Saturday, September 12, 2015

Film: Poltergeist III

Poltergeist III (1988) is the second of two sequels to the horror film Poltergeist.
It shows the malevolent spirits following Carol Anne to the high-rise apartment building where she has been sent to live with her aunt and uncle.

This film provides examples of:

  • Idiot Ball: Dr. Seaton clearly saw poltergeist activity in the scene where a coffee cup is flung through a one-way mirror, but he continued to insist that everything was a result of Carol Anne's manipulation. This leads to a plot line where definite poltergeist activity is happening all over the place but blame continues to be put on 'manipulative' Carol Anne for being the cause of all the problems. After Dr. Seaton proposes this theory, it seems to be aunt Pat who believes it most in her attempts to place blame:
    Pat: Your daughter's upstairs, a shivering, emotional wreck. Then you run out on me to chase after that evil little brat again. Don't you understand? Don't you see what [[Carol Anne]]'s doing? It's just like Dr. Seaton said.
    Bruce: Nothing Seaton said explains what happened tonight.
  • I'm Cold... So Cold...: Lara Flynn Boyle's shower scene.
  • Parental Substitute: In this film, Carol Anne had been sent by her family to live with her aunt and uncle in a different part of the country. Her aunt, being her mom's sister, is a bit colder towards her in comparison to her uncle, who in spite of only being related to Carol Anne by marriage ironically fills this role better of the two parental substitutes.
  • Real Life Writes the Plot: Tragically, Heather O'Rourke, the girl who played Carol Anne, died unexpectedly on February 1, 1988, before post-production on the film was completed. As a result, the ending was hastily rewritten with Tangina offering herself as a sacrifice substitute to rescue the others kidnapped by Kane. A substitute actress filled in for Carol Anne, and her face is hidden from view as Tangina rescues them.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Bruce, Carol Anne, and Donna all come back safe from the Other Side, but what happened to Scott?
    • According to the actor who played Scott (Kip Wentz), he wasn't contacted by the director when reshoots were done (this was the second ending, filmed a month after Heather O'Rourke died) and he didn't find out that a new ending was shot until shortly before the film opened. The team outright admitted in the haste to reshoot they simply forgot about him.

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