Heather O'Rourke, Lara Flynn Boyle, Nancy Allen

Set in a Chicago high-rise, where Carol Anne is relentlessly sought by the evil Reverend Kane. The courageous psychic returns to combat Kane.

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41% liked it

13,785 ratings

PG-13, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: Gary A. Sherman, Gary Sherman

Release Date: January 1, 1988

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Flixster Reviews (493)


  • September 30, 2009
    Although I kind of liked this film, I didn't see it as a Poltergeist film. Firstly, there isn't a poltergeist in it as such and secondly and structure that made the first two so popular was thrown out the window. The story is a bit dire, would Carol Anne's parents really get rid ...( read more)of her after what the family had gone through? No, they wouldn't. Acting is also quite bad, apart from young Heather O'Rourke. Some of the effects are impressive, the girl coming out of a dead body was very impressive for sheer shock factor but alas, the mirror effects are over done and if you watch close enough, badly executed. I can?t help but think there are 3 really good films hiding in here that could have all been done so well but in the end it clashes together like a complicated mess. Watch out for blatant rip offs too, Christine, Shivers, Don't look now....shall I go on? Completist only. Sad about O' Rourke's death, she was a good little actress who would have gone far!
  • March 21, 2008
    Not the best of the trilogy, but worth seeing if you enjoyed the other two.
  • July 14, 2007
    Carole Ann is haunted by Kane the evil preacher in her new highrise apartment in Chicago. What the heck happened to the rest of her family? Why was she now living with her uncle and aunt (Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen) in Chicago? What a bummer! We see Kane (new actor) and Tangina...( read more) the little psychic woman. Heather O'Rourke sufered a fatal illness during the production, so even she wasn't in the entire movie. They pulled together a surprisingly good movie. Let's pretend the excellent first film and mediocre second film didn't exist; this one would still be watchable. The story is a bit of a shambles; we're not always sure what is really happening. Like Alice in Wonderland, a lot of the strangness happens with mirror and reflections. There are excellent lighting and optical effects. It's somewhat unique having an entire condo building being haunted; you've gotta give it that. Almost every scene is filled with optical trickery of some sort.
  • July 9, 2009
    There is a legacy surrounding the Poltergeist franchise. A legacy of mysterious on-set accidents, and unfortunate deaths of people involved with making the films. One of the, unfortunately, most famous deaths is of little Heather O'Rourke, who died before this film was even compl...( read more)eted. It's a real life tragedy that mirrors the hardships her character, Carol Anne, endures through all three movies in this series. The filmmakers wanted to go in a different direction with this entry, opting to have the entire film take place within a Chicago high rise. They also stayed completely away from blue screen visual effects, and went with practical on-set effects involving make up, and extensive work with reflections and mirrors. The result is a very claustrophobic, and atmospheric movie that is visually remarkable. It also uses its visual trickery as a means of moving the story along. The story setup is solid, if unremarkable, and the acting is (mostly) workmanlike and believeable. Unfortunately after a very solid first 45 minutes, the movie disolves into a series of sequences where characters run up and down hallways and stairways, yelling the names of other characters. It's like the script ceased to exist, and the actors were told something like "Okay, you see Carol Anne being pulled into another dimension...run down the hall in a panic, and yell her name as many times as you can." I'm sure that someone out there has taken a count of how many times "Carol Anne" is yelled throughout the course of this movie. My money is over 200 times. Tragically, little Heather died before the film was completed. Instead of scrapping the film, the director chose to finish it without her. But filming the end of a film without your main actress meant that the original ending had to be scrapped, and the film completed by any means possible. This results in an ending that is nothing more than a simplistic cop-out. It really sinks the second half of the movie. While not as good as the first two films, it's still a guilty pleasure, and a decent ghost story in its own right.
  • February 9, 2009
    I feel bad that it was the little girl's last movie but it's awful. It acts as if her parents who loved her dearly in the last 2 couldn't handle evil spirits being after her. So they dumped her off to relatives. This one is just awful, did I say it was awful ?
  • October 26, 2009
    Scared the crap out of me
  • October 3, 2009
    With the "Poltergeist Curse" rumored to plague the productions, it's a wonder 3 of these films ever got made. The first is my fave horror movie of all time, and the second was passable. This one is also passable, with a few twistedly fun momentds such as the mirror scene. Love th...( read more)at part.
  • September 15, 2009
    Cheesy and bad; ruined the series, and what the #$% happened to Heather O'Rourke?

    36/100
  • June 17, 2009
    ................what the HELL happened to Scott?!?!?! (seriously, they never check to see if he's okay in the end!) I was really sad about the ending--I LOVE Tangine.
  • June 16, 2009
    This one didn't quite hit the mark to me...

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Comments


  • Nico1982
    July 23, 2007
    gary sherman didn't even want to finish the movie after heather's death. the only reason they went forward with the movie was because MGM was going to hire someone else to complete the movie. but they dedicated it to heather's memory
  • ZeMolesWife
    April 17, 2007
    Don't really wanna see it. I've heard stories of Heather 'O Rourke not looking very good, and dying, during filming. How sad. And they used a stunt double? Tsk, tsk...

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