I have a confession to make. Like many film critics in 1982, I
did not understand or take a liking to Halloween III – Season of The Witch the
first time I viewed the film. As the decades have rolled on, I have developed a
greater appreciation for the film with multiple viewings. The film is not
considered canon in the Halloween series because Michael Myers is nowhere to
be found in the film. Director John Carpenter and producer Debra Hill agreed to
participate in the film only if it was not going to be a direct sequel to
Halloween II. Carpenter's chilling music adds some greater credit to this often
overlooked horror film.
It's Saturday October 23rd – eight days before
Halloween. A tall middle-aged man named Harry Grimbridge, who runs a costume
shop business, is being chased by a car in the opening of the film. He appears
to be out of breath as he runs with a pumpkin mask tucked in his pants. He finds
his way in the pouring rain to a gas station where he tells the station
attendant “they're coming!” The gas station attendant takes the man to a local
hospital. The man is treated by Dr. Daniel Challis, played by Tom Atkins.
Challis is in the middle of a break up with his wife and is never home due to
the demands of his job.
Grimbridge is later killed in his hospital bed by a man dressed
in a suit. His eye sockets and skull are crushed. Dr. Challis follows the man
in the suit out to the hospital parking lot as the man drenches himself with
gasoline in his car and sets himself on fire. Grimbridge's daughter Ellie,
played by Stacey Nelkin, arrives the following morning to identify the body of
her father. Ellie finds Challis in a bar and asks for his assistance in
uncovering the motif behind her father's death.
Challis and Ellie travel to a small Irish community named Santa
Mira, where Silver Shamrock Novelities manufactures Halloween masks. Ellie's
father had picked up some masks from Silver Shamrock a few days before his
murder. When the couple arrive, they discover the entire town to be under heavy
video surveillance and a strict 6pm curfew. The two uncover a plot by the
Silver Shamrock owner Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy) to use the masks in an
ancient Celtic ritual involving a stolen boulder from Stonehenge and a
triggering device inside Silver Shamrock masks to kill children when a
commercial airs on TV.
Although Michael Myers is never seen, the film still has a
number of brutal killings. A homeless man has his head torn off by one of
Cochran's robot henchmen. Dr. Challis' lab assistant is killed with a drill in
the head by another robot henchman. A child wearing a Silver Shamrock mask
watches a TV commercial as his head cracks open to reveal snakes, worms and
cockroaches. A business woman in a motel has her head explode from the chip
placed in a Silver Shamrock mask.
Halloween III suggests that Cochran's desire to kill millions of
children is like a harvest sacrifice during samhain to help provide greater crops
during the next harvest season. Children being glued to their televisions as
Silver Shamrock commercials air is a metaphor for the consumerist attitudes of
Americans being controlled and influenced by messages we see and hear on TV.
In a recent social media post I saw about the 41st anniversary
of Halloween III, many comments were offered about the film in the comments
section. Most of the comments were negative reviews of the film. Some of the
negative comments were directed at Dr. Challis, who jumps into bed with Ellie,
a woman 20 years younger, and Challis abandons his wife and children in the
film. Other comments suggested that the film has bad acting.
The main reason that many critics may not like Halloween III is
because of the obvious reason – the absence of Michael Myers. In Halloween
III, the solution to the mass killings is very simple – remove the Silver
Shamrock mask and live. In any Halloween movie with Michael Myers, the
solution is not that simple. Myers is a killing machine who stops at nothing
to murder his victims. The problem is not solved simply by removing a mask.
Even when Myers appears to be wounded or killed, he still gets back up and
goes after his victims. The viewer never really feels this kind of horror and
doom in Halloween III.
If you consider Halloween III – Season of The Witch as a stand
alone film that has nothing to do with Michael Myers, you may still find it
entertaining and worth your time. If you are looking for a film which connects
well with the Michael Myers story, you may want to skip Halloween III and see
Halloween IV instead. Happy Halloween and happy viewing.
Steve D. Stones
