While the original Halloween was a critical and commercial success, Halloween II wasn’t as successful. Despite grossing over $25 million, reviews weren’t as kind, with Roger Ebert calling it “a fall from greatness.” Still, the producers thought the film earned enough money to warrant another sequel despite John Carpenter and Debra Hill’s reluctance. They only agreed to return if they could make a standalone film without Michael Myers returning as the focus. With a $2.5 million budget, Carpenter hired Nigel Kneale, best known for the Quatermass series, to write the script. Unfortunately, producer Dino De Laurentiis wanted more gore added, so Carpenter and director Tommy Lee Wallace rewrote the script. The hope was that if this film were successful, it would spawn a new anthology series of Halloween-themed movies. On October 22, 1982, Halloween III: Season of the Witch was released to an unsuspecting audience.
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Synopsis
Dr. Daniel Challis (Tom Atkins), an alcoholic, divorced doctor, is called into the hospital when a delirious patient arrives. The patient, shop owner Harry Grimbridge (Al Berry), clutches a Jack-O-Lantern mask claiming that “they’re going to kill us all.” That night, a mysterious stranger (Dick Warlock) goes to the hospital, kills Harry, and immolates himself. The next day, Challis meets Harry’s daughter Ellie (Stacey Nelkin), who reveals she found some strange information regarding his death. Their investigation takes them to the Santa Mira headquarters of Silver Shamrock Novelties, a company known for its Halloween masks. Posing as potential buyers, Dan and Ellie tour the factory and meet the owner, Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy). Things go south when Ellie gets kidnapped and Dan gets captured while breaking into the factory. What Dan soon learns about Silver Shamrock and their masks will shock him to his very core.
Review
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is criminally underrated, even if it’s the furthest apart from the other entries. Since its release 40 years ago, there are still fans who’ve dismissed this entry simply for not having Michael Myers. Even though the marketing clarified that Michael Myers wouldn’t return, this fact still annoyed fans. Thankfully, the film has recently gained a reevaluation from critics and audiences, which it rightfully deserves. As a standalone film, it works as a supernatural thriller with some clever satire toward the commercialization of Halloween. As a sequel, the movie is removed from the first two as much as possible, which is its biggest flaw. If it were called anything other than Halloween III, the film probably wouldn’t have been as hated by audiences. Still, it’s the only way the movie would’ve gotten the green light, so its downfall was inevitable.
As always, Tom Atkins delivers a charismatic and commanding performance playing an unconventional leading man as an alcoholic divorcee. On top of looking adorable, Stacey Nelkin makes for a great leading lady and has excellent chemistry with Atkins. Dan O’Herlihy makes for a compelling villain, coming off as charming and sinister, best exemplified by his speech about Samhein. While there are some gruesome kills, the movie manages to make them disturbing without being needlessly graphic. Not to mention, this movie does something you rarely see either back then or nowadays: they kill a child. Admittedly, the plot doesn’t make much sense, and there are plenty of plotholes, but they don’t hurt the overall experience. If you view this as a standalone movie, you’ll get one of the best supernatural horror films of the decade. Overall, Halloween III: Season of the Witch deserves its status as a cult classic.
Buy Halloween III: Season of the Witch from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3fW5JI1.
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