The two sequels to the classic horror film Poltergeist have finally received the Blu-ray release their dedicated fans deserve. Scream Factory planned a fun variety of special features for the new Poltergeist II and Poltergeist III Blu-ray releases, including a fascinating commentary from David Furtney, the Poltergeist III webmaster. David is a dynamic man of many talents, having worked at CNN for 15 years in addition to having his website as a hobby. I had the pleasure of catching up with him about the misunderstood sequels, some of the controversies that have long followed the classic horror trilogy, and more.
The new Poltergeist II Blu-ray release from Scream Factory.
Congrats on providing the commentary for Poltergeist II and Poltergeist III! I loved your commentaries. I thought they were great. Since you are the owner of the Poltergeist III website, am I correct in assuming it is your favorite film from the trilogy?
Thanks so much, Robin! Glad you enjoyed my commentaries. In some ways, Poltergeist III is my favorite, I think because it was the only Poltergeist film I saw in the theater (with my Mom) at the impressionable age of 8. But the original film is still the best, of course.
What do you think it is about Poltergeist III that makes it so beloved among its dedicated fans?
I think it's the fact that there is a good movie in there actually trying to get out. Gary Sherman had a brilliant idea of moving the action from the suburbs of the original film and suburbs/rural areas of the second to the totally urban, high-rise setting of the third. That, and of course the mirrors. Unfortunately, the movie was hamstrung by budget cuts and the loss of what could have been. The film is notable for the things it's missing. Imagine how much better it would be if it featured Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Oliver Robins and the "real" Kane, Julian Beck (even though obviously nothing could be done for his absence). It's also missing the amazing Jerry Goldsmith score and Richard Edlund's optical effects. But back to the cast, the movie would have been so much better if it would have featured the entire Freeling family living in the high-rise.
So the mystery of the third film's ending. I was so thrilled to see the long lost original ending of Poltergeist III on this. Can you explain what happened there? How did that come to be on this release?
How Scream Factory discovered and then was able to include the original ending is still a bit of a mystery to me. They haven't really been forthcoming about that whole process (which would have made for a fascinating disc supplement all its own). But from what I understand, the footage was discovered on a pallet of film at a storage facility in Seattle.
I do want to note that what they discovered is actually not the full original ending footage, but rather a shorter, intermediate version of the original ending that (I believe) was being considered in between the time the finished film was issued a PG rating (in November, 1987) but before Heather O'Rourke died (February 1, 1988). It's missing a couple things, including what would have been a shot of the "frozen Scott" character (you can see a behind the scenes photo of the prop of this "frozen Scott" inside of a trailer on set, on my site). Also missing was a brief bit at the very end of the footage in which (after the mist clears and the family is shown sitting on the bed, safe and sound) Carol Anne would have seen Tangina one last time in the mirror and then waved goodbye to her. I think the reason for this is that the filmmakers felt that bit would have been confusing to the audience (as in, why is Tangina in the mirror? Is she trapped there on the other side, or did she truly go into the Light with Kane?
The scripted intention was that Carol Anne was waving goodbye to her as Tangina crossed over into the Light). Years ago, I received a copy of handwritten notes by the film's special effects makeup artist Doug Drexler. The notes were made during the time that his team and Gary Sherman were trying to decide what changes to make to the (already finished) ending. One of the things Doug wrote was "I don't think Zelda should come back at the end. It's very confusing." So, I think this explains why that shot of her waving goodbye to Carol Anne is missing from the footage that Scream Factory located. If you look closely at the last few frames of the sequence, you can see the beginnings of a dissolve to the exterior shot of the building as the family (and Scott) sit on the bed and look out the window. Thus, it was shortened.
Something else that's interesting about the footage: Kane's "demise" is an alternate version. The very first version they shot used a prop head that was hand-carved by Dick Smith. There was a light inside the head that would have glowed through the tiny, hairline cracks carved onto the face. However, Gary Sherman allegedly was not pleased with the way this looked after it was filmed, since there was no movement to the head. So, it's my belief that sometime in between November 1987 and February 1, 1988, the special effects crew shot some insert shots of a different version of Kane's "death." In this version (on the disc) you see another model head of Kane, but this one has movement. His hat blows off his head, his eyes roll up, and his mouth opens (while an off camera propane heat blower melts the wax face). Of note, on the still gallery section of the disc (and on my web site) you can still see publicity stills of that first version of Kane's death, the one I refer to as the "lines of light" face pic.
Finally, the footage was unfortunately missing the soundtrack. However, Scream Factory added music and subtitles (from the script) to indicate what some of the dialogue was. One of my friends (Jason of Flowtac Entertainment) recently did an amazing "fan edit" in which he created an all new version of the ending. It combines footage from the original ending with the theatrical re-shoot. He added sound to the original ending excerpts (using audio from the re-shoot, since the dialogue from both endings was very similar). He even added some of Jerry Goldsmith's music from Poltergeist III You can check out his fan edit .
Do you know if there are any other lost scenes that exist out there?
Supposedly, the original ending footage of Poltergeist III was the only missing clip discovered on the pallet of film Scream Factory paid to have searched. While I still believe there is a possibility other deleted scenes could exist somewhere, sadly it's probably more likely that MGM tossed them out years ago, perhaps in the early 1990s. But on both my commentaries, I discussed what scenes were deleted. And, you can also read most of the scenes on the discs because the full shooting scripts (from my collection) were included for both films.
In addition to the original ending, what other new things can fans find in the new release of Poltergeist III?
They have a great new interview with one of the co-writers of the film, Brian Taggert (not mentioned on the disc: there was also an uncredited writer named Steve Feke, who did a "polish" of the script right before filming began). Also interviews with Nancy Allen and special makeup effects artist John Caglione, Jr. (he tells a hilarious story about a stripper). There is a full length audio commentary with director/co-writer/executive producer/special visual effects designer Gary Sherman (moderated by Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures), the original trailer, 4 TV spots, still gallery, and the full shooting script (this also includes a few never filmed pages from an earlier draft of the script: a much more elaborate, "gross out" version of the "Scott tears Donna's face" scene and the much more elaborate version of the ending, in which "Bruce" fights with the sculpture from Pat's gallery and a giant "Kane Head" appears (think the "Freddy Head" from "Elm Street 3").
Also, what will be included on the new release of Poltergeist II?
It has a full length audio commentary with co-writer/co-producer Michael Grais (also moderated by Michael Felsher), new interviews with Oliver Robins, special effects designers Richard Edlund, Steve Johnson, and Screaming Mad George, and H.R. Giger's friend and agent, Les Barany. It also has vintage behind the scenes "making of" clips (of note, these are missing the original voice over narration, apparently because of a contract issue). The disc also features the original trailer, 4 TV spots, the still gallery, and the full shooting script.
One thing which I guess they couldn't find was the full original teaser trailer for Poltergeist II. However, a fan on YouTube managed to re-create a version of it using footage from different sources. You can check it out at this link:
And apparently MGM could not locate the vintage behind the scenes "making of" for Poltergeist III, which is why you don't see it on the disc. However, luckily I have it on VHS. It was part of the full electronic press kit I obtained years ago. You can see it here.
What was the best part of providing the commentaries?
I really enjoyed being able to talk about things that I assumed fans would want to know about-deleted scenes, earlier drafts of the script, how things changed from draft to draft, etc. I was most happy to be able to talk about "Poltergeist III's" ending, after so many years of "controversy" and trying to find out what really happened with it. I hope I did the films justice with the information provided. It was really an honor to be asked to take part, and I'm really grateful to Scream Factory for the opportunity. I worked from a 14 page outline I put together with two friends of mine, Ben Sher and Michael Ferrari of the Retro Move Love podcast (thanks guys!). They are also huge fans of the films.
And during the end credits, I was glad to be able to dedicate the commentaries to two friends of mine who died last year: Jonathan Yuhas and Matt Smith. They were both big fans of the "Poltergeist" franchise and would have enjoyed seeing this release. They were great guys, both gone too soon.
What did you find most challenging about doing the commentaries?
Originally it was to be a three person fan audio commentary, but plans changed at the last minute and they asked if I'd be able to do it on my own. Since I don't consider myself to be a public speaker (I'd never done any kind of interview or podcast or anything), initially I was apprehensive about it. But, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I recorded both commentaries back to back from my home. I watched the movies in my home theater room (the earlier MGM Blu-ray editions) and Scream Factory's LA-based audio house recorded my voice via Skype (I had the laptop set up on a small table in front of me). I also recorded a backup using a voice recorder app on my phone. That's the version that was used on the discs, because if you listen closely, you can occasionally hear me typing in the phone's unlock code (the audio guy had asked me to periodically check my phone to make sure it was still recording).
When I first started my commentary on Poltergeist II, it felt super awkward. Even though I had that great document sitting in front of me to refer back to, there were parts where I suddenly thought "oh no, what do I say?!" Ha. But, I got more comfortable as it went along. By the time I got to Poltergeist III, I was much more comfortable (I think because I know that movie better in many ways). One thing I do regret is on Poltergeist III, I totally forgot to discuss the lack of Jerry Goldsmith's score and how that negatively impacted the movie. Nothing against Joe Renzetti of course, who composed a perfectly decent and creepy score, but I wish they could have at least gotten the rights to use some of Jerry's original themes.
From the reviews I've seen of my commentaries online, most seem to say I was "dry" but "info-packed." I can live with that!
Did you find any significant differences in the commentaries you recorded and what appeared on the DVD releases?
Yes, and in fact some fans have discussed it online and asked me about it. There are "gaps" in both my commentaries and the filmmaker commentaries. Some of that was simply because I wasn't saying anything at that particular moment, but other times, things were cut out. It's my understanding that the MGM lawyers had final review over all the special features, and cut things from all of them. On mine, they tended to remove things that had to do with what they would consider confidential salary information (at one point, I'd mentioned how much Heather O'Rourke was paid for each movie: $75,000 for Poltergeist II and $140,000 for Poltergeist III). And how Craig and JoBeth came back to do Poltergeist II mainly because they were being paid so much more to do it than what they made on the first film (let's face it, I don't think it was just because of how great the script was...haha).
The lawyers also tended to cut things that perhaps they felt would make the studio or others look bad, like when I discussed it being questionable that real skeletons were used on the set of Poltergeist II (from a medical supply company in India), or how Zelda Rubinstein didn't really get along well with Poltergeist II director Brian Gibson. They also removed sections where I talked about how Heather O'Rourke didn't really enjoy filming Poltergeist II because she felt it was a very "disorganized movie" and how Heather was misdiagnosed with having Crohn's disease before she started work on Poltergeist III. She'd been put on medications during filming, which caused her face to puff up and which made her self conscious. The sad irony is that she didn't even need to be on those meds, because what she really needed was a simple surgery to correct her blocked intestine, which was likely a congenital abnormality she'd been born with.
I typed up a full list of all the things that were cut from my commentaries on my site. You can also listen to the short, unused commentary I recorded for the original ending.
Do you have a favorite scene in each film?
In Poltergeist II, it's probably the "other side" sequence at the end that everyone else seems to hate! I can see why people thought it was corny though. On Poltergeist III, the puddle scene for sure. As I mention on the commentary, when I was a kid, my sister and I would re-enact that scene in my Grandma's backyard swimming pool.
The curse of Poltergeist is quite the urban legend. Do you think there is any truth to it? Why or why not?
I think it's mostly just hype, as Zelda Rubinstein once said. But, the idea of it definitely adds to the creep factor for the whole trilogy. Will Sampson and Julian Beck died of natural causes in their later years. But the early deaths of Dominique Dunne and Heather O'Rourke were so very tragic.
Do you remember the first time you ever saw a Poltergeist film? Were you immediately a fan?
You know, I seem to have an early memory of watching part of the end of the original film on network TV, maybe in 1984. I think it was the pool scene. I was about 4 years old at the time, and I remember kicking the walls in my bedroom and being upset because I'd been sent to bed and wasn't allowed to finish watching it. I actually later saw Poltergeist II on VHS in full, then rented the original film from our local video store (I was about 7 and 8 by that time). I was definitely a fan from the start.
What is your favorite Poltergeist memory?
I was pretty hyped when Poltergeist III was released in June of 1988. I begged my Mom to go see it, and we finally went to a Saturday matinee only attended by two other people, a couple of teenage guys in the back who made ghost noises throughout the film. My Mom fell asleep halfway through it, but I loved it! The experience was heightened by the fact that the theater's AC unit vent was blowing cold air directly down onto us, which seemed to accentuate the "ice" motif of the film. I walked out of the theater thinking it was the "best" one and hoping for a Poltergeist IV. Which never came.
What inspired you to create your website?
I first started the site in 2005. Initially I wanted to just have a place to post my research into the original ending, and over time the site grew to include more behind the scenes information on the film. I then added sections about the first two movies. I'm sure when most people first hear of my site, they think "who the hell would create a fan site dedicated to that shitty movie?" But don't worry: the site focuses on the entire trilogy! I pretty much ignore the remake, though. Because why?
What can fans find on your Poltergeist III website?
Info about the deleted scenes, interviews with various cast and crew, marketing information, articles, and much more.
In addition to the Poltergeist trilogy, what are some of your other favorite films?
The Shining, the Alien series, and the Amityville movies (despite it being a hoax, the first few films were still fun).
What do you wish more people knew about the Poltergeist trilogy?
A lot of people know about the "who really directed it?" controversy on the original film. But I think less people know about the "who really wrote it?" controversy. If you'd like to go down that rabbit hole, there’s an article on it.
Let's just say I'd love to know how much of the Poltergeist shooting script was actually written by Spielberg's alleged ghost writers. The first draft was written by Michael Grais and Mark Victor (based on Spielberg's original story treatment). But then Spielberg re-wrote their draft into what became the shooting script. Allegedly, there were at least two un-credited writers who helped him with it: Matthew Robbins and Hal Barwood. They co-wrote "The Sugarland Express" and also did uncredited work on "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."