Without a doubt in my mind, "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" is one of the most bizarre movies I've ever seen. It goes in so many directions, yet never really focuses on one. It takes place in the fictional Northern California town of Santa Mira and stars John Carpenter veteran Tom Atkins. Though Carpenter did not direct this picture, his touch is very obvious on this film, all the way down to its look and the very pessimistic attitude of the script. It criticizes the commercialism that has taken over the Halloween holiday and the influence it has had on the children that trick or treat every year. I must admit, that this review is a bit biased... "Halloween III" is one of my favorite horror movies ever.
"HIII" begins with the murder of Harry Grimbridge (Al Berry) at a hospital, in which he was under the care of Dr. Daniel Challis, played by the greatly versatile Tom Atkins. Challis is visited the next morning by Grimbridge's daughter, Ellie (Stacey Nelkin), who reveals that her father had gone up to take care of some business at the Silver Shamrock Novelties factory in the Northern California town of Santa Mira before his mysterious death.
What secret is the year's most popular Halloween mask hiding in "Halloween III: Season of the Witch"?
Challis is a divorced father of two whose absence from his children's lives has taken a toll on his ex-wife's patience and tolerance for having him around or anything to do with him. When the pair finally arrive in Santa Mira, they discover that the town is really a factory town similar to the steel towns back east during the early to mid 20th century, greatly "controlled"by the Silver Shamrock company. The head of the company is the very friendly, yet mysterious Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy). However, when Challis begins to further investigate things going on behind closed doors, he discovers a plot involving the company's merchandise that is putting the lives of millions at risk, involving the company's signature masks, and a Halloween horror movie marathon on television.
The idea behind "Season of the Witch" was that based on the end of "Halloween II" (SPOILER), the Michael Myers story could not be continued. John Carpenter and the producers discussed starting an anthology series in which every film from then on would feature a new storyline involving some aspect of the Halloween holiday or traditions. For this film the story of Conal Cochran was created to expose the capitalistic corruption of the holiday. The story is so strange and, well, something you'd find in lots of films from the 80's. A large portion of the film surrounds the mystery of the Silver Shamrock Company and the masks they produce. Tommy Lee Wallace's script never gives us enough information, but never gives us too much either. The script is not played for laughs but for drama, sending the film over-the-top. Yes, it's ridiculous. Part of the reason why I love the film so much is because of the way the script unfolds. Every new act of the plot gives us something the audience isn't expecting.
The mysterious suited men who take care of all of Silver Shamrock's dirty work in "Halloween III"
Adding to the silly gravitas of the film is the great Tom Atkins' performance as Dr. Dan Challis, the womanizing, beer drinking, and mystery investigating "hero" of our story. Challis is the worst possible hero for this tale. He promises to see his kids early on in the film, but ditches them to run off to Santa Mira with the young Ellie to find out what happened to her father. Also, he gets tired, scared, defeated, never once does Atkins seem like a larger than life figure, instead, he comes off as anyone that could be living next door to you or I. Keep an eye out during the scene where Challis calls his wife to tell her he's not going to be able to see their kids, it's the same location from "Halloween II" where Michael Myers finds out where Laurie has been taken after the events of the first film.
I'd like to sing praises for two men involved with the production: Legandary Director of Photography Dean Cundey and actor Dan O'Herlihy. Cundey's photography of the film was praised by Tom Atkins on the commentary, saying that Cundey would light shots in absolute darkness and they would still show up beautifully on film. After Cundey parted ways with John Carpenter (JC was a producer on this film and also an uncredited contributor to the film's story) his films never looked quite the same again. They lost that look that his classics had. Compare the look of this film to it's follow up "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" and the difference is obvious. The latter has the look of a soap opera while Cundey's DP work is rich, textured, and effective on an HD television. O'Herlihy is pretty damn creepy as Cochran, coming off as a friendly, yet shady man. His performance was obviously for the paycheck, but holy hell does he sell this character. Again, playing such a ridiculous movie like a straight ahead drama is a funny thing and adds to the 80's feel of the film, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Dan O'Herlihy as the shady Conal Cochran, the head of the Silver Shamrock Novelties Company in "Halloween III"
Another element I'd like to give my thoughts on is specific to the Scream! Factory Blu Ray/DVD collector's edition of this film. If you can, try and pick a copy of their release of "Halloween III." The Blu Ray looks absolutely gorgeous and is packed with new supplemental extras that include an awesome featurette titled "Horror's Hallowed Grounds" that returns to some of the locations that the film was shot at, including Loleta, CA - the small Northern California town that stood in for Santa Mira. Two commentaries, one with HHG host Sean Clark and director Tommy Lee Wallace, the other with Tom Atkins and Rob G. from Icons of Fright. The Blu Ray conversion has made the film sharper, more "colorful", in that the darks are truly dark, the bright colors don't have the look of a digitized VHS tape, and the uncompressed soundtrack rings out in great quality speakers or headphones.
"Halloween III: Season of the Witch" was once the "bastard son" of the "Halloween" franchise. It tossed aside the crowd pleasing character that is The Shape and instead opted for an original concept as opposed to yet another franchise film, something more films should attempt now-a-days. To be perfectly honest, this movie is so weird, I don't even know what to rate it. It's terrible, that's for damn certain, but at the same time, it's extremely cool. Never has a horror movie attempted to be so bold and above the genre, yet failed so miserably. I can't explain what "Season of the Witch" is because it's something that needs to be experienced. For that reason, it's become not just one of my favorite horror movies, but one of my favorite films, across any genre. Cinematically, I'm scoring this one very low, but I can not recommend it enough.
4/10
Written by Tommy Lee Wallace
Runtime - 98 minutes
Suggested Edition: Scream! Factory DVD or Blu Ray
4.1 of 10 stars on IMDb
35% on Rotten Tomatoes
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