Poltergeist III (1988)

Directed by Gary Sherman. Starring Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen, Heather O’Rourke, Lara Flynn Boyle, Richard Fire, Zelda Rubinstein, Kip Wentz, E. J. Murray, Nathan Davis. [PG-13]

The Freeling family’s youngest, Carol Anne (O’Rourke), is sent to live with her aunt and uncle in a Chicago high-rise, but the building is “haunted” by Reverend Henry Kane, the tiresome spirit from the first sequel. Weak acting and even worse writing are actually the least of this uninspired third chapter’s problems—decent fright flicks have overcome such deficiencies before—but the long string of clichés and utter lack of interest in the new characters result in a perfunctory, soulless product that tries to grab a quick buck without investing much money on the front end. Falls apart quickly once it becomes clear that no internal logic is being attempted, and director Sherman is just going to keep throwing one lame setup for a cheap scare/special effect after another at the audience without any continuity or strategy; “mirrors, mirrors, are the walls,” one might chant, but they don’t make for much of a gateway here. Although Boyle shot scenes for 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, they were cut from the final edit, making this her true film debut. On the other hand, this was young O’Rourke’s final film role, sadly passing away a few months before its release.

25/100