The Re-Shot Ending

The following is what Michael Kehoe told me. He was the craft services person who worked on the re-shot ending of P3 in Los Angeles in March of 1988. He knew the first assistant director on the original film, who happened to share the same last name: 

David, I have worked on so many films that most of the past is but a blur. I was the craft service person on that picture [P3] and knew the first assistant director. We happen to share the same last name, no relationship.  I am writing and directing now as well as keeping the craft service biz alive while handing the torch to someone else. I do remember the shots with the new girl and remember her being a little larger than Heather the original actress. I also remember them being cautious about covering her face. It was an odd shoot to say the least but I know that Gary Sherman had a great deal of weight on his shoulders in regards to this film. And the tragedy of the loss of two young actresses Heather and Dominique was a shame. I wish I had more interesting information to share but it seems that you have just about all the info there already. 

This is a transcript of the re-shoot I've made, not the actual script:

Int. Carol Anne's Room-Night

Pat has fallen face down onto the snow- covered floor of the bedroom. As she stands up, she notices the whole room is covered with ice. Electrical discharges and blue laser-like beams of light flash out of nowhere. Pat sees herself reflected in the wall length mirror across the room. She turns back to the window, feels it. The window is now solid.

Pat moves slowly across the room.

PAT

Bruce? Bruce? Bruce....Bruce!! Donna? Carol Anne? Tangina?!

She reaches the mirror. Pleading with her own reflection, she screams:

PAT

Bruce!

She reaches for the doorknob, trying to open the door. It won't budge.

PAT

Oh, God!

Suddenly, Kane's evil laughter is heard from behind Pat. She spins around and looks toward the widows. Mist begins to rise all around the room, Kane and the other spirits hidden within it. The laughter gets louder.

PAT

Where are you, Kane?! Where have you taken my family? I want them back! Tangina said you can't take them, as long as someone here loves them. Well, I love them, and I have this...

(she raises the necklace)

PAT(con't)

...to protect me!

Kane's laughter continues for a few seconds more, then dies out. Pat slides along the mirror. We notice her reflection moves too, but a bit out of step with Pat. Suddenly, it spins around, its face a death mask. It grabs Pat. Pat screams, spins around, and raises the necklace toward her evil double.

Pat sees her reflection is back to normal. From behind her:

KANE:

The necklace!

Pat spins around, as Kane moves up behind her and slaps her hard across the face. She falls down, onto the rotting body of DONNA. Pat screams and backs away, now falling on top of BRUCE's withered corpse. The spade he used earlier to break the window is still clutched in his hands.

KANE

Give me the necklace!

PAT (slowly standing up, taking the shovel from Bruce)

No.

KANE

The necklace!

PAT

NO!

She swings the shovel, neatly slicing off Kane's head. His body falls back to the floor. Pat looks down at the severed head, lying on the ice covered floor. Its mouth begins to twist in pain, low gutteral sounds emanating from within.

Here is an excerpt from the actual script pages (dated "REVISED 3/14/88")

Her POV-The flesh continues to peel away revealing the mummified face beneath. Kane's mouth opens letting out a blood-curdling SCREAM. But, from somewhere in the distance comes Kane's unmistakable laugh. The storm grows more violent than ever.

Close on PAT-Her eyes fly toward the mirror.

Over PAT-Kane steps out of the fog.

Her POV-She looks toward where the head was.

Her POV-There is nothing on the floor but snow.

Back to PAT-She looks up at Kane.

Her POV-Kane laughs at her, but...

Tangina (O.S.)

Kane!

Angle: Pat turns toward the mirror. Pat has to guide her face to look into the storm.

Over Pat and Kane: Tangina steps toward them, but only in the mirror.

Pat looks from mirror to Kane back to mirror.

Pat's POV of Tangina in mirror.

Kane looks at Tangina.

Tangina

Give her back her family, Kane. You don't need them. You don't need Carol Anne. I can lead you into the Light. I have the knowledge...and the power.

Close on PAT.

Pat

No! Tangina don't. Tell me how to use the necklace, so I can save all of you.

Tangina

Thank you, Pat. But this is the way it has to be. Say goodbye to Carol Anne for me. Tell her I'll always love her, and that her nightmare is over.

Angle-Pat looks at Kane. Kane walks toward the mirror and touches it. Lightning. He joins Tangina and they walk into the fog.

Close on PAT-Fear wipes across her face.

Pat (shouts)

Tangina!

Angle-Pat runs toward the mirror as Tangina and Kane begin to disappear in the ever increasing glow behind the fog and growing storm. THUD! Pat hits the mirror.

Pat (screams)

Tangina! Where are they?

The glow behind the fog grows into a blinding light. The sound of the storm builds to an ear-splitting level, drowning out Pat's scream.

Back to transcript: 

The camera slowly pulls back from behind Pat. Bruce walks slowly toward the mirror. Pat raises her hands out to welcome them, the necklace still in her right hand. Suddenly, Pat's REFLECTION turns and embraces Bruce. A quick succession of flashing white lights and the sounds of explosions can be heard. Mist flies up in front of the camera.

 

 

Cut to:

Int. Carol Anne's Room-Day

The mist is clearing. Camera pulls back as Bruce, Pat, and Donna look up. Carol Anne, her head still down, is being held by Pat. The room is back to normal, as is the mirror.

Pat looks down at the necklace, then at her family.

PAT

She did it...she saved us!

The family embraces, smiling. Carol Anne keeps her head down, her arms tightly wrapped around Pat's neck. We don't see her face.

Dissolve to:

Ext. John Hancock Center-Day

Lake Michigan can be seen in the foreground. The morning is bright and sunny. However, two bolts of lightning quickly shoot down from the sky, making contact with the building and arching across it. Kane's laughter is heard coming from everywhere, but slowly dies out.

Everything is over.

FADE OUT.

THE END

**************************************

Finally, here's some of what I posted to the Heather O'Rourke site during my trip to LA last year (along with some updates):

Today I visited the Margaret Herrick Library off La Cienega Blvd. They have many scripts, manucripts, and books related to the film industry. I had to sign in, present proper ID, and fill out a form explaining why I wanted to research there. Gary Sherman's personal copy of the "Poltergeist III" script was on file in their special collections department. I got to read it (along with early drafts of P2) for a 3 and a half hour period. The P3 Script was really cool-it was color coded, and had lots of notes and sketches attached. There were storyboards for all the major effects sequences. One of the things I think I finally figured out was how they did the scene where Carol Anne is pulled up the mirror. It was described as a "flying mirror" in the storyboard, and it seems the mirror was rigged to actually move up, so it appeared only Carol Anne was moving, as the rest of the reflection stayed the same. There were floorplans for most of the major sets, as well as official building floorplans for the John Hancock Center, polaroids of makeup effects, a shooting schedule, location information, AND....a script segment for the re-shot ENDING! AND...a DATE. It appears that the segment for the reshot ending was listed as REVISED March 14, 1988.....AFTER Heather died. Unfortunately, the scripts at the Library cannot be photocopied because they are "unpublished," although you are allowed to take notes. What follows is a transcript of the actual script I made of the last portion:




6 Close on PAT-Tears run down her face, as she claws at the mirror. Then distant voices come wafting through the violent storm. Pat pries her eyes open.

22 Angle-in the mirror, far away, a tiny red clad figure proceeds two other figures as they emerge from where Tangina and Kane dissapeared. Bruce's, Donna's, and Carol Anne's cries of "Pat" cut through the storm, momentarily before the storm's lightning and thunder obliterate everything into a white explosion.

20 As the explosion clears, the Gardner family and Carol Anne are huddled together in Carol Anne's bedroom. Pat holds Carol Anne tightly against her. Bruce has his arms around them and Donna.




That was it; no "FADE OUT," "THE END," etc. You get the feeling reading it that Gary just wrote it quickly to get it over with.  Also, notice how Scott is not mentioned in the above script segment at all...as though he were left out on purpose (which goes against Mr. Sherman's assertion that Kip Wentz was "not available" as well as supports the idea that Kip talked about, which was they re-shot the ending without telling him and didn't include him on purpose).

Another thing about the script....the old ending was still included in the pages preceding the re-shoot pages (except for the page in which Kane's face "explodes with light," page 111), but some parts (pages 110 and 112) had big red X's through them.  The new re-shoot pages (5 in all) had been inserted between pages 110 and 112. Finally, one grammatical correction was noted on the page of the old ending. The part where Carol Anne looks toward the "broken" window after seeing Tangina was written over with pen to indicate that it was an "unbroken" window.