Poltergeist III (1988)

Director: Gary Sherman

Writers: Gary Sherman, Brian Taggert, Steve Feke

Composer: Joe Renzetti

Starring: Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen, Heather O'Rourke, Zelda Rubinstein, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kipley Wentz, Richard Fire, Nathan Davis, Roger May

More info: IMDb

Tagline: He's found her.

Plot: Carol Anne is staying with her aunt in a highrise building, and the supernatural forces that have haunted her previously follow her there.

My rating: 3.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Drinking game: Take a drink every time someone says "Carol Anne".  It happens 121 times.

If you thought POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE (1986) was bad...woof.  Right off the bad you can tell this is going South from the first few notes of the by-the-numbers synthesizer score.  Aside from Skerritt, Allen and Boyle, the acting is pretty bad for a Hollywood flick.  And the score is right out of a low budget 80s horror with little to like, if anything.  Jerry Goldsmith is definitely missed.

If you like mirror special effects then drop your pants and start workin' it because this movie is mirror porn.  Some of the effects are nice and clever (and for that alone I should probably raise the score a little bit) but they do get old after a while.

 YIKES! That's some great creature effects.

There's a fake-out about 30 minutes from the end that'll likely piss you off.  Why?  Because you keep thinking it's over but it marches on for another half hour.  In hindsight, it's kind of funny, that scene teasing us like that, but it wasn't at the time.  The conclusion puts a nice cap on closing up the story that has continued for three films.  I'm glad it's over.  But wait, maybe not.  There's a remake in the works for release in 2014 starring Sam Rockwell.  The original '82 film is so good there's no way it can be topped.  Having Sam Rockwell in the lead is a big step forward in getting my butt.