Poltergeist III
All actors and roles (10)
All team (14)
Short description
Carol Anne Freeling has been sent to Chicago to live with her aunt Patricia and uncle Bruce Gardner, along with their teenage daughter Donna, in the hope of keeping her safe from the vengeful Reverend Kane. The arrangement fails. Kane, who has changed his appearance, finds the girl in the family's apartment high in a glass-fronted skyscraper and unleashes his presence there, drawn to mirrors as a way into the living world. Tangina Barrons, the medium who has helped the family before, senses the danger and comes to their aid. The building's mirrored surfaces and the residents going about their lives, including a group of teenagers, become part of the haunting.
Gary Sherman directed and co-wrote the film with Brian Taggert, following his earlier features Death Line and Dead & Buried. Heather O'Rourke returns as Carol Anne, with Zelda Rubinstein as Tangina, Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen as Bruce and Patricia, and Lara Flynn Boyle as Donna; twenty-six cast members are credited. Made for about eleven million dollars, it took in roughly fourteen million worldwide.
Audience response was modest: on IMDb it holds 4.7 out of 10 from around 22,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.2 out of 10 from about 577 votes. A film critics' rating of 3.9 out of 10 from 21 reviews places it below even those viewer scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- By a rather ominous coincidence, actress Heather O'Rourke died four months before the film's release.
- The end credits include a dedication: “This Film Is Dedicated To Heather O`Rourke 1975-1988”.
- For 17-year-old actress Lara Flynn Boyle, work on this film was her debut.
- In 1989, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had plans to film a “Poltergeist” television series, but that was the end of it. Rumor has it that a script for a fourth installment in the film series was even written, but the death of the main heroine put an end to it.
- Zelda Rubinstein and Heather O'Rourke are the only actors who appeared in all three films of the "Poltergeist" series.
- Interestingly, at the beginning of the film, the characters, preparing to go outside, see through the window that the weather is very cold. However, after going down to the first floor and leaving the building, they realize that it isn't that cold outside. This phenomenon actually occurs not only in the "John Hancock Center" building, but also in other very tall skyscrapers, where the outside temperature changes from the upper floors to the lower floors, so residents of such buildings often call the doormen before leaving to find out the air temperature at ground level.
- Actress Zelda Rubinstein had to leave work on the film early due to the death of her mother.
- Initially, Jerry Goldsmith, as in the first two parts, was the composer for the film and had already written a large part of the musical score, but after the studio cut the film's budget from $22 million to $10 million, Joe Renzetti became the composer.
- A year later (March 15-18, 1988), at the direction of the studio owners, who disliked the ending, some scenes were reshot.
- The film was shot between April 6 and June 19, 1987, at the John Hancock Center in Chicago, Illinois. Editing took place from July to October.
- There is a so-called "Poltergeist trilogy curse," which began with the murder of 22-year-old Dominique Dunne on November 4, 1982, who played the role of the eldest daughter Dana in the first film. The second victim of this "curse" was actor Julian Beck, who played Reverend Henry Kane, and died of cancer in 1985 shortly after filming the second installment. In 1987, a year after the film's release, Will Sampson, a Native American shaman from the second film, died unexpectedly from heart surgery. And Heather O’Rourke, who played the younger daughter Carol Anne in all three parts of the series, completed the tragic sequence, dying of an intestinal illness on February 1, 1988, just months before the premiere of this film.
- Ironically, actress Heather O'Rourke died four months before the film's release. The film is dedicated to her memory.
- In 1989, a series based on the franchise was planned, but the death of the lead actress put an end to it.
- At the beginning of the film, the characters, looking out the window before going outside, see that it is very cold. But once they leave the building, they realize that it isn't actually that chilly outside. This phenomenon does occur in very tall buildings, where the outside temperature changes from the upper floors to the lower ones.
- Zelda Rubinstein was forced to prematurely leave work on the film due to her mother's death.
- Initially, Jerry Goldsmith was set to compose the film's score, as he had for the first two installments, and had already written a significant portion of the music. However, after the studio cut the film's budget from $22 million to $10 million, Joe Renzetti became the composer.
- At the instruction of the studio owners, some scenes were reshot.
- The film was shot from April 6 to June 19, 1987, in the John Hancock Center skyscraper in Chicago. Editing took place from July to October.
- The name Carol Ann is mentioned 118 times in the film.
- Zelda Rubinstein and Heather O'Rourke are the only actors who appeared in all three films of the 'Poltergeist' series.
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
