Heather O'Rourke Movies
While eating lunch with her mother in the MGM commissary, five-year-old Heather O'Rourke was spotted by filmmaker Steven Spielberg. Within months, little Heather was cast in the Spielberg-produced scare piece Poltergeist, playing the little girl who becomes the conduit for the film's TV-dwelling spectres. Before she was seven, Heather had entered the collective pop-culture consciousness of America with her Poltergeist catchphrases "They're here!" and "They're baa-aack!" In the fall of 1982, Heather joined the cast of TV's Happy Days as regular Linda Purl's daughter; she went on to appear in several guest-star spots, as well as the two Poltergeist sequels. On the first day of February of 1988, Heather O'Rourke was rushed to the Children's Hospital of San Diego, complaining of chest pains (later revealed to be the result of septic shock); while undergoing surgery, the 12-year-old actress died of heart failure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1988
- PG13
Evil spirits follow a young girl from the suburbs to the city in the second follow-up to the blockbuster horror film Poltergeist. Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O'Rourke) is now 12 years old and living with Patricia and Bruce Gardner (Nancy Allen and Tom Skerritt), her aunt and uncle, in a high-rise apartment building in downtown Chicago. Carol Anne attends a school for gifted children, where the staff psychologist Dr. Seaton (Richard Fine) attributes her past troubles with noisy ghosts to mass delusions and hypnotic suggestions. However, Carol Anne isn't so sure that the explanation is that simple, especially since she still sees threatening apparitions in the mirrors of her apartment. Particularly troubling is the ghost of the wicked Reverend Kane (Nathan Davis), who is eager for Carol Anne to join him and his followers in the unknown world on the other side of the light. Sadly, Heather O'Rourke died due to surgical complications resulting from an intestinal blockage several months before Poltergeist III was released. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen, (more)
- 1986
- PG13
One of the more effectively spooky and financially successful horror films of the '80s got an inevitable sequel with this effects-heavy installment. The Freeling family is trying to grapple with the devastation wrought by the ghosts and ghouls that destroyed their lives. The insurance company doesn't believe their story about what happened to their house, so Steve (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), and their kids, Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) and Robbie (Oliver Robins), have been reduced to living in the home of Diane's mother, Jess (Geraldine Fitzgerald). Unfortunately for the Freelings, however, their new residence, just like their last, is situated on a haunted patch of unholy ground. A century before, the mad cult leader Kane (Julian Beck) slaughtered his followers nearby, and his evil spirit has returned in an effort to kidnap Carol Anne. When the Freelings realize what's happening, they call upon the psychic medium Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein) to help them again, and they also receive aid from a kindly Native American spiritualist, Taylor (Will Sampson). Noticeably absent from the sequel was older daughter Dana, who had been played by actress Dominique Dunne; Dunne was killed in 1982 by her obsessed boyfriend. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, (more)
- 1985
Originally telecast in a three-hour network slot, Surviving is virtually two films in one. In the first 90 minutes, we see the identity crises and outside pressures that propel a "normal" teenaged boy (Zach Galligan) and a "disturbed" teenaged girl (Mollie Ringwald) into committing suicide together. The second portion of Surviving explores the emotional residue left behind by the youngsters' deadly pact. Specifically spotlighted are Zach's parents (Len Cariou and Ellen Burstyn), who feel that Molly goaded their boy into killing himself; and Molly's parents (Paul Sorvino, Marsha Mason) who are consumed with guilt over not catching on to the warning signs of their daughter's despair. Though the acting is overly ripe at times, Surviving never loses dramatic focus throughout its 150 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Massarati (Daniel Pilon) is a fabulously wealthy adventurer-for-hire who uses a wide array of electronic gadgets to carry out his various missions. "The Brain," aka Christopher (Peter Billingsley), is Massarati's 12-year-old nephew, and the creator of most of Unk's gadgetry. Together with such confederates as sexy spy leader Julie Ramsdell (Markie Post) and ever-resourceful butler, Anatole (Christopher Hewitt), Massarati and Christopher endeavor to steal back a fabulous art collection from a larcenous neo-Nazi named Victor Leopold (Christopher Lee). The pilot for an unsold tongue-in-cheek espionage series from the Aaron Spelling plant, Massarati and the Brain debuted August 26, 1982, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Pilon, Peter Billingsley, (more)
With Poltergeist, directed by Tobe Hopper, Steven Spielberg had his first great success as a producer. Released around the same time as Spielberg's E.T., the film presents the dark side of Spielberg's California suburban track homes. The film centers on the Freeling family, a typical middle class family living in the peaceful Cuesta Verde Estates. The father, Steve (Craig T. Nelson), has fallen asleep in front of the television, and the dog saunters around the house revealing the other family members -- Steve's wife Diane (JoBeth Williams), sixteen-year-old daughter Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old son Robbie (Oliver Robins), and five-year-old Carol Ann (Heather O'Rourke). Soon strange things begin to happen around the house; the pet canary dies, mysterious storms occur, and Carol Ann is summoned to the TV set, where a strange shaft of green light hits her and causes the room to shake ("They're he-e-ere!"). As curious events continue, Carol Ann is repeatedly drawn to the television, where she begins to talk to "the TV people." Soon Carol Ann is sucked into a closet, disappearing from this reality plane. Unable to find his daughter, Steve consults Dr. Lesh (Beatrice Straight), a para-psychologist from a nearby college. Lesh finds that paranormal phenomena is so strong in the Freelong household she is unable to deal with it and sends for clairvoyant and professional exorcist Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) to examine the house in hopes of finding Carol Ann. Tangina makes a horrifying discovery: Carol Ann is alive and in the house, but is being held on another spectral plane. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, (more)
