Horror Movie A Day: Poltergeist III (1988)

MAY 26, 2008

GENRE: HAUNTED HOUSE, SUPERNATURAL
SOURCE: DVD (OWN COLLECTION)

Do you like hearing the name "Carol Anne"? I hope so if you plan to watch Poltergeist III, because it is said some 118 times in the 95 minute film. Some scenes, such as the one where she is trapped in a puddle, play out with a character saying absolutely nothing but "Carol Anne!" over and over. It's almost incredible to think that no one said "Hey, maybe Lara Flynn Boyle can shut the fuck up for 5 seconds instead of saying the same name over and over."

It's a shame that the movie is overall not very good, because the first half hour is pretty great. The subtle little mirror tricks are pretty creepy; my favorite is when the mirrored reflection of Carol Anne ("Carol Anne! Carol Anne!!!") enters a bathroom and talks to Boyle before it actually occurs. And once they write the rest of the Freeling family out of the movie, our new characters are pretty easy to accept as our new protagonists (Nancy Allen looking hotter than ever doesn't hurt). Some of the cutesy attempts to humanize them are overbearing (the nonsense about Tom Skerritt's fashion sense) but hey, at least they were trying to recapture the "lived in" feel of the first film, instead of focusing squarely on effects.

The other thing the movie does right is introduce a skeptic character in the form of Dr. Seaton, who runs the school Carol Anne ("Carol Anne! Carol Anne!!!") attends and often sounds like Stephen Tobolowsky doing a Paul Bartel impression. This guy is a delightful piece of work; in addition to being an insufferable prick (which we know he is, because he scolds his wife for forgetting the cilantro), he's also the most ridiculously skeptical man on the planet. He chalks everything he sees up to mass hypnosis/suggestion, even when it doesn't make any goddamn sense (he blames a colleague for breaking a mirror after watching a ghostly hand do it when Carol Anne ("Carol Anne! Carol Anne!!!") wasn't even in the room). He also has one of my favorite lines in the series; after Tangina (the only other person, cast or crew, to have a part in all three films) rambles some of her traditional nonsense, he snorts "There's a lot of crap that doesn't mean anything!". Oh man, I want to go drink with this guy. Sadly that is impossible, because he is killed a few moments later, in the series' first non-natural death.

After that, the movie just falls apart. Heather O'Rourke's death threw a pretty big wrench in the reshooting plans, which must be why the film's climax occurs out of nowhere and has almost zero tension. The fact that you don't even see Carol Anne's ("Carol Anne! Carol Anne!!!") face in the final scene is pretty telling, not to mention a sad reminder of her passing (you'd think they'd have the decency to use the ending she had shot, even if it wasn't a masterpiece). There are also some major unanswered questions, such as what happened to the Scott character, why his evil mirror double guy rips Boyle's face off, and why Allen or Skerritt's characters never bothered to call their sister and ask "Hey what do you do when Carol Anne ("Carol Anne! Carol Anne!!!") disappears into a shaft of light?"

There are some other plot contrivances that defy any sort of sense. Scott and Boyle sneak into a security office to shut off the cameras so they can fuck around in the pool, and Scott sees a security angle of a supermarket next door to the pool, which gives him the idea to buy beer. Fine, but why would a supermarket be on the 44th floor? That seems inconvenient for both shoppers and deliverymen. Also, Carol Anne ("Carol Anne! Carol Anne!!!") is shown being teased at her school; the other kids pretend they are ghosts and such and mock her. First of all, it's a school for special kids, which means they should be on common ground when it comes to their personality quirks. Second, why would a kid make fun of a girl who claimed to see ghosts? I would think that was awesome, and talk to her all the time! They also continue the complete ignorance of the other sister in the Freeling family; when Carol Anne ("Carol Anne! Carol Anne!!!") talks about how much she misses her family, she fails to mention poor Dana.

I did see this one as a kid, but recalled almost nothing other than it was about mirrors (that, and for some reason, Scott's hysterical delivery - "In the garage. In the garage! IN THE GARA-AH-AGE!") and wasn't as good as the others. My opinion hasn't changed, though again, it's a shame the DVD is completely feature-less. Like Poltergeist II, the trailer is better quality than the film itself. For that film it was simply better effects than what was seen in the final film, here it's a different aspect ratio. The movie is 1.85:1, but the trailer is scope (2.35:1, the same ratio that the other two films was shot in). It doesn't look cut off or anything, so why they'd go to the trouble is beyond me (especially since most trailers are presented full frame or in the smaller 1.85 format - I've never seen it go the other way). Maybe someday we will get special editions of the sequels, especially since the behind the scenes drama is far more interesting than the films themselves (moreso in this one's case).

In closing... "Carol Anne! Carol Anne!!!"

What say you?

Poltergeist II (1986)

The malevolent ghost that attacked the Freeling family in the first film, dubbed the Beast, is discovered to be the Reverend Henry Kane (Julian Beck), a preacher and medium that led his religious sect to California in the early 1800s to start a utopian society, but they disappeared near Questa Verde, believed to have all been killed by Indians. Diane (JoBeth Williams), who turns out to be clairvoyant like her mother Jess (Geraldine Fitzgerald) and Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke), figures out through her clairvoyance, on Tangina's (Zelda Rubenstein) encouragement, the fate that befell them all.
It turns out Kane, who was power hungry and wanted to control the souls of his followers in life and in death, told his followers the end of the world was coming, so they all put themselves into an underground cavern with him. The day he predicted for the world's end came and went, but Kane refused to allow his followers to leave, so they all perished. Kane became the Beast, and he absorbed the spirits of his followers into him. The cavern lay directly beneath the graveyard the Freeling's house was built over. His ghost had been trying to possess Carol Anne because his followers became restless after tasting the light that was Carol Anne's life force, and mistaking her for the light that was the afterlife, they wanted her back because they felt like the first film, they could use her to go into the afterlife, and Kane didn't want his followers to do that. He seeks to take Carol Anne back to continue to confuse his followers and not let them move on into the light. He had never been able to get to her in Jess' house before she died, as her powerful life force protected the family, but her death paved the way for Kane to try and get Carol Anne again.
Steve (Craig T. Nelson) is told by Taylor (Will Sampson) to go back to Questa Verde with the family to where their house once stood to face Kane on his own turf. He and the family go to the cave with Tangina and enter the area where the skeletal remains of Kane and his followers are. Upon looking at Kane's remains, Diane and Carol Anne are brought into the Other Side, the dimension between the living world and the afterlife. Steve, Robbie (Oliver Robins), and Tangina head back to the entrance when they hear Taylor chanting, and find Taylor there who tells Steve & Robbie to enter the fire he built to go to the Other Side, and so they do, and reunite with Diane & Carol Anne. Kane attacks them, separating Carol Anne from the group and threatening to finally take her, but Taylor sends Steve his charmed lance, which Steve uses to stab Kane and send him packing while also freeing the souls of his followers from him. However, Carol Anne is sent flying, and the souls cling to her as she accidentally enters the afterlife. When everyone thought Carol Anne was lost forever, the spirit of Jess brings her back to her family, and they all return to the living world to a relieved Tangina & Taylor.
When they return to the surface, Taylor asks Steve if he could have their car so it could truly be happy, and Steve hands it over without any problems. As Taylor drives away, the Freelings realize that they can't get home without it, so they all make a mad dash for the car.
Thanks Tornado Dragon!
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Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) August 7th, 2012 by unkle lancifer · 15 Comments

POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE falls apart like a subpar paper towel on several occasions and yet it somehow sports a scene so acutely chilling that it leaves most other cinematic depictions of evil looking hopelessly impotent. That it achieves that transcendent point without the aid of special effects (save a rain machine) compounds the impressiveness of what’s been captured. If you’ve seen the movie you know the bit I’m referring to. In it, JULIAN BECK as the reverend Henry Kane attempts to gain entrance into the home where the ill-fated Freeling family has taken up temporary residence. The day is bright and gorgeous and watching cadaverous Kane making his way to the front door is like witnessing a skull-faced wrecking ball rolling through a flowerbed leaving a trail of smoldering ash behind it. At the time of filming BECK was reportedly gravely ill and I can’t help wondering if his proximity to death allowed him to relay his grim tidings in a frighteningly unmodified manor. We peg Kane at once as a manipulative liar but wince at the base truth he dispels when he very nearly looks directly into the camera and bellows, “You’re all going to die in there!” The scene, taken alone, remains as ghoulishly powerful as it ever was and I know I’m not exaggerating its impact because we’ve received a slew of Traumafessions certifying its indelibility.
Running not so close behind is a lesser showstopper involving lovable (mostly due to cues provided by the impossible to argue with JOBETH WILLIAMS) dad Steve Freeling (CRAIG T. NELSON) getting trashed on tequila, gulping a possessed worm, and transforming into the antithesis of the good natured man we’ve come to know. NELSON mimics BECK’s mannerisms with wild gusto and even purses his lips to mime his facial structure and the result hits my favorite note of being both legitimately disturbing and borderline embarrassing. Love still holds some power in the POLTERGEIST universe so when Diane states her unconditional devotion to her hubby, he has no recourse but to puke up the demon, which then squirms and flaps about on the floor like a giant maggot. The slimy bastard even has the cheekiness to grimace like a Kane-o-lantern before hobbling out of the room! I am giving this scene less laudation because some of its success hinges on somewhat dated special effects but like the one previously mentioned, it hits a bona fide nerve. Vomit creature (as it’s listed in the credits) aside, Steve’s loathsome, post-possession behavior replicates that of an abusive alcoholic in a squirmy, uncomfortable way (not much of a leap considering the instigator he ingests is found at the bottom of the bottle.)
So with not one but two highly memorable, if not classic, scenes like these what could possibly be wrong with POLTERGEIST 2? Well, a lot. Director BRIAN GIBSON is fine when dealing with consummate professionals like BECK, NELSON and WILLIAMS, but every other cast member is left looking humiliatingly amateurish and hung out to dry. Matters are made worse by a title that sparks the imagination with a promise of revealing the afterlife when all we are delivered are poor blue screen flying effects, a badly realized miniature representing “the beast” and a too corny for even this cornball glowing grandma angel who saves the day to a furiously trying to pick up the slack JERRY GOLDSMITH score. In fairness, P2: TOS experienced more than its share of behind-the-scenes setbacks including the already mentioned death of its ace in the hole baddie BECK but that hardly explains all of the lack of creativity shown depicting the titular “Other side.” In addition, it’s a little difficult to buy the “We must do this as a family” schmaltz when the Freeling’s eldest child has disappeared and it’s deemed not worth mentioning why. The fact that DOMINIQUE DUNNE who played daughter Dana, was murdered shortly after the first film makes the mass denial all the more crass…or maybe it’s just sad.
Oh hell, you know what I have to do? I’m going to do it. I’m stamping this movie with my slightly unflattering but ultimately affirming GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME stamp! There. Bang. I just did it. Parts of it are crap and it reeks of negative energy but when it shines it shines and maybe there are better sequels out there but do they boast such monumental take away moments? Not much can alter the fact that THE OTHER SIDE is the least fun film of the trilogy (PART 3 is hilarious) but that’s the price you pay for raking up unpleasantries like spousal rape, alcoholism, child abuse, religious fraud and suicide cults (not to mention granny death) in a would-be summer blockbuster. Hey, at least it’s ambitious. People can go ahead and claim this is a retread of the first but its actually following its own dark guide. If the first film secretly worried about the teacher student relationship children have with their television this one boldly wonders if Sunday school was ever any better. I love the first movie, it can’t be beat, but one thing it doesn’t have is JULIAN BECK as Kane. If his character was all that this movie offered that would still be good enough for me. Yep, heaven is a let down but should anyone be surprised? Here’s hoping BECK is somewhere enjoying something grander than a blue screen cloud.
Wait a minute! I thought I was done with the above post but I have to add one more thing. If I had any pride in my work I’d incorporate this thought to the above text but I’m taking the easy way out and shoving this tacked on addendum here instead like a lazy bastard. While gathering the images for this pile of words I came across another scene that I’m strangely drawn to. It’s right after the grandma dies and Diane goes out to the garden, she sees a rose bush and she recalls planting it with her mother in a gauzy flashback (Me = sucker for gauzy flashbacks). A wind picks up and as petals fly by, Diane senses her mother still very much with her and how sweet. Then suddenly it’s night and a weird cloud is over the house. Diane gets up from bed to visit the area where she felt her mother’s spirit. I think she even hears her voice. Then all of the sudden rotting dead people jump out of the ground and drag her under the earth screaming (Don’t worry it’s just a dream). I don’t know, something about contrasting the earlier consoling scene with it’s pessimistic opposite so quickly afterward gets to me. One moment it’s suggested that the cycle of life is completed with one becoming part of nature and the next we’re being told it ends with one succumbing to an inescapable army of rot. See, this movie is so unapologetically morbid that I must forgive its slipshod moments. I have no choice.

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Collins’ Crypt: Minute By Minute - POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE

BC gives the minute by minute treatment to the POLTERGEIST sequel. 

By Brian Collins Mar. 19,2013

I know it almost can't be, but as far as my memory is concerned (not to mention checking against Boxofficemojo's yearly charts to see if anything would jog my memory), Poltergeist II: The Other Side is the first movie I ever saw in theaters. Again, I'm sure my mom took me to some Disney movie or maybe the ET re-release or something, but my first clear memory of going to the theater was for this 1986 sequel, cementing my lifelong love of horror in the process (which was already budding - I had to have seen the original by this point, right?). I should mention I was six at the time, so I think it's pretty much guaranteed: my mom > your mom. No offense.

But oddly I don't think I ever watched the whole thing again until I reviewed it for Horror Movie A Day about five years ago. Some scenes, like Steven's worm-drinking freakout or Robby's battle with his braces, stuck in my head pretty clearly, but everything involving the Taylor character, Tangina's role, Kane's cult... none of it rang a bell during that viewing. It's possible I watched just the scenes I liked when it was on HBO or something - as we're about to see, the pacing can be a bit languished, with a lot of talk between the big setpieces, and a pretty rushed and confusing ending to boot. But does it make for a worthy followup to the classic original, which has officially entered remake phase last week with the hiring of a director? Let's find out!

00:00 - MGM logo, in front of a film that was actually released by MGM originally. Since nowadays they habitually buy up film libraries from bankrupt companies, you see the logo in front of things that were originally released by Orion, or one of Roger Corman's companies. That poor lion has no idea how many bad movies he now introduces.

01:00 - A shot of Taylor (Will Sampson), sitting by a fire and looking up at the sky.


02:00 - A closeup of Taylor as he looks down. This movie hits the ground running!

03:00 - A blurry closeup of the fire.

04:00 - The credit for Julian Beck (Kane) over a shot of the ghost town that is Cuesta Verde. Beck had died of stomach cancer before the film had finished production, cementing the idea of a so-called "Poltergeist Curse," created by folks looking for a reason to explain the admittedly high number of deaths involved with the series. That he already knew he had the cancer before he was even offered the role doesn't seem to be taken under consideration by these conspiracy theorists.

05:00 - Taylor getting out of his truck.

06:00 - Taylor descending a ladder. I don't remember it taking so long before we get to the Freelings.

07:00 - Taylor looking around a cave.

08:00 - The Freelings! They're enjoying an outdoor lunch.

09:00 - Steven (Craig The Nelson) fiddling with a radio. Paying off/continuing the gag at the end of the first film, they are still a no-TV family.

10:00 - Grandma talking to Carol Anne about her drawing.

11:00 - A closeup of Carol Anne, played by the late Heather O'Rourke. The so-called curse is seemingly centered on this film; obviously O'Rourke was in all three films but director Brian Gibson and co-stars Will Sampson and Julian Beck were only involved in this one, and they have all since died. Worth noting that cancer was the cause of Beck and Gibson's death, and also what claimed composer Jerry Goldsmith in 2004 (same year as Gibson). I still don't believe there's a curse, but out of all the nutty theories I've heard about movies, it's at least got a ton of evidence to support it.

12:00 - Shot of an angry looking JoBeth Williams.

13:00 - Steven face down on his bed, upset about their money issues. I like how they deal somewhat realistically with the fallout (insurance money, moving, etc) of being haunted and having your house disappear. Part of what made III such a lame sequel was that it lost the family element, as Carol Anne was sent to Chicago to live with some in-laws that we didn't know or care about, and the attempts to make them likable like the Freelings were forced and obvious. No movie has ever been improved by writing Craig T. Nelson out of it.


14:00 - Steven singing to Diane. Nelson's hair is amazing in this movie, by the way.

15:00 - A closeup of a TV showing an American flag.

16:00 - Carol Anne running from Kane at a mall.

17:00 - Diane, just now noticing that her daughter is missing. You'd think she'd be a little more diligent with watching her 7 year old kid in a mall anyway, but especially so when she's prone to being whisked away to other dimensions in the safety of their own home.

18:00 - Diane talking to her mother.


19:00 - ICONIC IMAGERY! (Flashback footage from Part 1)

20:00 - Carol Anne walking down a hallway.

21:00 - Carol Anne waking up to the sound of her toy telephone, which replaces the TV as the "innocuous object you will be afraid of when you go home" for this movie.

22:00 - Diane telling the kids that Grandma died in her sleep. Grandma is actually the only character to die in the first two films, and it was off-screen (and not ghost related, if memory serves), which is kind of interesting and a great counterpoint to anyone that claims you need violence to make an effective horror film (for the first one that is; this one doesn't make for a good counterpoint to anything except maybe a claim that drinking the tequila worm is a sound idea).

23:00 - A flashback of young Diane playing in the garden with her mom. This stuff would be more effective if Grandma had been a character in the first film, I think. We just met her ten minutes ago; it's not like we've gotten that attached.


24:00 - Hilariously bad FX shot of a cloud forming over the home they now have to themselves. Also, how did the cops and insurance folks not look into this situation a little more closely? A family who had to escape their last home because it was "haunted" moves in with a family member who then dies, presumably leaving them a free house in the process? I'd be mad suspicious.

25:00 - Shot of Carol Anne's bedroom floor.

26:00 - Same, different angle though.

27:00 - It's back! Carol Anne's toys are attacking her. Jerry Goldsmith offers some Omen-style score here.

28:00 - Carol Anne's bedroom. Everything has died down except for the robot, still clacking away.

29:00 - The Freelings looking at Taylor, whom they have just met.

30:00 - Part of my favorite little bit in the movie, where Carol Anne expresses her wish to live at Dunkin Donuts. Since they live in Arizona now it would be possible; had they stayed in California (the first movie's locale) she'd be shit out of luck until 2015 (cue the obligatory talkback "You don't have Dunkins in California?" - no, we don't. There's one on an army base near San Diego that civilians were allowed to visit for the first month or so, but so many people were coming on base to go there they had to change the rule. However, Dunkins have announced plans to bring several stores to the area in 2015.)

31:00 - Some lady with rollers in her hair talking to Diane.


32:00 - Steven and Diane talking to Taylor. Also, Steven's hair is now short - I either missed a scene where he got a haircut or maybe he had it cut for the funeral. Either way it is sorely missed.

33:00 - Steven and Taylor looking at the house.

34:00 - Steven looking in awe at Taylor doing a rain dance.

35:00 - Carol Anne at a window, beaming at the butterflies that have gathered around Taylor outside.

36:00 - Diane scolding Taylor for something. He sure takes a lot of shit from the Freelings, considering that he's there to help them.

37:00 - Steven offering to let Taylor sleep in their house (he's currently residing in a tent in their lawn) if he leaves their car alone.

38:00 - Creepiest scene in the movie! Kane walking up to their house while singing.

39:00 - Kane talking to the family. The guy in part III (Nathan Davis, who has also since died but 20 years after appearing in the film, and he was 91 years old) was okay but man, Beck is one creepy ass dude.

40:00 - Kane talking to Steven.

41:00 - Diane having flashes to Kane's cult. The Amityville Horror remake kind of ripped this movie off, I now realize: old creepy cult dude, Native Americans, etc.

42:00 - Nelson, looking terrified. Who can blame him?

43:00 - LET! ME! IN!

44:00 - Kane walking away as the rain stops.

45:00 - Steven looking at a feather.

46:00 - Taylor asking Steven if he "feels like a leaf at the mercy of the wind".

47:00 - Taylor telling Steven that he is a warrior. I wouldn't argue with anyone who can take out Jack Nicholson.

48:00 - Robby grabbing a razor and shaving creme.

49:00 - This scene is one that has burned into my head and also probably responsible for my misaligned teeth. My dentist recommended braces when I was younger and I refused, as this forever turned me off to the idea of having them. The first is also responsible for my minor fear of clowns, but part III didn't scar me in any way. I'm perfectly okay with mirrors and puddles.


50:00 - See? This could have happened to me. No thank you.

51:00 - Taylor and Carol Anne reacting to a bright light.

52:00 - Steven asking about Kane.

53:00 - Taylor telling the Freelings to listen.

54:00 - Low tracking shot of the house's exterior.


55:00 - Tangina arrives at the home. So the ominous low tracking shot was a joke, but an accurate one!

56:00 - Diane talking to Tangina. I like that they've remained friends.

57:00 - Taylor chanting and waving a rattle around - is this politically incorrect? We never see these sort of characters in movies anymore.

58:00 - Diane looking at a photo of Kane's cult.

59:00 - Tangina yelling at Diane, which activates another flashback.

60:00 - Tangina hugging Diane, post flashback trauma. I usually don't like when they explain too much about a villain, but I like how they found a way to expand the original's story without ret-conning anything. It's not the greatest backstory in the world, but it's certainly better than just having them be haunted again by random ghosts.

61:00 - An eagle flying around the desert.

62:00 - The family eating dinner.

63:00 - Steven reaching for the toy telephone.


64:00 - Steven drinking from his tequila bottle - this is another of the scenes that burned in my mind for a while. As a six year old, I decided to never drink tequila, which is funny because now as an adult I find it to be my least favorite hard alcohol (I usually just drink beer, but if doing shots tequila would be the last I'd pick).

65:00 - Carol Anne blow-drying her doll's hair.

66:00 - A drunken (or is he already possessed? I forget) Steven talking to a concerned Diane.

67:00 - They're still bickering. Good thing Taylor's not around or they'd be taking it out on him.

68:00 - Okay, yeah, he's definitely possessed now, making crazy faces.

69:00 - Steven trying to break free of Kane's hold.

70:00 - The worm thing flailing about. For you younger audiences, this is what is known as a "practical creature effect." Back in the day, a team of guys (or just one) would create a tangible puppet or full body suit for an actor to wear, which the other actors in the scene would be able to see and interact with. However, these guys were all put out of work or forced to use inferior CGI technology to stay in business, and now most creatures you see in movies look weightless and silly (see: Mama).

71:00 - Steven and Diane making their way down the hall.

72:00 - Steven reacting to a door that just slammed shut.

73:00 - Steven and Diane looking at their ceiling.

74:00 - Diane looking around the house for the kids. It's kind of weak that they'd attempt a "Carol Anne is missing, AGAIN!" thing for the finale - they couldn't think of anything better? Or have Robby be the victim?

75:00 - Everyone (sans Carol Anne) in the garage.

76:00 - A closeup of Steven trying to start the car. Carol Anne is back (I forget how this played out, she must have been hiding in there somewhere).


77:00 - A shot of the chainsaw slicing up their hood. This movie was nominated for an Academy Award for its visual effects, but they're pretty lousy looking to my eyes compared to other films of the era (Aliens was also nominated that year, and rightfully won). Let's hope this never appears on Blu-ray - it'll be atrocious.

78:00 - The family driving along after escaping.

79:00 - Same shot.

80:00 - Tangina addressing the family. There's a thing about the climactic battle where the entire family had to come and stick together or else they wouldn't be able to defeat Kane (even the dog goes!), which is an odd choice to make for a movie that completely ignores 20% of the family (the older daughter, Dana, who is at college and no longer speaking to the family according to the film's novelization). The real reason, sadly, is that actress Dominique Dunne was the first victim of the alleged curse, having been killed by an ex-boyfriend shortly after the first film's release. I guess since the scene explaining her absence was cut out, they were hoping folks would just forget she existed.

81:00 - Tangina making her way through a cave. I like how there's only nine minutes left of the movie, including credits, and they still haven't actually gone to the "Other Side" of the movie's title.

82:00 - Craig T. Nelson manhandling Zelda Rubenstein.

83:00 - Taylor, wearing face paint and tending a fire.


84:00 - The family, engulfed in an orange light. Everything looks like Poochie returning to his home planet. Were there no other visual FX movies to nominate that year or...?

85:00 - Same shot as 83:00.

86:00 - The family hugging. In retrospect it's very bittersweet, since this would be the last time they'd all be together - only O'Rourke went on to appear in the third film, and then she passed away before any sort of reunion (also, the last time we'd see O'Rourke in the final scene of a Poltergeist - since the ending for III was reshot after she died, they used a very obvious double).

87:00 - Taylor, conning Steven out of his car.

88:00 - Credits for stunt folks, including George P. Wilbur who would go on to play Michael Myers in Halloween 4.

89:00 - For some reason, more stunt credits, including Wilbur again as stunt coordinator. Weird.

90:00 - The credits for the creature crew, including Screaming Mad George! If you're unfamiliar with his work, look him up - he did a lot of the craziest FX of the late 80s, including the "roach motel" scene in Nightmare on Elm Street 4.

And that's it; the movie ends at 90:40, with Jerry Goldsmith's iconic main theme playing all the way to the end.

While it doesn't live up to the original, it's certainly the superior of the two sequels, and a good effort all around. The setpieces definitely have a "We came up with the idea and then figured out how to work it into the movie" feel to them, but some of the haunting elements, like the toy telephone, do the original proud, and even if I wasn't so young when I saw it I'm sure I'd still be pretty freaked out by that braces bit (I just have a thing with teeth - I felt bad for that zombie that got curb stomped on Walking Dead last week!). It could have been worse, is what I'm saying, though at the same time the quality declined enough to prove that this maybe wasn't a franchise-ready horror concept, and that they shouldn't have tried again with the third (the TV series was completely unrelated, so who cares). Good luck with that remake.

Related Items:

• collins' crypt
• minute by minute
• poltergeist ii

Brian Collins

Brian, aka BC, has been watching horror movies since the age of 6, and twenty years later decided to put it to good use, both as a writer for Bloody-Disgusting as well as launching his own site, Horror Movie A Day, which Roger Ebert once read and misunderstood the points that were being made.

Poltergeist (Movie Review)

Director: Tobe Hooper | Release Date: 1982

By Casey on October 31st, 2014

In 1982, Tobe Hooper managed to put together a haunted house movie filled over the top ghost antics, some mildly disgusting special effects and some chilling scenes that stick with a person for life.  The fact that he gave us such a frightening film, all within the boundaries of a PG rating is still surprising to this day.

One of the secrets to Poltergeist's winning formula is its use of practical effects alongside early computerized effects to provide a film packed full of scares.  Even better, the film does not rely heavily on the easy jump scare to get you moving in your seat.  Instead, Hooper presents his monsters in the open, letting us experience the chaos that is affecting the Freeling family, right along side them.
Adding to the magic is a fantastic cast that feels realistic and down to earth, allowing the viewer to connect with them on the most basic level. Throughout the film, the family feels like every other middle class family, working hard to make ends meet while raising a healthy and happy family.  As the events begin to unfold in their house, the viewer can feel the weight of what they are experiencing, because it feels like it could be happening to anyone's faimly.
The story behind Poltergeist  also holds significant weight.  It’s steeped in backstory that unravels gradually throughout film, with a payoff that arrives right at climax of ghostly events.  We come to find that it isn’t just a simple unexplained haunting, but one with a specific purpose.  The elements that lead to the haunting are shocking and grimy, and leaves the viewer with a bad taste for such repulsive acts.
Filmed in 1982, Poltergeist manages to hold up well through a modern lens.  While the effects and scenery are certainly dated, the film manages to feel scarier than most modern takes of the same subject matter.

Casey

Writer/Podcast Host/Cheerleader

Falling in love with the sounds of his own voice, Casey can be found co-hosting the Bloody Good Horror Podcast, the spinoff Instomatic Podcast as well as the 1951 Down Place Podcast dedicated to Hammer Horror. Casey loves horror films of every budget and lives by his battle cry of 'I watch crap, so you don't have to.'

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A Closer Look : The Official POLTERGEIST Movie Poster Magazine 1982

Poster Magazines … the damn things were EVERYWHERE when I was a kid. Every movie, TV show and celebrity seemed to have one, and if you didn’t, you simply weren’t relevant! From the biggest summer blockbusters to the those cheesy one-hit wonder popstars, they ALL released their own ridiculously desirable folded magazines. Along with action figures and comic books they were easily one of the most purchased items during my childhood, and at one point I remember counting my collection which had reached 60+!
Over the years that followed I stupidly started to disperse this magnificent mountain of glossy paper. I gave some to friends, sold a few at comic conventions I attended as a teenager, and I have NO doubt that my dear old mum probably introduced many of them to the inside of a trash bag. But through all of this one of them survived the cull. One of them hid in the shadows, avoided attention, and stayed by my side into adulthood.
All hail the POLTERGEIST Official Movie Poster Magazine!!

It’s not the most eye-catching poster magazine from that era, and I can’t imagine they sold very many due to competing with the likes of Indiana Jones and Star Wars, but it’s a perfect example of why these things were so wonderful and appealing to movie fans at a time before the internet existed. They were information and image filled promotional tools, and at the end of it all you got a fucking big poster to attach to your bedroom wall with thumb tacks!
Yesterday was the 34th anniversary of Poltergeist’s original release on the big screen, and for the first time in a few years I pulled my last remaining poster magazine out of its protective sleeve and slowly unfolded it for old times’ sake. Join me now as I take a CLOSER LOOK …

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