Poltergeist III

A low-budget sequel which tries, and fails, to make a virtue out of adversity by substituting cheap mechanical effects for the expensive light and magic of Parts I and II. Little Carol Anne (O'Rourke), now living with her uncle (Skerritt) and aunt (Allen) in an ultra-modern Chicago condominium, attends a school for exceptionally gifted but emotionally disturbed children. But the Preacher of Pain is still on her trail, so her guardians team up with diminutive psychic Tangina (Rubinstein), who says it's all done with mirrors. Small consolation for those trapped in the iced-over swimming pool or the building's increasingly erratic lifts! A couple of choice moments cannot compensate for a threadbare scenario bereft of attention-grabbing visual effects. Sadly, talented young O'Rourke passed over to the other side herself shortly after the film was completed: a shame that this mundane movie will be her celluloid epitaph.