Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) / Poltergeist III (1988) (Collector's Edition)

[Caution_Zombies]

I may pickup II, as I always dug it. It's nowhere near as good as the 1st one, but I don't hate it like so people do.

[lilboyblu]

Haven't even watched my MGM two-fer yet! Will probably pass on these though unless there are some drastic improvements over the older discs.

[Member-222782]

Some people thought that the Sleepaway Camp sequels didn't deserve to be CEs - but here we have them. I'm not a big fan of Sleepaway Camp II and III but am happy nonetheless SF decided to give those separate Collector's Editions. They're part of a series so it's nice to have a uniform set. Not quite the same deal with the Poltergeist sequels because of the first one being a major-studio digibook but the concept is the same: There are 3 films in the series, 3 films that needed to be annexed as part one of (non-uniform in this case) package REGARDLESS of the quality of the films themselves. And they're not even THAT bad. They're enjoyably cheesy for what they are, with very good special effects and good performances - certainly better than the Sleepaway Camp sequels

[Scoot79]

"God is in His holy temple."

I love Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986). It gave a face to the demon/entity and Julian Beck's performance as Reverend Henry Kane was outstanding. Unfortunately, he really only has two scenes in the film and I'm guessing the reason is because he was suffering with terminal stomach cancer during filming. I hope SF can unearth anything and everything relating to Beck and his Kane role.

My Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) T-Shirt:

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by cine74

Some people thought that the Sleepaway Camp sequels didn't deserve to be CEs - but here we have them. I'm not a big fan of Sleepaway Camp II and III but am happy nonetheless SF decided to give those separate Collector's Editions. They're part of a series so it's nice to have a uniform set. Not quite the same deal with the Poltergeist sequels because of the first one being a major-studio digibook but the concept is the same: There are 3 films in the series, 3 films that needed to be annexed as part one of (non-uniform in this case) package REGARDLESS of the quality of the films themselves. And they're not even THAT bad. They're enjoyably cheesy for what they are, with very good special effects and good performances - certainly better than the Sleepaway Camp sequels

I think the difference here is that Sleepaway Camp 2+3 didn't have a cheap existing BD double pack with (likely) the same transfers. I own these movies, I'm just not sure I like them enough to re-buy them for special features. You never know though, we'll see what Shout put together.

Also I am in no way saying these shouldn't exist, I am happy for the fans who want them.

[Mighty Max]

I've got the dual pack.
I wonder what they'll do to these...

[schwano]

I LOVE Poltergeist III. As a kid, the parking garage scene gave me nightmares. That and the chalkboard scene from Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (can I PLEASE have this on BD, SF?) made me deathly afraid of being sucked into things.

[Ray_Rogers]

For myself I've been wanting to see POLTERGEIST receive more bonus features, a new transfer with AVC, BD50, and etc. Been holding off on buying POLTERGEIST II & III though. Haven't seen them for quite a long time.
No idea why Shout/Scream don't just have a duology boxset for those who're going to buy both anyway.

[malakaheso]

Poltergeist II is a creepy film with some legitimately great scenes, but it has tonal problems and you can tell the ending was rushed. III, on the other hand, doesn't have much going for other than some cool mirror shots. The acting is really bad.


I don't know what they will do for III because the cast and crew aren't particularly fond of talking about the film for obvious reasons. Director Sherman was a pallbearer at O'Rourke's funeral and gets very prickly whenever talk of the 'original ending' or reshoots is mentioned. He denies that a new ending was shot because of her death. I even read a story from an 'insider' about how the original cut actually featured more scenes with her but was trimmed. He believed it was due to her terrible performance rather than the studio cutting down her scenes for PR reasons. i.e not wanting to be seen as exploiting a tragedy for commercial gain

[Morsoth]

It's cool to get Collector's Editions, but isn't just me or we have been overwhelmed by re-release in 2016, especially for horror movies?

Poltergeist II and III have been released on Blu-ray in May 19, 2015... It's only been a year!!! I still have the original editions wrapped, I think I'm gonna pass, but I'm still glad for the fans!

[Mighty Max]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

. Director Sherman was a pallbearer at O'Rourke's funeral and gets very prickly whenever talk of the 'original ending' or reshoots is mentioned. He denies that a new ending was shot because of her death. I even read a story from an 'insider' about how the original cut actually featured more scenes with her but was trimmed. He believed it was due to her terrible performance rather than the studio cutting down her scenes for PR reasons. i.e not wanting to be seen as exploiting a tragedy for commercial gain

Its funny... not in a haha way... in a sad way...
All anyones death means now is a way to cash in on it.
What the heck happened to this society?

[Member-167298]

Very excited about a collector's edition of Poltergeist III! I know I am in the minority, but I actually really like it a lot. This is most likely because it was constantly on cable when I was growing up. There are some incredibly well done and creative sequences throughout, so I hope we get some insights into those on the disc.

I will probably not be buying part II. I had it on Blu ray when it was a Best Buy exclusive and eventually sold it because it is such a lame attempt to recapture the feeling of the original film.

[Starman22]

I seen this on Scream Factory announcement on Facebook last night and I'm so surprise Poltergeist II & III coming to Scream Factory... I just own Double Feature Blu-ray at Wal-Mart $7.88 bin last year and I just watched Poltergeist 1-3 weekend this year in April and I will upgrade to this Scream Factory C.E. and one day for me

[rockyfan]

Can we expect the release date and artwork announcement for these soon? Looking forward to the artwork. They have the potential to be very cool!

[MJD64]

I would love to see Scream tackle a special edition of the original Poltergeist complete with Director commentary...oops, I forgot Spielberg doesn't do commentaries!!!

[kwisatzhaderach]

Goldsmith's score for 'Poltergeist II' is outstanding. It makes the movie seem much better than it actually is.

[ditcin]

Speaking of Goldsmith's score - I wonder if they are going to include the original ending, which was scored differently for Poltergeist II?

[Marv Inc.]

Originally Posted by MJD64

I would love to see Scream tackle a special edition of the original Poltergeist complete with Director commentary...oops, I forgot Spielberg doesn't do commentaries!!!

Savage

[klauswhereareyou]

Originally Posted by kwisatzhaderach

Goldsmith's score for 'Poltergeist II' is outstanding. It makes the movie seem much better than it actually is.

That goes for a lot of Goldsmith scores, especially ones he did in the 80's/90's. Supergirl is another one that comes to mind.

[BNex99]

Originally Posted by kwisatzhaderach

Goldsmith's score for 'Poltergeist II' is outstanding. It makes the movie seem much better than it actually is.

That is very much the case. I had seen the movie as a kid, and then listened to the soundtrack a bunch of times. Then when I re-watched the movie as an adult, I realized how much the score had influenced my opinion of it. It's not a terrible movie, but the score definitely gives it a boost.