Guilty Pleasures: Poltergeist III
Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, MGM, Remakes and Sequels, Guilty Pleasures
Unlike our own Scott Weinberg, I am not a fan of horror films. At all. Not only do they not scare me, they typically bore me like nothing else. That said, I will admit to being scared as a child by two films, Poltergeist and Poltergeist III. The former is not that surprising to you, I'm sure, but the latter may have you questioning my credibility once again. Sure, it isn't a good movie (evidenced by its 15% on Rotten Tomatoes and its 3.6 rating on IMDb, not to mention Scott's claim that it's, "easily one of the worst movies ever made"), but it is really creepy, and it still continues to hold a unique power over me. Every time I watch it, I do double-takes at mirrors for days -- I just have to make sure that my reflection doesn't stay behind when I walk away. Okay, so really it's just that early scene with Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen that gives me the willies, and I admit that I often lose interest half-way in, but I really do love the premise and I can't say I never watch the movie all the way through.The thing I don't understand is how Poltergeist 2: The Other Side is lauded as being the better of the sequels. That movie, aside from giving me an early fear of tequila, isn't scary, nor does it have an interesting plot. Yes, it introduces us to the whole Reverend Kane storyline, but only as a set up to part III, in my opinion. The thing is, you can't beat any pic that primarily takes place in a tall building, especially when it deals with frightening creatures. This was the '80s, and the time had come for the haunted house to become the haunted skyscraper. It works for Ghostbusters, it works for Gremlins 2 (which came later, in 1990) and it works for Poltergeist III. I know I'm not the only one who thinks so, either.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-20-2006 @ 11:02AM
Ryan Stewart said...
Poltergeist 2 is one of the scariest movies ever made. Much better than 1 or 3. They really tapped into something with that scene where the reverend shows up on the doorstep and won't leave. It combined several fears at once - of religious fanatics, people invading your personal space, potential child molester, etc.
And the Indian was even scarier, using black magic to summon butterflies and what not. Excellent movie.
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9-20-2006 @ 12:11PM
JA said...
Poltergiest III also has the classic moment of Lara Flynn Boyle tearing her way through the rotten corpse of that midget woman. I mean... it's Lara Flynn Boyle... tearing her way out... of a rotten midget corpse.
GENIUS.
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9-20-2006 @ 6:17PM
Roberta Tyler said...
I have seen Poltergist and poltergistII and I thought they were both good and scary. I have yet to see no III.
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9-30-2006 @ 2:12AM
Rob said...
Poltergeist 1 and 3 are amazing films. I was terrified as a child, but watching #3 today I am struck by the bad writing and to a lesser extent bad acting. But the mirrors make the movie creepy regardless. I hated #2 even thought Kane is at his scarriest, the movie basically throws away everything we know to be true in the 1st movie by telling us there is a cave of dead people below the graves. So the bodies and caskets we see in the 1st movie really have nothing to do with what is going on especially since Kane would not have power over those that were burried there, presuming their spirits passed before their funerals. It's just inconsistant and is focused on shock value rather than keeping with the story line.
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