4. Poltergeist 3 (1988)
Carol Ann! Carol Ann! Carol Ann! Poltergeist 3 is one of the shoutiest films ever made and I absolutely hate Zelda Rubenstein screaming these words over and over again in her horrid high pitched whine. No wonder she was nominated for a Razzie. In this instalment of the Poltergeist franchise, little Carol Ann goes to live with her uncle and aunt, as well as her bratty cousin in a Chicago apartment block so she can attend a school for gifted children. Preacher Kane and his demonic cohort illogically follow her there and there is lots of mirror based mayhem. The actors playing Carol Ann's aunt and uncle (Nancy Allen and Tom Skerritt) look visibly bored throughout the duration of the film and although Nancy Allen goes through a fair bit at the end of the film, her make up miraculously stays perfect on her face. It is little details like this which expose the film's phoniness. The special effects with all the mirrors is interesting for a bit but overplayed so much it removes the fright factor from the film. The ludicrous premise of the movie doesn't help - it is just as if they grabbed Heather O'Rourke and exploited the hell out of her to crap out another sequel. O'Rourke is about the only decent actor in the film but she is dragged down by the rest of the cast, especially the guy who plays her psychiatrist Dr Seaton - he is a really irritating character. The ending is notoriously dreadful and wrings every drop of horror film credibility out of the movie. The only good thing about it is the 1980s fashion and hair dos. But through terrible dialogue (which involves constant screaming of names) and plot contrivances, Poltergeist 3 negates all the horror that it could have executed, had it been handled differently.