Poltergeist III

The final film in the "Poltergeist" trilogy was an odd mixture of ideas that never quite gel. "Poltergeist 3" was the last performance of young actress Heather O'Rourke, and her final portrayal of ever-tormented Carol Anne Freeling is bittersweet. Shout Factory offers up a new Collector's Edition of the 1988 film, a release that blows away prior editions.

After the events of "Poltergeist 2," the third film takes Carol Anne out of the suburbs and into the windy city of Chicago. It's here that her aunt (Nancy Allen) and uncle (Tom Skerritt) are temporarily watching the young tyke for obscure reasons. Of course, long-time fans know that actors JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson weren't interested in doing another sequel.

Instead of being haunted in a suburban home, Carol Anne's problems are now relegated to a Chicago skyscraper which is filled with an array of mirrors. And for perplexing reasons, the constant yelling of Carol Ann's name seems to happen because of lulls in the convoluted script, a fact which is brought up in all of the special feature segments on the Blu-ray.

Three brand new featurettes complement Shout's Collector's Edition:

"High Spirits" - Brian Taggert sits down to talk about the writing of "Poltergeist 3" and the conflicts between him and the studio. It affected the final product and is one of the many reasons why the film didn't do so well at the box office.

"Reflections" - horror actress icon Nancy Allen discusses how she became involved with "Poltergeist 3" and that the main draw was working in Chicago. She also reveals how actor Tom Skerritt is the only actor that she has ever had a conflict with during a movie filming. Her interview segment is delightful as usual.

"Mirror Images" - the many special effects in the film are examined in this featurette.

"Poltergeist 3"
Blu-ray
$34.93
www.shoutfactory.com