10 Horror Movie Trilogies That Have The WORST Endings

The Poltergeist series is one of the oft-overlooked classic in the ‘80s horror canon, thanks in part to its lack of a well-defined antagonist (a la Freddy, Michael or Jason), but also due to its disappointing trilogy closer.

The first film rode in on a wave of early-‘80s horror mania and benefitted greatly from a script penned by Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg, featuring the suburbanite Freeling family, a haunted house and a daughter - Carol Anne - abducted by ghosts. While the second film failed to match the quality of the first, it did expand the lore, pitting the central Freeling family against the spirit of apocalyptic cult preacher Kane (Julian Beck).

Several of the original cast refused to return for the third film and the death of Heather O'Rourke, who played Carol Anne, was a major challenge to production. This led to rewrites and re-shoots with a stand-in that just didn’t pan out. Despite setting up an impressively conceived demonic mirror world, the film’s Poltergeist-in-the-city premise is not strong enough to support its own weight. Reverend Kane (here played by Nathan Davis) proves lacklustre the second time around, and the lame script and laughable dialogue make even the film’s technical ingenuity difficult to enjoy.