Kids all over America want Silver Shamrock masks for Halloween. Doctor Daniel Challis seeks to uncover a plot by Silver Shamrock owner Conal Cochran.Kids all over America want Silver Shamrock masks for Halloween. Doctor Daniel Challis seeks to uncover a plot by Silver Shamrock owner Conal Cochran.Kids all over America want Silver Shamrock masks for Halloween. Doctor Daniel Challis seeks to uncover a plot by Silver Shamrock owner Conal Cochran.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
- Little Buddy
- (as Bradley Schachter)
- Starker
- (as Jon Terry)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe movie's novelization was published in 1982 by science-fiction writer Dennis Etchison under the pseudonym Jack Martin. Despite the movie's critical failure, the book became a best-seller and was even reissued two years after the movie's release, in 1984.
- GoofsThe technicians at the Shamrock factory are still making the deadly computer chips and masks and working on the Blue stone an hour before the Big Giveaway at 9. These chips and the thousands of others in boxes around the factory will never be used as Cohran's goal will have been achieved after 9 pm.
- Quotes
Conal Cochran: Enjoy the horror-thon, Doctor, and don't forget to watch the big giveaway afterwards.
Daniel Challis: Why, Cochran, why?
Conal Cochran: Do I need a reason? Mr. Kupfer was right, you know. I do love a good joke, and this is the best ever: a joke on the children. But there's a better reason. You don't really know much about Halloween. You thought no further than the strange custom of having your children wear masks and go out begging for candy.
[pauses]
Conal Cochran: It was the start of the year in our old Celtic lands, and we'd be waiting in our houses of wattles and clay. The barriers would be down, you see, between the real and the unreal, and the dead might be looking in to sit by our fires of turf.
[pauses]
Conal Cochran: Halloween... the festival of Samhain! The last great one took place three thousand years ago, when the hills ran red with the blood of animals and children.
Daniel Challis: Sacrifices.
Conal Cochran: It was part of our world... our craft.
Daniel Challis: Witchcraft.
Conal Cochran: To us, it was a way of controlling our environment. It's not so different now... it's time again. In the end, we don't decide these things, you know; the planets do. They're in alignment, and it's time again. The world's going to change tonight, Doctor, I'm glad you'll be able to watch it. And... Happy Halloween.
- Alternate versionsThe UK MIA DVD is completely uncut. The UK version was uncut during its theatrical exhibition. The video release in 1986 was cut by 2 minutes 6 secs before the video was submitted for a certificate and has all the violent scenes cut out. For instance: When Harry Grimbridge is killed, the gruesome killing of him is cut out. We see the fingers poised and the feet and Halloween mask moving, and then immediately it shows the assassin wiping his blood covered gloves on the curtain. When Starker gets decapitated, this scene including the fountain of blood is cut out. When Marge Guttman's face explodes, the gruesome insect scene is cut and it just shows her quivering hands move slowly down her face then it fades out. The drill murder of lab assistant Teddy ends as the drill starts turning and no footage is shown of her kicking legs. The 2000 MIA DVD featured the full uncut version though the 2002 widescreen release from Sanctuary featured a re-edited print which was missing footage of the two face mutilations.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Coming Soon (1982)
- SoundtracksDo the Boogaloo
Written by Gerhard Narholz and Jean-Claude Madonne (as Jean Claude Madone)
Performed by Quango and Sparky
c/o Sonoton Music Inc
*** (out of 4)
Dr. Daniel Challis (Tom Atkins) has a man show up in his hospital holding a Halloween mask and refusing to let it go. The man is eventually murdered so the doctor teams up with the man's daughter (Stacey Nelkin) to try and determine why. This leads to a Halloween mask factory and its bizarre owner (Dan O'Herlihy) who plans on killing off children using the masks.
HALLOWEEN III was a critical and commercial flop when it was released and you can go to any internet message board and mention this film and usually a fight will quickly break out. Most people can't stand the film because it doesn't feature Michael Myers. I understand that as I still remember the first time I rented this I couldn't help but keep waiting for Myers to show up and when he never did I felt cheated. That also meant whenever I'd watch a HALLOWEEN movie I'd skip this one because it didn't have Myers.
Looking back on the film, history is starting to be kind because once you get over the fact that it doesn't have Myers then you'll see that it's an actual good movie. The original idea by John Carpenter was to have a new subject for each movie. Of course that didn't happen with HALLOWEEN II and after this one turned out to be a disaster the series quickly went back to the scary guy. This film here has a lot in common with INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS as you've got evil robots, a mad man and killer masks. Oh yeah, you've also got one of the most annoying songs in film history yet can you not sing along each time it comes on?
Another thing going in the film's favor are the two lead characters. Atkins is just a great blue collar guy and he's a lot of fun here. He has become a cult favorite over the years and it's easy to see why. Nelkin is also extremely good in her role and there's no doubt that the two work quite well together. O'Herlihy is also very good in his laid back approach to the mad scientist. There's also a nice score, some good cinematography and for the most part the story is good.
I do think the film runs on a bit too long and I think Roger Ebert was correct when he said it would have been better had we known why the guy wanted to kill off all the children. Perhaps another draft of the screenplay would have worked but either way, time has proved that HALLOWEEN III isn't nearly as bad as its early reputation.
- Michael_Elliott
- Dec 1, 2008
- Permalink
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Halloween III: El imperio de las brujas
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $2,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $14,400,000
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,333,259
- Oct 24, 1982
- Gross worldwide
- $14,400,000
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1