ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - June 10th
"POLTERGEIST III" released in 1988
The deceased, insane preacher Rev. Henry Kane (played this time by Nathan Davis) returns from limbo with his "people" to again haunt the young Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O'Rourke), in this final installment of the Poltergeist series, Poltergeist III!
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The Freeling family has sent Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) to live with Diane's sister Pat (Nancy Allen) and her husband Bruce Gardner (Tom Skerritt) in Chicago. Carol Anne has been told she is living with her aunt and uncle temporarily to attend a unique school for gifted children with emotional problems, though Pat thinks it is because Steven and Diane just wanted Carol Anne out of their house. Pat and Bruce are unaware of the events that the Freeling family had endured in the previous two films, only noting that Steven was involved in a bad land deal. Along with Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle), Bruce's daughter from a previous marriage, they live in the luxury skyscraper (Chicago's 100-story John Hancock Center) of which Bruce is the manager. Carol Anne has been made to discuss her experiences by her teacher/psychiatrist, Dr. Seaton (Richard Fire). Seaton believes her to be delusional; however, the constant discussion has enabled the evil spirit of Rev. Henry Kane (Nathan Davis) to locate Carol Anne and bring him back from the limbo he was sent during his previous encounter with her. Not believing in ghosts, Dr. Seaton has come to the conclusion that Carol Anne is a manipulative child with the ability to perform mass hypnosis, making people believe they were attacked by ghosts. Also during this period, Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein) realizes that Kane has found Carol Anne and travels cross-country to protect her. But with the evil Kane now possessing the mirrors of the building - causing the reflections of people to act independently of their physical counterparts - will Carol Anne and Tangina be able to thwart Kane's plans once again?
TRIVIA: The returning cast of Heather O'Rourke and Zelda Rubinstein were 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.
Top: Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) now lives with her aunt Pat (Nancy Allen) and her family, husband Bruce (Tom Skerritt) and daughter Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle);
Above: Medium Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein) returns to save Carol Anne from the evil Kane!
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?"
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.
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.
TRIVIA: 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.
Top and Above: With Kane and his spirits taking possession of the mirrors, it opens a doorway between the land of the living and the realm of the dead!
Upon its release in 1988, Poltergeist III received extremely negative reviews from critics, with 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 - Ebert even noted that when he went to see the film, the audience in the theater also became annoyed at the tactic, so the audience started screaming back the names of the characters towards the screen!
All was not ended with the series after 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.
All was not ended with the series after 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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