Poltergeist III (1988) Heather O’Rourke – WTF Happened to This Horror Movie?

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

All three films in the '80s Poltergeist trilogy have stories of odd occurrences and tragedy connected to them. We've previously dedicated an episode of our WTF Happened to This Horror Movie video series to digging into the strangeness surrounding the first Poltergeist (watch it HERE), and in the latest episode we're taking a look at WTF happened to Poltergeist III (watch that one HERE).

Directed by Gary Sherman from a screenplay he wrote with Brian Taggert, Poltergeist III was a troubled production, and the film was nearly scrapped when its star Heather O'Rourke passed away at the age of 12. To learn more about the problems the filmmakers dealt with during the shoot and the heartbreaking loss of O'Rourke during post, check out the video embedded above.

Poltergeist III has the following synopsis: 

"They're baaaaack"… again! And they're looking for Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) in this riveting and climatic finale to the Poltergeist trilogy. Sent by her parents to live in a Chicago high-rise with her aunt (Nancy Allen) and uncle (Tom Skerritt), Carol Anne discovers she must now face demons more frightening than ever before. Led by the Reverend Kane (Nathan Davis), the spirits have moved from invading houses to taking over an entire skyscraper. They are lurking behind every mirror… waiting to break through the only barrier that divides us from a horrifying dimension. Fortunately, Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein), a powerful psychic, returns to battle these malevolent forces.

This is what the WTF Happened to This Horror Movie series is all about: 

Hollywood has had its fair share of historically troubled productions. Whether it was casting changes, actor deaths, fired directors, in-production rewrites, constant delays, budget cuts or studio edits, these films had every intention to be a blockbuster, but were beset with unforeseen disasters. Sometimes huge hits, sometimes box office bombs. Either way, we have to ask: WTF Happened To This Horror Movie?

Some previous episodes of the series can be seen below, and more can be found on our JoBlo Horror Videos channel!