Poltergeist III: O Capítulo Final

There are actually some good things about the maligned POLTERGEIST III including a capable director; a cool, ominous soundtrack; and a decent rudimentary story-line that makes the build-up... of the iconic little blonde girl Carol Anne now living in a glass-structured Chicago high-rise with her aunt and uncle... work for and against itself since, as the movie progresses into manic delirium, it's more of a letdown than a horrible experience from start to finish...

By the technically-important forty-five minute mark (the same time it takes KING KONG to reveal himself), a lot has happened, and it's somewhat interesting. Aunt and Uncle, who also work for the building they reside in, are at a downstairs party full of spooky-looking art pieces; the cute teenage daughter sneaked herself and her friends into the building's off-grounds swimming pool for a beer party; the late Heather O'Rourke's Carol Anne just started to get really scared of the impending ghosts... And that last example - important and inevitable as it is - is also the problem...

Imagine having difficult yet challenging obstacles to cross and climb to get across half a field to then merely/simply run like hell to the other side. POLTERGEIST III goes from intriguing and suspenseful to a redundant and annoying chase scene between the family and the ghosts, led by an ancient, white-haired Reverend Kane...

Which is even more blasphemous to the flawed yet entertaining POLTERGEIST II, by having another actor deliberately made-up to resemble the late great Julian Beck, than the new guy's voice shouting "We're Back!" to counter Carol Anne's legendary "We're Here" from the classic and timeless original. But there's another pro to this 80% con of a sequel's sequel: Heather O'Rourke, who died not long after production wrapped (that shows with overly puffy facial features) turns in a pretty great performance, having to mentally react to what she remembers as opposed to what's actually happening: the latter being more exciting to the viewer and easier for the actor: especially a really young child actor, who's often deliberately manipulated for a more effective performance...

This occurs at a school for "really smart" children, another initial location with wasted potential that includes a shrink-in-denial played by Richard Kind, wielding a novice style of contrived, atrocious delivery that makes bad horror movies so fun to bag on...

Whether that aspect was intentional or not, Kind's phony-kind Dr. Seaton is the real villain here, and even he's lost in the frenzied shuffle (along with a glorified cameo by the Columbo of ghost whisperers, Zelda Rubinstein's Tangina) where the otherwise talented VICE SQUAD and DEAD & BURIED director Gary Sherman is overcome within an ominous, neat-looking corner of purgatory that, with so much going on, he and the cast couldn't possibly paint their way out of.

"Poltergeist III" has to be one of the strangest movies I have ever seen. It is very confusing, but it is one of those films that you need to know the ending. Okay, I'll just go over the things good and bad and ugly with the movie. First, the good aspects of the film: None. No, actually I can think of a couple. Some of the F/X were well-thought out and some of the mirror scenes were creative. Also, the acting of 12-year old Heather O'Rourke failed to disappoint as she seemed to become better as she got older. It is a shame to both Hollywood and her family & friends that she died. Now, the bad: Let's just do a list, shall we? The acting of the adults was bad, the plot was confusing, the ending seemed like it was just cut short, and it's hard to think of more other than the acting of Lara Flynn Boyle was absolutely pitiful I might add. I wonder why she isn't a big star...and the ugly- one word (or two): Marcie (ewwww.).

My rating: 4.8 out of 10. (But don't let that spoil the other two films- "Poltergeist" is amazing, and the sequel is at least respectable and well-acted.)

I'm a huge Poltergeist fan and I must say,I was hugely disappointed when I found out that only 2 of the main characters of the series were coming back to do this second sequel.I think this movie had the potential to be better than it was.It had an interesting plot of Carol Anne being sent to live with her aunt and uncle in Chicago,so that she could go to this school for gifted kids with mental problems,though I would suspect that Diane and Steven wanted to get Carol Anne away so they could have some semblance of a normal life,at least for awhile,the writers putting this in mostly so that they could have this in an urban setting,in a skyscraper.The most ridiculous aspect of this movie is how Dr. Seaton and Aunt Pat (Nancy Allen),must be the two dumbest characters,they still cling to the notion that all that's happening is just Carol Anne brainwashing everyone into believing that the entire building is being haunted by ghosts,no matter how many times the ghosts make it plainly clear and obvious that this isn't all in their heads. Nathan Davis is no match in comparison to the original Reverend Kane (played by Jullien Beck).Tom Skerritt plays the compassionate uncle who treats Carol Anne (the late Heather O'Rourke),like his own daughter. Apparently,Aunt Pat is not happy to have Carol Anne around,and it might have to do with some sibling rivalry she and Diane (JoBeth Williams),had growing up,though this is never explored.I think the mirror-thing was pretty innovative as well.Admittedly,having Carol Anne playing with a 'Speak-N-Spell' was rather ridiculous,being that she's supposed to be almost a teenager herself now (and so was having her wear those red, one-piece,footed blanket sleeper pajamas (Don't most of these have zippers? I've never seen button-up footsie pajamas before),though I think the writers added that so as to play to the subplot of the ghosts zapping the building out of it's heat and energy,making it freezing inside the building.Until I saw this movie,I didn't even know they make footsie pajamas that big,for preteen kids),and some of the other subplots could've used some work,or had been explored more in this film, overall this movie wasn't too bad,but admittedly,the first two movies in the series were much better,and the ending to this movie made no sense (I think they were planning a much better ending,but Heather died before they could do this,so they had to do this lame-excuse for an ending.Worst of all,what happened to Scott? Did he go to 'the light' with Tangina,Kane,and the other ghosts? Without Heather O'Rourke (whose life and career were cut tragically short),this movie would've gotten only a couple of stars from me,but because of her 8,or 9-star (out of 10), performance,I give this second sequel 5 out of 10 stars,so watch this if you may,but if you want a top-notch horror movie,look elsewhere!

The first POLTERGEIST is still the best haunted house film in history(In my opinion.), but this 2nd and final(?)sequel comes in at a close 2nd. Carol Anne stays with some relatives(Tom Skeritt, Nancy Allen, and Lara Flynn Boyle.)in a Chicago highrise to go to a special school for gifted children. Suddenly the evil Reverend Kane and his army of ghosts from the first two films show up to make life Hell for the residents of the highrise. Exciting, suspenseful, great story, acting, and music score. ***** out of *****. R.I.P. Heather O'rourke.

If you want to see how many times someone can yell "Carol Anne!" in 90 minutes, I guess you'd be into this. I think they set a world record for how many times the main character's name is mentioned throughout the movie.

The plot is standard sequel stuff: Carol Anne, the little girl plagued by paranormal phenomena in the first two movies, now stays with her bitchy aunt and her husband and daughter in a huge Chicago high rise building. Unfortunately for everyone, some prick counselor at her new school has been putting her under hypnosis to deal with the events of her past (he believes she has the power to produce mass hallucinations and is a manipulative liar despite witnessing paranormal activity in her presence--smart man). This therapy apparently opens her up and leaves her vulnerable to Kane, the preacher that wants her to lead them to the other side. Kane shows up in mirrors and other reflective surfaces (like puddles) and uses them to attack.

I've never seen so many mirrors in one movie. Even Carol Anne's bedroom walls are just big mirrors (I guess she hasn't hit that self-conscious stage yet). The hallways are mirrored. The elevators--mirrored. The poor girl has to go to the parking garage just to get away from all of the damn mirrors and it still doesn't end well for her.

There is some mildly entertaining subplot involving Lara Flynn Boyle's character, Donna, and her love interest with really bad '80s hair sneaking their friends into the building's pool after-hours. If you enjoy watching bad '80s fashion, you'll love these guys.

Once Kane starts to attack, Tangina, the short lady with the grating voice, comes back to help Carol Anne and her new family.

The movie manages to be pretty creepy by utilizing its inspired location--the building is often genuinely menacing. The mirror effects make up for some pretty corny dialogue and the characters' tendency to yell "Carol Anne!" every other minute.

Could have been much better if the script was worked on, but as-is, it's just a formulaic sequel with some average acting. Entertaining enough for a watch if you're not expecting anything close to the original.