Stars:
Heather O’Rourke, Zelda Rubinstein, Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen, and Lara Flynn
Boyle
Writers:
Gary Sherman and Brian Taggert
Director:
Gary Sherman
Feature
length: 94 minutes
Languages:
English Stereo
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Jewel Case
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1988/VCD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment Through Video Van In
Malaysia Only.
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
The
demon in a preacher suit known as Kane (this time played by Nathan Davis) has
tracked Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) to her aunt’s condo in a high rise in
Chicago where he raises hell on the entire family. The only other actress
returning from the previous film is Zelda Rubinstein, who for reasons never made
entirely clear has figured out what Kane really wants and prepares Carol Anne
for her final battle on the other side.
Heather
O’Rourke died shortly after the movie was made adding an eerie quality to the
series. “Poltergeist III” is the darkest of the three films and not only
suffers from the lack of supporting character from the previous movies, but also
sorely lacks Jerry Goldsmith’s score. The film resorts to pseudo “Freddy
Kruger” like effects for cheap scares, but by this time the series has already
lost whatever soul was left over from the second film.
Unlike
“Poltergeist II: The Other Side,” “Poltergeist III” is a great looking
VCD, especially when considering the limitations of MPEG-1 compression
technology. The film is presented in a full-framed (1.33:1) aspect ratio that is
surprisingly clean and clear with very little artifacts and absolutely no color
bleeding. The soundtrack is well rounded with a great use of the base and has CD
quality digital sound clarity. There are no captions for the hearing impaired.
Like the other recent MGM VCD releases, a commercial for Fox Studios in
Australia and a trailer for “What’s The Worst That Could Happen?” appear
before the feature. “Poltergeist III” is not available on DVD-Video at this
time, but can be purchased at a very low sales price online at EurekaMovies.Com.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.