#44 - Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

 

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

(dir. Tommy Lee Wallace)

This was a flop upon release, mainly because audiences wanted another movie about Michael Myers and instead got a bizarre story about an evil mask company, pagan sacrifices, killer robots, and Tom Atkins hooking up with a woman who is WAY too young for him. Time has been kind to it though, and horror fans have largely accepted it as a good film that was a victim of its own marketing.

I love how bonkers this movie gets. Microchips powered by pieces of Stonehedge that cause children's heads to turn into piles of snakes and insects? Hell yeah. Conal Cochran is a good villain and when you think about it he might have the highest body count of any horror movie villain ever. Tom Atkins is great even if he does play pretty much the exact same character he plays in every movie I've seen him in. This also has really great atmosphere and feels more appropriately Halloween-y than possibly any of the other films in the franchise besides the original. There is some commentary on consumerism and the commercialization of Halloween in here too - the kids are very easily manipulated by the ubiquitous Silver Shamrock advertising and even dance around singing the jingle from the commercial. The bad guys basically carry out their evil plan just by spending a boatload of money on TV and radio spots.

It does take a bit to get going - most of the crazy shit doesn't happen until the third act, and the start of the film isn't all that memorable apart from some good gore. Still, it's more hits than misses and I'm glad that public opinion of this has come around. If you like '80s horror movies this is a classic.