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Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (1982)

DVD Cover (Scream Factory)
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Ranked #2,237
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Connections: Halloween

Dr. Daniel Challis and Ellie Grimbridge stumble onto a gruesome murder scheme when Ellie's novelty-salesman father, Harry, is killed while in possession of a strange mask made by the Silver Shamrock mask company. The company's owner, Conal Cochran, wants to return Halloween to its darker roots using his masks -- and his unspeakable scheme would unleash death and destruction across the country. --TMDb
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Review by bluemeanie
Added: April 12, 2007
1 -- this is not the worst horror film ever made.
2 -- this is not the worst sequel ever made.
3 -- this was not a smart move for the "Halloween" franchise.

John Carpenter & Debra Hill thought they had bled Michael Myers to death after two films and they wanted a change of pace, so they brought Tommy Lee Wallace on to write and direct a departure from the original context of "Halloween". The result was "Halloween III: Season of the Witch". The only reason the film was tagged with the "Halloween" banter was to attract revenue. However, I think everyone involved realized they should have not strayed away from the original formula, very shortly after this film was released. It's a shame, because there is a good film wrapped up here that has just become a joke because it doesn't have a William Shatner mask.

The plot seems like something out of a Terry Gilliam film -- a large Halloween mask-making company has taken it upon themselves to implant chips into their masks, each chip taken straight from Stonehenge. On Halloween night, when the chips are activated, all those wearing them will die. Thus, they're wanting to wipe out a large chunk of our nation's children. The only relation this plot has to the original "Halloween" is the 'mask' format. Michael Myers wore a mask and this is the company that manufactured that particular mask. But, other than that very loose and very arguable connection, we get nothing. We get a sequel that is not really a sequel at all.

As mentioned previously, this is a shame. "Season of the Witch" is a pretty intriguing and creepy little horror film. I remember watching it as a kid and not knowing it was supposed to be a sequel to "Halloween". I loved it. I had the VHS of it and used to watch it and "Children of the Corn" over and over again. "Season of the Witch", as a stand alone film, is a fine 1980's horror film with some clever story lines, competent performances, and a damned good opening sequence. The ending is a little wonky, but it's not nearly as rotten as everyone says. Everyone is just upset because it doesn't have Michael Myers and Jamie Lee. They wanted more Jamie Lee. That got a total departure from the original "Halloween" concept, which is what John Carpenter and Debra Hill wanted.

Hindsight is always 20/20, I suppose. Had they released this film as "Season of the Witch" -- brought to you by the people who brought you "Halloween" and "The Fog" -- that would have been a better selling point. I will never consider this an installment in the 'official' franchise, not out of disrespect, but out of common sense. 7/10.
BuryMeAlive #1: BuryMeAlive - added April 12, 2007 at 6:27am
This movie is so hated for one simple thing, it does not feature Michael Myers. But if you would 'remove' the "Halloween" title you got a solid horror movie.
Edd #2: Edd - added April 12, 2007 at 2:26pm
I'm sorry, but the plain and simple fact is that this movie blows. Mediocre(?) acting and sub-par editing made it hard to watch and stay interested. The fact that it didn't have our favorite trick-or-treat killer in it doesn't bother me, but it was just so stupid. Love the song for the masks though. To tell the truth, after watching this film, I had it stuck in my head for a couple days. 4/10, but with that catchy little number, 6/10
Tristan #3: Tristan - added April 12, 2007 at 8:06pm
Like most of you, I think that had this been called Season of the Witch, rather than Halloween III: Season of the Witch, this movie would have been better received. It's a nice little horror movie, and I'm glad it gained popularity by being considered a Halloween film. I never knew it was a Halloween movie when I used to watch it, and later, when I became more "movie aware" if you will, I figured out what it was, but it didn't change my views on it at all. Great horror film, but not much for the Halloween series. 7/10
Crispy #4: Crispy - added April 13, 2007 at 12:19pm
If you're going to enjoy this, you really need some sort of forewarning that Michael isn't in it. First time I saw it I was clueless. Left a sour taste in my mouth ever since. Guess I'm missing out some, but eh.
Tristan #5: Tristan - added September 25, 2007 at 7:53pm
After rewatching this, I'm going to have to say it wasn't good as even a stand alone horror movie. 5/10
DillonBerserk #6: DillonBerserk - added October 4, 2010 at 12:39am
I have to leave this at a 4/10 because I couldn't stand the first hour of the movie but then again It's unfair to rate it not watching the entire thing. Picked the movie up for 4 dollars at Cheapos.
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