Monday, June 6, 2016

Poltergeist III 1988 | Movie Watchlist Watch onAmazon Prime Instant Video

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The second sequel to the hit 1982 haunted-house extravaganza is an erratic affair, containing some promising ideas and clever effects that, unfortunately, are haphazardly presented in a narrative so perfunctory as to be almost nonexistent. The brainchild of writer-director Gary Sherman
(who had the project dumped in his lap by the studio), POLTERGEIST III shifts the focus of the series from the suburbs to the city, setting the action in a newly constructed, state-of-the-art high-rise complex in Chicago full of shops, offices, and apartments. Little blonde-haired Carol Anne
(Heather O'Rourke) lives with her Aunt Trish (Nancy Allen), her Uncle Bruce (Tom Skerritt), and her teenage cousin (Lara Flynn Boyle). Carol Anne is enrolled in a school for highly intelligent but emotionally disturbed youngsters. Her therapist, the pithy Dr. Seaton (Richard Fire), attributes the
poltergeists that have haunted Carol Anne's past to mass hypnosis caused by her suggestions. He ignores her protests that the ghost of the evil Reverend Kane (Nathan Davis) has located her. Kane, however, has indeed found Carol Anne in the Windy City, appearing in mirrors and reflections and
beckoning her "into the light." The little girl is frightened but knows no one will listen to her, so she keeps her mouth shut and tries to ignore the malicious ghost who won't go away. The movie works perfectly well as an excuse to parade a number of cleverly conceived and executed in-camera
(live) special effects before the public. When the handful of truly remarkable tricks have passed, however, what is left behind is an incoherent mess filled with bad dialog, weak performances, unintentional humor, and some surprisingly dull scenes of poltergeist mayhem. This was the final film for
O'Rourke, who died just after its completion. POLTERGEIST stars seem to have been cursed over the years--Dominique Dunne, Will Sampson, and Julian Beck all died after appearing in installments of the series.

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