Ignore whatever you may have heard about it, Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a great film!
Some movies are just misunderstood. Maybe it’s marketing. Maybe it’s just “ahead of its time”. Usually it’s just critics. But a scathing review could be enough to turn off scores of people who would have given it a chance. But a select few of these films find their mark long after leaving the big screen. Halloween III: Season of the Witch is one of those movies.
Blasted by critics at the time as just a mediocre horror movie capitalizing on the franchise name, it has since been relegated to the dust bin of genre films. It was able to recoup its budget, but overall it performed poorly at the box office. It may also be the reason that there was not another entry in this series for another six years.
Does it deserve the cold shoulder its received? Absolutely not!
Where’s Michael???
The number one complaint leveled at this film; no Michael Myers. In theaters in 1982, and only a year after Halloween II, the slasher that horror fans loved was nowhere to be found. In fact, this movie treats the original Halloween as fiction, and a film that the characters see on TV. It’s a hilarious easter egg.
But just because Myers is missing in action in no way means this movie lacks in the gruesome killing department.
In Halloween III: Season Of The Witch the terror is slightly more ambiguous. Sure there are more than a few awesome death scenes, but the “assailants” are just the tip of the iceberg here. The movie begins with a man barely escaping an attack by one of these “assailants” and is taken to the hospital clutching a children’s Halloween mask. The man is unconscious but awakes and becomes distraught upon hearing a television commercial for Silver Shamrock Halloween masks.
After being treated by Dr. Dan Challis, the man is murdered in his hospital room. After a brief chase outside, the doctor sees the attacker step into a car, douse himself in gasoline and set himself ablaze.
Self-immolation is some scary stuff.
Silver Shamrock
The man who was murdered is identified by his daughter Ellie, who along with Dr. Dan Challis set out to solve the mystery of what happened.
It leads them to the town of Santa Mira, Ca and a company called the Silver Shamrock. The company is in the business of mask making and it’s prime season for them. This is also hammered home with the amount of commercials the company has been taking out. Seriously, they’re everywhere. Shop windows, TV commercials, radio commercials. It really adds to the atmosphere to the movie. The music that plays at the beginning of the commercial is eerily reminiscent of the traditional Halloween theme song. Maybe it’s just me though.
Eight more days ’til Halloween,Halloween, Halloween.Eight more days ’til Halloween,Silver Shamrock.
The environment of the town is also a character in its own right. It is immediately evident that something is not right here. The surveillance cameras everywhere are kind of a tip off to the viewer. Santa Mira also has a curfew complete with audio announcement to go inside. Don’t forget to bring in your cat.
It’s also where viewers meet factory owner and town icon Conal Cochran. Fans of Twin Peaks will recognize him as Andrew Packard. A wealthy businessman who has worked his way up from the bottom, all while selling cheap children’s entertainment. This movie is making a statement on consumption, with the excessive marketing towards children only slightly exaggerated. TV commercials with embedded subliminal messages? I mean c’mon!
It’s Halloween
The movie heads towards its climax, and if you haven’t seen it, I don’t want to spoil it here for you. You’ve got to see it for yourself. Halloween III: Season Of The Witch is a classic 80s horror movie in every sense, yet so much more.
Much like the fear induced by Michael Myers and his mask (which was a bleached William Shatner mask!) it also its own set of children’s Halloween costume. The skull. The witch. The pumpkin. So basic, yet that is what makes it all the more unnerving.
It also delves into traditional Celtic myth and the origins of Halloween itself. Halloween is based off of the pagan festival of Samhain. An ancient tradition that saw the border of our world and the spirit world become weaker, letting those who have died revisit the land of the living. It also brings in the legendary pagan rock formation Stonehenge, and watch out for the news coverage of it on a television set in the movie. It’s some good foreshadowing.
Halloween III: Season Of The Witch has such a great ending, a much preferable ending than those that are usually pretty cut and dry and/or predictable. Halloween franchise one of my all time favorite horror franchises, and I love the iconic Michael Myers but this is a solid and unique entry into the franchise. Even without his presence. If you go in without the expectation that the name invokes (namely, Michael Myers), you’ll have a great experience!
Mike Harris hails from the suburbs of Chicago and has been a fan for most of his life. Working as an industrial radiographer and raising a family with his wife take up most of his time, but there’s always room for Star Wars books and podcasts! Just looking to give back to Star Wars and the fan community, it’s been a source of fun and learning for him for so long.