Poltergeist III - The Dark Side of Evil

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Movie
German title Poltergeist III - The Dark Side of Evil
Original title Poltergeist III
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1988
length 98 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Gary Sherman
script Gary Sherman
Brian Taggert
production Barry Bernardi
Gary Sherman
music Joe Renzetti
camera Alex Nepomniaschy
cut Ross Albert
occupation

Poltergeist III - The Dark Side of Evil (Original Title: Poltergeist III ) is an American horror film by director Gary Sherman from 1988. The film is a sequel to the ghost films Poltergeist from 1982 and Poltergeist II - The Other Side from 1986 . Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen playing alongside Heather O'Rourke , the main roles.

Heather O'Rourke and Zelda Rubinstein were the only actors from the original cast of the previous films who could be recruited. O'Rourke died just under a month after her twelfth birthday, four months before post-production could be completed and the film was released. It was dedicated to her memory.

action

Carol Anne is supposed to forget the events of the past years and is therefore sent by her parents to Chicago to her aunt Patricia, called Pat, and her uncle Bruce, who live in a newly built high-rise that was planned and built by Bruce as an architect . Strange things soon happen in the building made of glass and steel when Carol Anne, the demonic Reverend Kane, appears to convince her to lead him into the light. Mirrors crack and the building gets freezing because the air conditioner freezes. The medium Tangina Barrons who feel that Kane Carol Anne has found, makes his way to help the girl to break free again from Kane. The spirit of Reverend Kane follows Carol Anne and finds enough mirror surfaces in the house through which he can enter the human world and the house becomes a place of evil. Bruce's daughter Donna and her friends unwittingly put themselves in danger when the group uses a large exhibition at Patricia's art gallery to hide around the house and have a poolside party.

Carol Anne is left alone in the apartment and is chased through the hallways of the building by Kane. Her family is also in great danger and is threatened by Kane. Tangina arrives at the scene in time and can prevent Henry Kane from forcing Carol Anne to lead him into the light by taking on this task herself. Evil seems defeated and the family saved. With a final view of the city and the skyscraper, however, a horrible laugh can be heard from Kane.

Production and background

Filming

The main filming of Poltergeist III took place from April 13, 1987 to June 1987 in Chicago , Illinois , USA and was filmed in the hundred-story John Hancock Center . Since the house did not fully meet the requirements of the script, other buildings, etc. a. George Wellington Center, Lincoln Park Conservatory and the Water Tower Shopping Atrium. The special effects were not created on the computer, but staged on location.

Similar to Poltergeist II, the test screenings ended in disaster, especially the original ending was criticized (quote from Gary Sherman: The frozen actors looked like they had survived a protein explosion). Heather O'Rourke's portrayal was also heavily criticized, so that about 20 minutes of her scenes were removed. As a result, post-filming was conducted in Los Angeles from March 15-18, 1988 to stage a new ending. The total cost of the film amounted to an estimated 10.5 million US dollars . He played around 14.1 million US dollars again in the United States .

publication

The film was released on June 10, 1988 in the US and on September 15 in German cinemas by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .

Heather O'Rourke dies

The twelve-year-old Heather O'Rourke died on February 1, 1988 after the end of filming during the post-production phase and finally had to be replaced by a double when the studio had the new film ending. Nancy Allen and Gary Sherman said in several interviews that they were forced to re-shoot because director Sherman did not want to finish the film after Heather O'Rourke's death. You went to work so listlessly that you even forgot one of the characters required for the plot (Scott).

Production error

In a scene in which the parapsychologist Tangina tries to bring Carol Anne from the parallel world back into the real world through a mirror, the actors Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen, Zelda Rubinstein and Richard Fire can be seen standing in front of the mirror while the camera is on slowly moves back so that the people in the mirror become larger and gradually the people in front of the mirror can be seen. Only Carol Anne cannot be seen from behind, as she can only be found in the parallel world.

This is not a special effect, but 4 doubles that stand with the actual actors in front of a glass wall. This can be seen from the fact that the movements of the two actors (Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen and their doubles) are not synchronized in the left half, Zelda Rubinstein puts her arms on her chest for a few seconds, but her double does not move, as well because Richard Fire is slightly offset to the right of the door frame in the mirror image, but the double is clearly offset to the left.

criticism

“With 'Poltergeist III', which was filmed only a year after the successful second part, the suspicion arises that a desperate attempt was made to extend the wave of success again. But 'Poltergeist III' is just a shallow infusion of its predecessors, the budget was kept extremely low and Steven Spielberg and Jerry Goldsmith had long since left the project. Only Heather O'Rourke and Zelda Rubinstein are left of the original cast. [...] Although the scene of the event is quite attractive and the shock effects are still good, unfortunately the potential has been exhausted overall. Even the gloomy Reverend Kane can no longer shock and all characters seem unimaginative and very predictable. So in the end the impression of a boringly staged horror film remains that offers hardly any new aspects and comes with something warmed up. "

- moviesection.de

Awards

year Award category Result
1989 Golden Raspberry "Worst Supporting Actress" - Zelda Rubinstein Nominated
1990 Saturn Award "Best Supporting Actress" - Zelda Rubinstein Nominated

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Poltergeist III review - film review by Stefanie Rufle at Moviesection