Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Director:

Tommy Lee Wallace

Writer:

Tommy Lee Wallace (written by)

Release Date:

22 October 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

...and now the earth will run with blood again!

Plot:

A large Halloween mask-making company has plans to kill millions of American children with something sinister hidden in Halloween masks.

Plot Keywords:

Mask | Halloween | Stonehenge | Hospital | Doctor

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tom Atkins	...	Dr. Daniel 'Dan' Challis
Stacey Nelkin	...	Ellie Grimbridge
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Conal Cochran
Michael Currie	...	Rafferty
Ralph Strait	...	Buddy Kupfer
Jadeen Barbor	...	Betty Kupfer
Brad Schacter	...	'Little' Buddy Kupfer Jr. (as Bradley Schachter)
Garn Stephens	...	Marge Guttman
Nancy Kyes	...	Linda Challis
Jonathan Terry	...	Starker (as Jon Terry)
Al Berry	...	Harry Grimbridge
Wendy Wessberg	...	Teddy
Essex Smith	...	Walter Jones
Maidie Norman	...	Nurse Agnes
John MacBride	...	Sheriff

Also Known As:

The Last Halloween (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (VHS rating) (1998) | Finland:K-18 (1983) (cut) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1988) | Australia:M | Austria:16 | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | UK:15 (theatrical release) (uncut) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) (cut) | UK:15 (video rating) (2002) (uncut) | UK:15 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Domino's Pizza - 17 Kersting Court, Sierra Madre, California, USA

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

After Michael Myers died at the end of Halloween II (1981), the plan by John Carpenter was to make a new "Halloween" movie each year, each telling a different Halloween-related story. After this movie underperformed at the box office, the film-makers decided to bring Michael back to life for future sequels.

Goofs:

Continuity: Towards the end of the movie, Chaliss's shirt goes from untucked to tucked several times between shots.

Quotes:

Harry Grimbridge: They're going to kill us. All of us! All of us!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Broadway Danny Rose (1984)

Soundtrack:

Do The Boogaloo

Misunderstood and under rated

This is probably the most controversial Halloween movie, simply because Michael Myers isn't in it. I know that this movie gets a lot of complaints, but actually I can see where the writers were going with this. They just had an idea to continue the Halloween stories, but just to do a different type of franchise, which I give them a lot of credit for. Does this movie deliver the same scares as the original Halloween or even the sequel? No, it doesn't, but it's still creepy and not given a proper chance by most. Just the song that is used alone in this movie was a bit intense. It's a great little ghost story that is sure to deliver chills if you have an open mind to it. The acting isn't as good as the other movies, we have some pretty below par actors, but over all they make the movie worth watching even if it was cheesy.

On Saturday, October 23, shop owner Harry Grimbridge is chased by mysterious figures wearing business suits. He collapses at a gas station clutching a Silver Shamrock jack-o'-lantern mask and is driven to the hospital by the filling station attendant all the while ranting, "They're gonna kill us. All of us." While Grimbridge is hospitalized, another man in a suit enters his room and pulls his skull apart. The man then returns to his vehicle, douses himself with gasoline and lights himself on fire, causing the car to explode. Challis, together with Grimbridge's daughter, Ellie, begins an investigation that leads them to the home of the Silver Shamrock Novelties factory. They learn from a hotel manager, Mr. Rafferty, that the source of the town's prosperity is Irishman Conal Cochran and his factory and that the majority of the town's population is made up of descendants of Irish immigrants. Challis learns that Ellie's father had stayed at the same hotel. Other guests of the hotel included shop owners Marge Guttman, Buddy, Betty and their son "Little" Buddy. All have business at the factory and eventually meet gruesome ends because of the Silver Shamrock masks.The Kupfer family views the Silver Shamrock commercial that will air on Halloween night. But there's more to these masks then meets the eye.

Is Halloween 3 the best sequel? No; is it the worst sequel? No; I'd say just a lot of people got the wrong idea about the movie and didn't know what the writers were thinking when the wrote for this franchise. I loved the ending scene, it actually did give me a nightmare, I don't want to give it away though, just trust me, it's a creepy scene. I do recommend if you love horror movies to give this movie a fair chance or if you want to see the Halloween movie franchise, just remember that the writers just wanted to try something new. I do honestly like this movie, I hope people will see it for what it is and it's just a good ghost story to watch on a night for Halloween.

6/10