no explanation offered...another frustration). With all of that aside, Poltergeist II was a good film...the filmmakers obviously tried to recapture that "family" feeling once again (sometimes a little forced)...yet it seemed a little darker as well...issues of spirituality were more indepth, there was a near-rape of the JoBeth Williams character, and a hideous monster named the Vomit Creature which (be forewarned) will cause a serious gag reflex in the viewer upon it's entrance into the story. The acting again was very good across the board...the Native American aspect gave an added (and needed) influence to the story, and it was fascinating to actually "see" the Other Side (often talked about in the first film but never before seen).

In 1988, Poltergeist III was released. On the whole, it was ill-received by critics and moviegoers alike...and I think I know why. Everyone was expecting the flashy post-produced apparitions of the first two films...seamless animation and elaborate lighting effects...but that's not what this film was about. Poltergeist III took a deliberately different approach...everything you see on screen was filmed that way...there are virtually no post-production effects...this one was all optical illusions, mind-tricks, things aren't always what they seem...that sort of thing. And I just don't think people understood it...just because you don't "see" a ghost flying around doesn't mean there isn't one there, this time the poltergeist (the evil Reverend Kane) hid in mirrors and distorted images...played with people's minds and emotions, tricked them into seeing things that weren't really there...I found it clever then, and I find it clever now. This film is totally misunderstood...yes, the dialogue is stale, but only at times...and yes, the movie ended abruptly (only because actress Heather O'Rourke died during production and they had to find a way to wrap the film up as logically as possible). But O'Rourke and Zelda Rubinstein both return for the final film in the trilogy...and they are both wonderful...Heather is more mature and we were starting to see Carol Anne grow into an interesting young woman, and Zelda obviously enjoys the role of Tangina (the best character in the whole series if you ask me)...the part is larger here than the first two films (another plus), and she has some marvelous lines (making up for some of the bad ones) that she delivers with relish making her scenes the best in the film. The Evil Kane is portrayed by a different actor in this one, so they keep him in the background considerably (hoping that we don't notice?) which turns out for the best, the character is less human that way and comes across as an ominous tease floating through reflections in mirrors and water... The writing seems to cover all the bases, making references to characters who aren't present, and incorporating a clever scene where Carol Anne is being hypnotized by her therapist, recalling some of the terrifying events of the first film without actually using a "flashback" sequence...a nice touch. Also welcome is the new setting...a haunted highrise in the middle of Chicago is the farthest thing from suburbia (the locations of Poltergeist I and II), obviously another intentional devise to distance this installment from the other two films and, in a sense, tell it's own story. Poltergeist III plays more like a supernatural thriller of cat and mouse...with a psychological edge, incorporating illusion and mind games. Where the first two films were effectively flashy and loud, this one is effectively restrained and quiet...different but NOT bad. And sadly misunderstood...

Other people have called this a guilty pleasure...there's no guilt here, I truly enjoyed and continue to enjoy this film. I recommend it for only those fans of the first two movies in the series who have an open mind to a different type of ghost story.

The third installment of the Poltergeist films did not live up to initial expectations. Following up on the success of the Oscar nominated 1982 Steven SPeilberg original, Poltergeist III does not use Speilberg or Poltergeist I and II stars JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson.

Instead, Carol Anne (still portryed by Heather O' Rorke) is sent to Chicago to live with her Aunt Trish (deftly played by the multi-talented Nancy Allen of the "RoboCop" trilogy and "Dressed to Kill" fame) and her new husband and step-daughter (Tom Skerritt and Lara Flynn Boyle).

The premise is cool and effects superb. Sure, it's no the original but an enjoyable ride nonetheless.

Scences involving mirrors, reflections, ice, and heights lend an eerie feel to the film. Additionally, the return of Carol Anne's main nemasis Rev. Kane was nicely used. Furthermore, Nancy Allen is great and Skerritt and Flynn Boyle (who both went on to garner Emmy nods for they're work on the David E. Kelly series "Picket Fences"and "The Practice" do good too. CHeck it out.

MY GOD! HE'S FOUND HER... HE'S FOUND HER... - Tangina Barrons

I saw this movie at about 3 years of age. The scariest memory I've had about this movie from the first viewing at three, was seeing Donna squeeze out from the body of the psychic, Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein). I'll always remember that!

People think this film is very confusing. And I must admit in scenes it is. But, I do not mind it and neither do my friends who saw this with me for a second time a few months ago. The good thing about the confusion is that it reminds you of when you have a nightmare during the evening. You have to have a good memory to remember most of the scares, otherwise you'll fall right out of your seat.

CHART:

Acting 6/10 Story 9/10 Scares 10/10 F/X 9/10 Sets 10/10

Overall Review 10/10

Remember to watch this movie as soon as you can! The most excellent film to scare your pants off!

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.

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 [...]

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.

First of all, I will say that Poltergeist III is a pretty awful movie. There are reasons why it's so ba, but most of these were true well before production started. Jobeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson had no intention of returning, so their characters were quickly, and very superficially, reworked as Carol Ann's aunt and uncle. Lara Flynn Boyle was to replace the long-dead Dominique Dunne as 'Dana', the eldest daughter, and is simply renamed 'Donna'. Okay. Then there is the problem of two of Poltergeist II's best actors, Will Sampson (Taylor) and Julien Beck (Kane) also dying before production began. These things alone should have been enough to put this picture to rest. But no, they had to wring a few more bucks out of poor little Heather O'Rourke being chased by confused and tormented spirits.

So, what do we end up with? A film with a replica villain. Nate Davis is not nearly as effective as Julien Beck was, nor could anyone have been that they could afford. We also end up with lots of interesting but ultimately cheesy mirror FX. Gone, probably through budgetary constraints, are all the wonderful animated spirits and demons of the first two films, and instead we have half a dozen mirror tricks and far too many unconvincing frozen building effects.

As for the ending, which a lot of people seem to be confused by, it's probably best to remember that this film had to be finished without Heather O'Rourke, who died halfway through production. Many of the scenes were incomplete, being shot our of sequence, so had to be completed with doubles, which accounts for a large amount of the incohesion in the film. The ending, unfortunately, was the hardest hit. Heather isn't actually seen for most of the last 30 minutes of the film, and when the concluding battle with Kane is resolved, Tom Skerrit emerges carrying a double. We never see Heather's face again after the point where she disappears in the film. Nowadays, of course, CGI would allow them to achieve a greater recovery, as they did to a certain extent with The Crow in 1994, but, alas, Poltergeist III is what it is.

Despite all this, the film still siffers from a lousy script, completely uninspired directing. And as much as it misses the participation of so many cast and crew from the first two movies, it also lacks Jerry Goldsmith's wonderful score. Without that to keep the tone of the soundtrack consistent, this film never had a chance.

Geesh, come on... hasn't Carol-Anne been through enough already? Okay; I like the idea of the mirrors, but the movie sucks otherwise. The guy playing Cain in this one isnt even .000001% as scary as the original. While, I do admit, this installment helps cement the true rationale behind Carol-Anne's harassment, I'll have to give this flick an over all "D" for effort.

The coolest (funniest) thing about this movie is the pseudo-hip 80's dress and demeanors of the high school kids. Also, Donna from this movie is Lara Flynn-Boyle; Donna from Twin Peaks, and also that lawyer chick from The Practice. It doesn't even look like her.

I rented this film after I saw the first two Poltergeist movies, expecting more of the same. Brilliant writing, good character development, and delightful scares. Don't hope for these things or you'll be as dissapointed as I was.
In this abmismal installment, Carol Anne (played by the late Heather O'Rourke), moves in with her Aunt Trish (Nancy Allen), and her family (Tom Skerrit, and Lara Flynn Boyle) in New York. Strange things begin to happen and young clairevoyant, Carol Anne, is again tricked into helping a group of ghosts over to the "Other Side" when she's sucked through a mirror. Tangina, a medium portrayed by Zelda Rubenstien, and a psichiatrist from Carol Anne's school are called in, and the boredom begins.
The scenes with mirrors and the doubles are nicely done and a bit scary. Heather O'Rourke, Tom Skerrit, and Zelda Rubinstien are the only entertaining actors in Poltergeist 3. Some of this is because of really bad writing, which doesn't tell us why to like the rest of the characters. Another problem with this sequel is the abscence of JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson, who played Carol Anne's parents.
It is really sad to see the name Poltergeist plastered on this movie. The first one was the best horror movie of the 80's and the second was a good sequel. This film is just dismal. See the first two and stay away from this movie unless your I.Q. is about 0.4.

This rediculously pointless sequel is a very sad way to end a movie series. The 12 year old Heather O'Rourke (who died before filming ended) is too old for the part at this point and NOT so cute anymore, so the old formula doesn't work in part III.The "special effects" (or defects, as they are) were all done live as they were filming, so there is no post-production fancy ILM work here either. I guess this must've saved alot of money. Nancy Allen is a TERRIBLE actress PERIOD. The premise makes no sense because 1: The family-oriented Steven and Diane Freeling of the first films would NEVER send their daughter to live with one of their inlaws. And 2: Kane and his followers all went "into the light" at the end of part II, so this movie is just Hollywood trying too hard to dip into the well one last time and make as much money as they can out of what was never supposed to be a movie franchise to begin with. I'd say skip this one people.