A Few Words About A few words about...™ Poltergeist 2 & 3 -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

The original 1982 Poltergeist was a huge hit, and naturally has spawned offspring, and while the children of Poltergeist received neither the reviews nor acclaim of the first, there is a fan base.

This is where Scream Factory enters the fray.

Like any other licensee of MGM product, they could have taken the HD masters provided, and published them to Blu-ray, but in this case, that fan base receives their money's worth.

Technically, the "new" 2k scans of IPs look wonderful. Nary and problem in sight. Both have tracks in DTS-HD MA 5.1.

It's those extras, audio commentaries, and multiple interviews that make these releases special.

Fans should be thrilled.

Image - 5

Audio - 5

4k Up-rez - 5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Recommended for Special Features

RAH

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

These releases also restore the original MGM opening logos, and the original stereo tracks in HD audio. For what it's worth compare the lion roars on both titles and notice the original stereo tracks retain the correct Lion roars while the 5.1 mixes feature the more updated lions roar.

 

[ahollis]

I ordered just Poltergeist II, I was not a fan of 3, but with these notes I just might go ahead and get 3.

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

The one thing I will say about Poltergeist III is that I have a love for it because mainly for nostalgia of renting the VHS but I think of it as a whole separate standalone film that actually feels like a slasher film with the partying teens and I really like the cast and the practical effects and work Gary Sherman put into the film.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

I just watched II and it looks brand-new. Little of it was familiar, as I probably didn't watch endless repeats of it on HBO like its predecessor.

 

[bigshot]

I couldn't even get through the second one. Horrible movie. Supplements won't make me want to sit through it again.

 

[Alf S]

You'd have to pay me to watch these two dogs again. Saw both in the theater, both were horrible horrible money grabs.

 

[WillG]

You'd have to pay me to watch these two dogs again. Saw both in the theater, both were horrible horrible money grabs.

II had enough good stuff in it for me to not write it off completely. Likable family, good effects for the time, couple of decent "attack" sequences and, of course, Kane was creepy as hell.

III....well..........
For me, the worst part of III was the sheer number of "Carol Anne"s. They must have repeated her name like 1,000 times.

I'd be interested to hear the director's commentary (should be interesting due to the fact that, for obvious reasons, and others, the production was not a happy experience) and see the alt ending though.

 

[Dick]

I rather like II. It retains the closeness and humor of the Freeling family (tragically sans Dominique Dunne's Dana character), and Heather O'Rourke had not yet begun to balloon from her (also tragic) health condition that killed her at age 12, shortly after she played in III.

The film does get a bit outlandish with the Will Sampson character, but Julian Beck's preacher is about as creepy as it gets. Because this first sequel had to try to out-do the original (which I love) in the area of effects, it gets overly busy within the framework of a 91-minute film, nearly a half hour shorter than its forerunner.

But this is a prime example of diminishing returns over the course of its three films (not counting the t.v. stuff). POLTERGEIST III is a total bust in my opinion, and best left unremembered.

 

[WillG]

The film does get a bit outlandish with the Will Sampson character,

One thing I didn't like so much was that they made the Freeling women psychic. That went more into "fantasyland" than I liked (also Diane made it into adulthood without ever realizing she had those abilities? Must have been all the pot she was smoking). Not to mention, it never really impacted the story in any significant way anyway.

 

[TravisR]

II had enough good stuff in it for me to not write it off completely. Likable family, good effects for the time, couple of decent "attack" sequences and, of course, Kane was creepy as hell.

Yeah, II is not a great movie but there's some decent stuff in it. Unfortunately, the ending is awful and the writer basically says as much in the commentary.

I agree with RAH that fans of the movie should be happy because the disc looks wonderful.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Just watched III, such as it is, and it too looked great. My advice for anyone looking to try the "Carol Anne" drinking game: use an eye-dropper.

 

[WillG]

Just watched III, such as it is, and it too looked great. My advice for anyone looking to try the "Carol Anne" drinking game: use an eye-dropper.

What's the alt ending like?

 

[Richard Kaufman]

I thought the first one was a pig in a poke, so never bothered with 2 and 3. Am I missing anything?

 

[TravisR]

I thought the first one was a pig in a poke, so never bothered with 2 and 3. Am I missing anything?

If you didn't like the first one, you definitely shouldn't bother with the sequels.

 

[Malcolm Bmoor]

Here's a little gossip for you.

I've never seen any of these films but the first one was reputed to have had considerable involvement from Mr Spielberg and very little from the official director Tobe Hooper.

It could be around 25 years ago at the tv facilities company where I worked for some time that we had a day or maybe two making tv studio scenes for insertion into a film, directed by Tobe Hooper. These inserts were made as if tv using several cameras and recording to videotape. Mr Hooper sat in the production gallery in the director's position but the resemblence ended there.

He did virtually nothing and the First AD ran the whole thing whilst asking him if it was OK. In so far as he had any idea what was going on he invariably agreed.

The idea that this man ever directed a complex large scale FX picture wasn't in any sense valid to anybody present that day.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

What's the alt ending like?

Well, the boyfriend came back in the original ending, and of course Heather O'Rourke was there. She passed away before they devised and shot a "proper" ending (not a "re-shoot"), so a double was used in the new ending.

The original ending spent an inordinate amount of time showing a very fake head being melted by Tangina's amulet. It was all rather crap.

 

[Mikey1969]

Just ordered Poltergeist 3, as apparently it's going out of print soon, to complete my collection. I haven't seen it since it was released on VHS and I don't remember much of it. Looking forward to seeing it again.

 

[Taylor * D]

It's one of my favourite cult movies, but the nostalgia factor is high. I grew up with this on TBS, and often watched it when I was sick. I've always felt the whole thing had this wicked fever dream vibe to it.

Last year I was fortunate enough to attend a screening where Gary Sherman sat on a stage and gave a running commentary, literally stopping the movie to explain how he achieved certain effects, anecdotes from the set, the editing process. The 90-minute movie turned into an impromptu 3 and a 1/2 hour lecture on Filmmaking 101. I had to keep pinching myself the entire evening, telling myself to take in as much as this man says. I walked away with a newfound appreciation for the movie.