ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - June 10th
"POLTERGEIST III" released in 1998
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Having been sent to live with her uncle Bruce Gardener, his wife Pat and cousin Donna (Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen and Lara Flynn Boyle) in their luxury penthouse in Chicago, Carol Anne is having a difficult time adjusting after her two previous experiences. Encourged to talk about it by her teacher/psychiatrist, Dr. Seaton (Richard Fire) - who is highly suspicious of Carol Anne's story - the constant discussion has enabled Rev. Kane to find her. Also during this period, Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein) realizes that Kane has found Carol Anne and travels cross-country to protect her. Will he finally achieve his target and capture Carol Anne again, or will Tangina be able to, yet again, thwart him?
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The returning cast of O'Rourke and Rubinstein are joined by series newcomers Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen, and, in her film debut, Lara Flynn Boyle. The film also co-stars Richard Fire, Kipley Wentz (as Donna's doomed boyfriend) and replacing Julian Beck in the role of the evil Rev. Kane, is Nathan Davis.
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Director Gary Sherman thought the idea of the city setting would be just as scary as isolated suburbia, years later stating he felt that "there are people on the other side of the wall, and no one cares that you are in trouble". The gimmick of Kane possessing the mirrored surfaces in the building corridors and the apartment posed quite a problem for cinematographer Alex Nepomniaschy, as well as the huge amounts of practical effects performed on set. One such scene, where the cars chase Patricia and Bruce, the car's explosion set the entire set on fire, almost taking a crew member and the few cameras he was rescuing. Arriving the next day, O'Rourke was relieved no one was hurt before asking "Did you get the shot?"
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Although the third film in a successful series to that date, Poltergeist III had the lowest budget, at $10.5 million. Some have reported that the reduced budget meant the filmmaker's were unable to afford the services of Jerry Goldsmith, who had scored the first two films; Goldsmith tells a different story - 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.
Then, four months before the release, tragedy struck as Heather O'Rourke suddenly passed away, barely a month after her 12th birthday. Having been ill for several months with what was misdiagnosed as Crohn's disease, O'Rourke subsequently underwent medical treatment during parts of the filming. having completed filming, she returned home to California where her illness appeared to be in remission. However, in late January 1988, O'Rourke suddenly became ill again, her condition rapidly deteriorated, and she died on February 1, 1988. Out of respect, director Sherman initially refused to attempt any reshoots that might have involved the young actress, but, due to studio pressure, reshot some sequences using a body double stand-in in March, 1988.
Upon its release in 1988, Poltergeist III received extremely negative reviews from critics, famed Chicago film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert hated the film; they were both annoyed by the film's excessive use of a certain screenwriting strategy of characters crying out each other's names almost all the time; particularly the character of Carol Anne whose name is spoken a total of 121 times! MGM, out of fear of appearing to be exploiting the death of O'Rourke, Skerritt and Allen were discouraged from giving interviews about the film to avoid questions about the young stars passing.
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All was not ended with Poltergeist III. Over the following years there has been a TV series, Poltergeist: The Legacy (1996) that ran on ShowtimeSci-Fi channel for four seasons. Zelda Rubinstein herself had a guest appearance, albeit as a different character. Then in 2015, the remake Poltergeist was released to reboot the series, starring Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Kennedi Clements, playing the young Bowen daughter. The remake also received average reviews, putting the possibility of future Poltergeist movies in doubt.
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE: 18%
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