Poltergeist III

Director - Gary Sherman (Raw Meat, Dead & Buried)
Starring - Tom Skerritt (Alien, Ted), Nancy Allen (Robocop, Carrie), and Heather O'Rourke (Rocky Road, Our House)
Release Date - 1988
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Guess who's back in town"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Here we are, the film in the Poltergeist series that I was not looking forward to reviewing.  As I stated earlier, Poltergeist was a childhood favorite of mine growing up.  I absolutely loved it and still do.  Thought I can't call it one of my favorite horror films I still enjoy it and respect it.  After watching it's sequel, Poltergeist II: The Other Side, I can safely say that I loved that film as well.  Especially the character of Kane.  He truly gave me chills.  I had never seen Poltergeist II before Scream Factory sent the blu my way but I can't say the same for the third film in the series, Poltergeist III.  I had seen about 20 minutes of the film when I was younger flipping through the channels at my grandmother's house.  I wasn't feeling it and found something else to watch.  Scream Factory was kind enough to send a copy my way for review so I thought I would the film another chance.  Glad I did.

     The film once again follows Carol Anne (O'Rourke) who is now staying with her Aunt Patricia (Allen) and Uncle Bruce (Skerritt) in his high rise apartment building.  Her parents did not feel safe keeping her anymore and sent her to live with them in hopes of the evil Reverend Kane never finding her.  Which he does and once again Carol Anne is faced with fighting for her life and being forced into another plane of existence.

   
     When I was younger I remember watching about 20 or 30 minutes of this film and not enjoying it at all.  Maybe it was because I was confused as to what was going on or because most of the original cast was not there.  Whatever the reason was I was unable to finish it.  With that being said, after watching it now I really do appreciate it.  It is far from perfect but it did entertain me.  The acting in this one is not on the same level as the previous two films.  Heather O'Rourke does a great job in her last performance before passing away shortly before the film premiered.  She once again killed it in her role as Carol Anne and will forever be remembered for this iconic character.  Sadly, the rest of the cast does not stand out like the previous films.  The characters are flat and the cast does not bring them to life.  Which is sad considering the character of Reverend Kane is in this film but this time portrayed by Nathan Davis after the death of Julian Beck.  His portrayal of Kane just doesn't deliver like Beck's.  The story for this one is surprisingly fun but is also full of holes.  One thing that doesn't sit well with me is how her parents send Carol Anne to stay with her aunt and uncle even though she is at risk of being nabbed by Reverend Kane at any time.  I know this was written in because JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson refused to return but it still doesn't make any fucking sense.  I really did enjoy the sky rise angle.  It put the story in a whole new setting which made it a little fun.  Finally, the film is full of the same practical and visual effects that we saw with the previous installments.  The practical effects we see are pretty impressive, on the same level as the previous films, but some of the other practical effects were not so impressive.  The same can be said about the visual effects used.  They are very dated and bring down the film even further than what it already was.  Overall, Poltergeist III is the red-headed step-child of the Poltergeist series and for good reason.  However, if you give it a chance it can still entertain if you look passed the rough edges.