[Editorial] Take-Two: A Reevaluation of Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

It all started on Halloween night in 1978 when a masked killer set his path on murdering a few babysitters in Haddonfield, Illinois. Breaking way for a low-budget horror movie to become one of the greatest horror classics of all time. Yet, what happens when you stray away from the guy with a knife in a mask? You make a whole lot of people upset but you also create another classic that stands the test of time. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) is one of the most underappreciated Halloween films and it deserves a second look. 

When store shop owner Harry Grimbridge (Al Berry) is admitted to the hospital, his erratic behavior towards a Halloween mask piques the interest of doctor Daniel Challis (Tom Atkins). After Harry is murdered by a mysterious man the same night he is admitted, his daughter Ellie (Stacey Nelkin) teams up with Daniel to uncover the mystery surrounding her father’s death. Taking us on a mysterious journey involving Halloween masks, Stonehenge, and taking over the world. All over America kids are vying for the popular Silver Shamrock Halloween masks but there’s something about those skeletons, pumpkins, and witches that just isn’t right. During the few days leading up to Halloween, Daniel and Ellie set out to investigate the strange town of Santa Mira, following a mask order Ellie’s father went to pick up. Santa Mira is the home of the Silver Shamrock novelties run by Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy). Daniel and Ellie find themselves in a motel with other shop owners, Marge (Garn Stephens) and Buddy Kupfer (Ralph Strait), and his family. These quirky characters help Ellie and Daniel uncover information and get into the Shamrock factory, which is where they learn that Cochran plans to use the magic of Stonehenge, his novelty Halloween masks, and the powers of broadcasting to complete a witchcraft sacrifice. Halloween III: Season of the Witch does not star Michael Myers or Laurie Strode; it does however, present charismatic characters, gruesome kills, and an earworm jingle you can’t help but sing along to. 

John Carpenter, fully aware of Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981) success, set out to take the Halloween franchise on a new path. Hoping to create an anthology series where all kinds of horrors could take place on Halloween night. During his interview for the exclusive Shudder documentary In Search of Darkness (2019), Carpenter gives more light to his ideas around Halloween III: Season of the Witch stating, “I don’t think there’s any more story in the Halloween movies, why don’t we veer off and do something brand new?” (Carpenter 2019). Carpenter was ready to hang up the guy with the mask and knife but audiences were not. The slasher sub-genre would experience a huge boom between the late ’70s and into the ’80s from Friday the 13th (1980), The Slumber Party Massacre (1982), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), and many many more. It’s simply what made money, and for Halloween, it had perfected the slasher formula, something audiences just couldn’t get enough. In the same Shudder documentary, Editor-in-chief of Fangoria magazine, Phil Nobile Jr., says it best, “We’d already been conditioned to think that Halloween equals Michael Myers” (Nobile 2019). This idea remains today as the recent installments of Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), and Halloween Ends (2022) breathe life back into Michal Myers and has grown an even greater audience and fan base around it. Except there is much more to creating a good horror movie outside of the main villain. This is where Halloween III: Season of the Witch does everything right. 

Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a fantastic film all on its own. There is no loss with the absence of Michael Myers; the story is fresh, the characters are complex, and the horror is exceptionally present. Starting simply with the plot, novelty Halloween masks that melt kids’ faces off is pretty brutal. Halloween III: Season of the Witch has some of the best kills and special effects makeup depicted in a horror movie. In one scene, Marge starts to examine the microchip in the Silver Shamrock trademark that is evident on the masks. When the laser shoots out of the chip at Marge's face, burning her mouth open, her eyes bulging out, and a centipede crawling out, we are witness to one of the most gruesome-looking effects. Artists Thomas R. Burman, Ron Walters, and John Logan do amazing work with special effects makeup. Especially in the final scenes where Cochran gives a demonstration of the Halloween masks for Daniel. The campy witchcraft behind his plan is brought to life in such a realistic way with live bugs and snakes. The kind of horror where things seem too close to real life is what made Michael Myers so terrifying and the Silver Shamrock masks do the same here. Tom Atkins as Daniel is a charismatic doctor, recently divorced and although his involvement in uncovering the truth behind Silver Shamrock novelties started with his lust for Ellie, he eventually overcomes his own selfish ways in order to save the world. Halloween III: Season of the Witch is fun, brutal, and may not be canon in any part of the Halloween franchise but serves as the perfect kind of nostalgia. Actor Tom Atkins himself when interviewed for Shudder’s documentary In Search of Darkness (2019) states, “People have very much rallied to it and embrace it. It’s a good standalone movie by itself. It doesn’t need Michael Myers and never did” (Atkins 2019). Halloween III: Season of the Witch is an amazing horror film not because it had a masked serial killer in it but because it had hair-raising music, creative kills, and a high-stakes conflict that ends ambiguously allowing for interpretation. These are the traits within horror films that make our hearts race, cause us to jump in our seats and love the adrenaline of the scare. Although Carpenter's anthology idea gets snuffed out by the success of the slasher formula the film remains a nostalgic piece. Finding its place within the hearts of fans and ultimately deserving of its place within the famed franchise. 

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