Halloween III: Season of the Witch, soo misunderstood!

[Corky]

Such an unfairly mistreated and unloved horror/sci-fi thriller that has gotten alot of flack because there was no Michael Myers or any of the characters from the first two movies but has gotten a small following. You see folks, Michael died at the end of "Halloween II", gone, burned to a crisp! So John Carpenter with Debra Hill and The Dino De Laurentiis corporation had an idea to make the franchise into a series of big-screen horror stories much like an Anthology in the tradition of "Tales from The Crypt", "Creepshow" or "Goosebumps" instead of the same old slasher routine. It was an interesting idea but unfortunately it bombed at the box-office for fans and critics panned it wanting Michael back, so the anthology idea ended and Michael returned for part 4.

I thought this was a fascinating horror/Sci-fi horror thriller with a great performance by Tom Atkins and had a good music score by Carpenter and had an apocalyptic conspiracy sense of fear in the movie. So it's nowhere as bad as you heard, just rent this one and have fun with it plus if you suspend your disbelief over the title and pretend it's "Season of the Witch" then you might enjoy it.

[Scorpion13]

Such an unfairly mistreated and unloved horror/sci-fi thriller that has gotten alot of flack because there was no Michael Myers or any of the characters from the first two movies but has gotten a small following. You see folks, Michael died at the end of "Halloween II", gone, burned to a crisp! So John Carpenter with Debra Hill and The Dino De Laurentiis corporation had an idea to make the franchise into a series of big-screen horror stories much like an Anthology in the tradition of "Tales from The Crypt", "Creepshow" or "Goosebumps" instead of the same old slasher routine. It was an interesting idea but unfortunately it bombed at the box-office for fans and critics panned it wanting Michael back, so the anthology idea ended and Michael returned for part 4.

I thought this was a fascinating horror/Sci-fi horror thriller with a great performance by Tom Atkins and had a good music score by Carpenter and had an apocalyptic conspiracy sense of fear in the movie. So it's nowhere as bad as you heard, just rent this one and have fun with it plus if you suspend your disbelief over the title and pretend it's "Season of the Witch" then you might enjoy it.


Er, I dont think the reason why not many people liked the movie was that it didnt have Michael Meyers in it, I think its because the story was incomprehensible, full of plots holes and just not very good.


Now Prince of Darkness, THERES a Carpenter movie that needs to get more respect than it does now. That was one of the creepiest movies Ive ever seen.

[Dennis K]

Halloween III didn't get any flack from me from not having Myers in it, it got flack from me for being an absolute piece of dreck

[Shellhead]

I actually reviewed this movie for my high school newspaper back when it came out. I'm in the process of packing up for a move, so I've been going through some boxes of old stuff. If I find that review, I will post it here.

[Karl H]

8 more days till Halloween
Halloween
Halloween
8 more days till Halloween
Silver Shamrock

Great movie - first horror film I ever watched...

[Guitar Hero]

What's this movie about anyways?

[Dennis K]

What's this movie about anyways?


About 2 hours too freakin' long.

[Royal]

About 2 hours too freakin' long.

*rimshot for Dennis*

[hoffmandu]

I just remember a room full of androids chiseling on StoneHedge or something r-tarded like that. Aweful film. 14 thumbs down on that garbage.

[Nate Grey]

What's this movie about anyways?

A man was trying to warn people that Halloween masks are going to kill anyone wearing them (namely children) at a specified time. He gets injured, goes to a hospital, gets killed IN the hospital by a robot (yes, a robot), who then destroys itself by making its car blow up with it in it. The doctor who attended the guy, and the guy's daughter, set out to uncover the mystery by going to a closed off town where the masks are made.

I liked it. The robots were both a creepy and funny concept, and the late Daniel O'Herily made a great villain. I think it was made with a budget of $50,000, and it shows, but it was still fun.

[the_coldest_sun]

A man was trying to warn people that Halloween masks are going to kill anyone wearing them (namely children) at a specified time. He gets injured, goes to a hospital, gets killed IN the hospital by a robot (yes, a robot), who then destroys itself by making its car blow up with it in it. The doctor who attended the guy, and the guy's daughter, set out to uncover the mystery by going to a closed off town where the masks are made.

I liked it. The robots were both a creepy and funny concept, and the late Daniel O'Herily made a great villain. I think it was made with a budget of $50,000, and it shows, but it was still fun.

WOW. Now that just sounds completely wacky! I've always wanted to see this movie, and you sir Nate Grey, have just convinced me to rent it.

[Huh?]

I love Halloween 3. IMO it is one of the best horror films ever made. It combines a good amount of gore, suspense and camp. Plus the Silver Shamrock commercial is amazing.

Seriously.

[Nate Grey]

WOW. Now that just sounds completely wacky! I've always wanted to see this movie, and you sir Nate Grey, have just convinced me to rent it.

$10 or less, man. No special features, either. lol Its crappy but there's hints of them at least trying (especially Tom Atkins), and most of all, its FUN. I don't mind a bad, nonsensical movie as long as I had a good time watching it.

Oh and you'll have that Silver Shamrock theme in your head for a while. ;)

[Shellhead]

Wacky is the word. These special Halloween masks contain a computer chip (practically magical super-technology to hollywood in the early 80s). On Halloween night, these evil conspirators will activate a signal that will be received by these computer chips, that will somehow cause the children wearing these masks to vomit bugs and worms until they die. The moral of the story is: computers are scary and potentially lethal.

[Scorpion13]

The fact of the matter is that John Carpenter movies most fall into 2 catagories: Pretty damn good, and Halloween 3.

[Shellhead]

The fact of the matter is that John Carpenter movies most fall into 2 catagories: Pretty damn good, and Halloween 3.

How do you rate Black Moon Rising?

[Scorpion13]

How do you rate Black Moon Rising?

I dont know. Havent seen it. Or even heard of it.

He's doing a new movie? I didnt really like Ghosts of Mars, but I thought the Masters of Horror ep Cigarette Burns was fantastic.

[Shellhead]

I dont know. Havent seen it. Or even heard of it.

He's doing a new movie? I didnt really like Ghosts of Mars, but I thought the Masters of Horror ep Cigarette Burns was fantastic.

Black Moon Rising came out in '86, and starred Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Hamilton. All I remember is a very sharp black sports car, and a wild stunt involving jumping that car from one building to another.

Ghosts of Mars wasn't great, but I did enjoy it. I wouldn't put it in Carpenter's top five movies by any means:

1. The Thing
2. Big Trouble in Little China
3. Prince of Darkness
4. Halloween
5. Escape from New York

Actually, Ghost of Mars might have been better than Escape from New York.

[hoffmandu]

Black Moon Rising came out in '86, and starred Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Hamilton. All I remember is a very sharp black sports car, and a wild stunt involving jumping that car from one building to another.

Ghosts of Mars wasn't great, but I did enjoy it. I wouldn't put it in Carpenter's top five movies by any means:

1. The Thing
2. Big Trouble in Little China
3. Prince of Darkness
4. Halloween
5. Escape from New York

Actually, Ghost of Mars might have been better than Escape from New York.

Whoa whoa WHOA! Escape From New York? Not LA, but New York? Ghosts of Mars is better than that........a cult classic..........You are trippin' Shell

[Shellhead]

Whoa whoa WHOA! Escape From New York? Not LA, but New York? Ghosts of Mars is better than that........a cult classic..........You are trippin' Shell

I have a nostalgic fondness for Escape for New York, but I don't trust that nostalgic instinct... not since a terrible experience watching a Thundarr the Barbarian dvd a few years ago. Ghosts of Mars deserves to be a cult classic for the weird vibe that movie had. There was this whole racial tension element, and that one guy accidentally chops off his own finger but is too wasted to care. It was weird, paranoid, sort of funny, and had better effects than some of Carpenter's other movies. I didn't see Escape from L.A., because it sounded like a fairly silly sequel, which I wasn't up for back then. I wouldn't mind seeing it now, though.

[hoffmandu]

I have a nostalgic fondness for Escape for New York, but I don't trust that nostalgic instinct... not since a terrible experience watching a Thundarr the Barbarian dvd a few years ago. Ghosts of Mars deserves to be a cult classic for the weird vibe that movie had. There was this whole racial tension element, and that one guy accidentally chops off his own finger but is too wasted to care. It was weird, paranoid, sort of funny, and had better effects than some of Carpenter's other movies. I didn't see Escape from L.A., because it sounded like a fairly silly sequel, which I wasn't up for back then. I wouldn't mind seeing it now, though.

I think Gost would have declared it's cult status by now, if it was going to. I'm sure it has a small following, but I wouldn't call it Cult. Save yourself 2 hours, SHell, skip LA, it's a complete rehash almost scene for scene.

[Haunt]

the only good part of this movie was the end with the masks.

[drwho]

It was annoying especially since it was a considered a sequel with no meyers. I do give it props for that freaky theme song that you cant get out of your head.

[david r]

Halloween III was prototypical 1980s horror. Emotionless, but better than the gorefests we have these days. I'd like to see it again.

[mattx110]

wait, did someone compliment a john carpenter score?

goooood, i wait for the day that man buys a decent piano and puts down the MIDI controller. i think doing his own soundtracks, he misses too many opporunities to exercise full creative control.

anyway, because of this, i wanna see this halloween 3. it sounds like i'd like it in concept if not in film. it'd probably be a nice influence to fall back on when approaching horror comics.

killer zombielike drones, ability for mass-slaughter (of kiddies, no less), undefinable technology nobody has a hope to figure out so they can't just pull a "we got a 17 year old computer whiz to fix it".

rule number one, if you don't want to show too much gore but you want to scare the hell out of an audience, you outnumber the hero a billion to one, with no obvious chance for escape. although carpenter showed gore too, but he did have, and claimed/acknowledged a love for howard hawks, who was the most brilliant graphic designer/self-editor to be a writer/director in the history of film.

but i sat through twenty minutes of wishmaster, and there were no consequences, really terrible special effects, and it didn't take itself remotely seriously, but it still wasn't fun :-/ the main villian was too whiny trying to trick people into saying things, taking away the whole fun of a sociopath with omnipotent powers restricted only by lexical semantics. god is that a great concept done terribly...

[marshal99]

The original Wishmaster is underrated , like a who's who of horror in that movie. You have like the actors for Freddy , Jason , Candyman & Phantasm. The sequels however is another matter , the 2nd one was quite bad and cheap looking but still okay compared to the rest -3 & 4 were absolutely dire.

[Shellhead]

Halloween III season thriller

Yes, boys and girls, it’s that time of year again. It’s that nebulous span between the late-summer bombs and the holiday hits, when the public faces a mediocre selection of movies, such as Halloween III: The Season of the Witch.

In this “slasher flick,” an evil genius named Cochran (played by Dan O’Herlily), is plotting to destroy the United States, through a bizarre combination of advanced technology and ancient sorcery. As an Irish millionaire who got rich from selling novelties and gag items, he visualizes this scheme as “the best joke of all!”

Cochran utilizes a grotesque version of the Trojan horse ploy by selling Halloween masks, which come complete with microchip implant. At the conclusion of an eight-day countdown to Halloween on a commercial campaign, a subsonic signal is activated. At this signal, the hapless trick-or-treater wearing the mask has his brain transformed into poisonous snakes, spiders, and other creatures. These assorted creepy crawlers then proceed to attack other nearby victims.

True to horror movie tradition, the square-jawed, macho hero, Tom Atkins, and the dewy-eyed heroine, Stacey Nelkins, attempt to foil the villain’s plans. All they have to do is get past the high-tech security system and a veritable army of androids that protect Cochran’s factory/headquarters. After a decapitation, an eye-gouging and a few other gory scenes, including the surprising fate of the heroine, the movie ends in a chilling cliffhanger.

Although in many respects a typical “slasher” movie, Halloween III: The Season of the Witch contains a few differences. For a movie about Halloween, the appearance of the androids was unexpected, although they were immediately recognizable as such to anyone who saw Blade Runner last summer. To break the tension, there were a few capricious touches, such as the cameo appearance of the original Halloween on a television set. Even Cochran displayed a wry sense of humor, by applauding the hero’s efforts, just before meeting his own demise.

Besides the title, the only real connection between Halloween III: The Season of the Witch and its predecessors is the director, John Carpenter. Like too many other “slasher” movies he has done, Carpenter follows the basic horror movie formula. But behind the grisly murders and the shock value of certain scenes, there isn’t much of a story, or for that matter, much to be afraid of. In the end, the only thing convincing about Halloween III: The Season of the Witch is the fact that Halloween is the season of the B-grade horror movie.

[Shellhead]

I realize that I used the term "slasher" pretty carelessly in that review, but at that time, there had only been a few true slasher movies, so the distinction between slasher and horror wasn't as clear as it was a year or two later.

[Haunt]

The original Wishmaster is underrated , like a who's who of horror in that movie. You have like the actors for Freddy , Jason , Candyman & Phantasm. The sequels however is another matter , the 2nd one was quite bad and cheap looking but still okay compared to the rest -3 & 4 were absolutely dire.

i found the movie quite entertaining but mostly because i like Andrew Divoff's performance as the Wishmaster. it's fun to try and predict what the next wish will be. the sequels blew, though.

[Jim Hall]

A couple of points about Halloween III:

It was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, not John Carpenter, although Carpenter is credited as a producer, and did compose the score.

Michael Meyers does make a cameo in the film, as a commercial for Halloween can be seen on a TV in one of the scenes (just before a "Silver Shamrock" commercial), so TECHNICALLY, Michael did appear in all of the Halloween movies.

I remember watching the movie shortly after it was released on a tiny 13" black & white TV, and being shocked that they broke the unwritten rule of actually showing violence to children. I bought the movie on VHS a few years back (as part of box set), and after watching it as an adult, it is dreck, but goofy/watchable dreck. There are a LOT worse horror movies that came out of the 80s.

[Indigo Al]

I've posted extensively about H3 - but I'm gonna be repetitive and paste a bit I wrote up in my 31 Days of Halloween Thread

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=146152&highlight=halloween


I caught bits and pieces of Halloween III: Season of the Witch as well on AMC. I am placed in the lonely lonely position of defending this film. Of COURSE it sucks; and yet? It's so bizarrely original that I can't help but applaud it! I have great affection for the Tron-like effects, for one thing.

A mean nasty Druid "trick on the children", performed for no reason at all - as ridiculous as it seems, in the 1980's American people were perfectly willing to believe Satanic Panic and apple razorblade rumors. This film could have tapped that more effectively with a bit more thought and care.

Plus, what could be more frightening than that F****G Silver Shamrock theme, what makes you want to seal your ear canal with concrete?

I'd much rather see a sequel to this, than Michael Myers going after the cousin's hairdresser of the 4th niece of Jaimie Lee Curtis and Scott Summers... Think about it. How many kids died? Was it a national broadcast? 20 years later, do people believe it was an urban legend? Did Tom Atkin's character go to jail? Do the dead children come back as ghosts for revenge? Please - the Halloween series needs more whacked out risks like this and less rehashed slasher bs.

[Nate Grey]

I've posted extensively about H3 - but I'm gonna be repetitive and paste a bit I wrote up in my 31 Days of Halloween Thread

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=146152&highlight=halloween


I caught bits and pieces of Halloween III: Season of the Witch as well on AMC. I am placed in the lonely lonely position of defending this film. Of COURSE it sucks; and yet? It's so bizarrely original that I can't help but applaud it! I have great affection for the Tron-like effects, for one thing.

A mean nasty Druid "trick on the children", performed for no reason at all - as ridiculous as it seems, in the 1980's American people were perfectly willing to believe Satanic Panic and apple razorblade rumors. This film could have tapped that more effectively with a bit more thought and care.

Plus, what could be more frightening than that F****G Silver Shamrock theme, what makes you want to seal your ear canal with concrete?

I'd much rather see a sequel to this, than Michael Myers going after the cousin's hairdresser of the 4th niece of Jaimie Lee Curtis and Scott Summers... Think about it. How many kids died? Was it a national broadcast? 20 years later, do people believe it was an urban legend? Did Tom Atkin's character go to jail? Do the dead children come back as ghosts for revenge? Please - the Halloween series needs more whacked out risks like this and less rehashed slasher bs.

I always thought, hey, why not re-release it as just "Season of the Witch" on DVD (dropping "Halloween" from the title completely), drop "Halloween" from the opening effects, edit out the Michael Myers commercial, and voila, a stand alone non sequel that can have sequels of its own. :o

[Indigo Al]

I always thought, hey, why not re-release it as just "Season of the Witch" on DVD (dropping "Halloween" from the title completely), drop "Halloween" from the opening effects, edit out the Michael Myers commercial, and voila, a stand alone non sequel that can have sequels of its own. :o


Because it's a piece of franchise history, the Michael Meyers commercial was clever (I wanted Jaimie Lee to come across some kids watching the Silver Shamrock commercial in H20), and I don't think it would make any difference in terms of DVD sales or sequels...

[Nate Grey]

Because it's a piece of franchise history, the Michael Meyers commercial was clever (I wanted Jaimie Lee to come across some kids watching the Silver Shamrock commercial in H20), and I don't think it would make any difference in terms of DVD sales or sequels...

Well, a lot of franchises have their sequels go straight to DVD (Prophesy, Hellraiser, Pumpkinhead's two upcoming sequels, etc). And while it is a part of franchise history, if there's more Halloween movies I seriously doubt they'll refer to part 3 story wise in any shape or form. Heck, didn't the commercial with Michael Myers in it pretty much prove they're two different universes anyway?

It'll never happen, of course, what I suggested, I'm just saying if some studio did want to it wouldn't be that hard.

[mattx110]

The original Wishmaster is underrated , like a who's who of horror in that movie. You have like the actors for Freddy , Jason , Candyman & Phantasm. The sequels however is another matter , the 2nd one was quite bad and cheap looking but still okay compared to the rest -3 & 4 were absolutely dire.

i really want to like wishmaster, and i love robert kurtzman, but it was just too eaihdiushdsad.
i think there was too little editorial on the wishes to make it really freaky, and i want the badguy to use the peoples words against them, not try to put words in their mouth for 10 minutes so he can do something he thinks is clever.
and the end he was too "here i am walking slowly with lots of prostetics being creepy" and too whiny. i don't want my clever evil monsters whiny. andy divoff was good at being creepy though, just, idk, better writing, and i think they showed the wrong gore. they made too many "show this icky thing but it looks too silly to be taken seriously" when they should have been mysterious choices, and the easier to make realistic throat cutting stuff that would have been more disturbing to show they didn't.

idk,i guess it was a comedy, and i wanted a drama.
and i really really wanna see halloween 3 now. it sounds great.

[TheBatGotHim]

And TECHNICALLY Jamie Lee Curtis was involved in this movie according to imdb.com...


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085636/trivia

-The voice of the operator that Challis keeps getting when he tries to call out of Santa Mira is Jamie Lee Curtis.



Plus she was also the town curfew announcer as well. :)