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Halloween III - Season of the Witch

Halloween III - Season of the Witch

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: "It's Time, It's Time." Not.
Review: When I first saw this movie about ten years ago, it gave me nightmares because of the scene where the kids face melts due to the Silver Shamrock mask he is wearing. That and the crazy jingle that perforates the film are the only things that stuck with me. There is a reason why I didn't remember anything else. This movie is so bad, I couldn't remember anything else.

The dialogue is terrible. The acting of the main performers is okay, considering what they have to work with (at one point the main character has to fight off a robotic arm broken off from an android), but outside of the leads, the acting stinks. The plot is rather far fetched for a horror film, teetering on the edge of sci-fi.

It didn't bother me that the film had little to do with Michael Myers (he has a cameo on the television screen in a bar). I think the idea of having a bunch of Halloween movies about different aspects of the holiday is great. However, it was poorly executed and that is why it failed.

The only reason for watching this film is for the "Silver Shamrock" song set to the tune of London Bridge. I sing that song every once in awhile and when someone recognizes it, an instant bond is formed because we have both set through the "horror" that is HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: "Season of the Witch" is a bad film by any title
Review: Actually, if the choice was between an endless series of Michael Meyers coming home to slice and dice trick-or-treaters or a different Halloween themed horror movie each year, I think I would go for the latter. Oh, to be sure, I was offended by the idea that "Halloween 3" had nothing to do with the first two films in the series, but my bigger complaint is that this is just a bad film no matter what the title (for that matter, the film does not fit the "Season of the Witch" part of the title either). The idea of Halloween masks being evil is not bad (Rod Serling did something like that on "The Twilight Zone" with "The Masks"), but making the evil scientific and technological in nature rather than magical and mystical was a big mistake. Logical explanations for why things are happening might be necessary on some level, but there is no reason to shine the bright light of day on them, especially in a horror film. The evil toy maker idea is also good, except toys are associated more with Christmas, but that is not a holiday horror films should trifle with as "Silent Night, Deadly Night" more than proved. But who has ever heard of an evil costume maker? But even there, the Halloween episode on the second season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" has this film beat as well. Actually, as I stop and think about it, I think this might have been the last horror/slasher film I ever saw in a theater and the more I think about it the clearer the causal connection is in my mind. Huh. So that's what happened...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Why, why, why?
Review: This movie absolutely bit the big green weenie. If I have to listen to that jingle one more time....

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It Works
Review: As a teenager I bought the paperback and began reading it to my brother and friends one night, around a camp fire in the woods. I never got past the first chapter because it scared the willies out of them. But I was personally intrigued, so I read on quietly. Eventually Halloween III was released on HBO and I watched it. The theme of Halloween III is essentially the same as a dark comedy that was out in that era called The Witches; an idea that lies at the core of witchcraft (you will see it at the end of the Blair Witch Project as well): the sacrifice of children to the powers of darkness. An insane warlock attempts to sacrifice every child in America through the use of extremely high-tech computer chips (mingled with some wizardry) attached to rubber masks that are all the rage. A small town doctor is inadvertantly sucked into this dreadful scheme when he encounters an old man who has discovered the warlock's plot and has stolen the evidence, but is then murdered in the hospital. The good doctor joins forces with a bright eyed damsel and together they set out to expose the demon wizard. The show is somewhat goofy at times, incredibly ominous at others, and certainly as graphic as one could want horror to be. There is at least one first-hand look at a decapitation. People love to howl about how Halloween III is unrelated to the other installments in the series, but they fail to understand that Halloween (proper) was supposed to end with number 2. Debra Hill had intended to spin off a whole series of completely unrelated stories, all carrying the Halloween logo, but with different subtitles. Unfortunately there were some legal dealings that went sour, and John Carpenter and Debra Hill found themselves washing their hands of the Halloween project, except in limited cooperative efforts with other producers and directors. Moustapha Akkad returned Halloween to its original story in the 4th installment. Halloween III is not the best horror film of all and I would not even call it a classic, except for its age. It is, however, a fairly decent story with more than its share of creepiness. It's nice for a rental, but don't buy it unless gore is more important to you than the script. This is definitely not for the kiddies.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Happy Halloween! (bwa ha ha haaaaa.....)
Review: In "Halloween III," Tom Atkins plays a doctor who becomes alert to odd goings-on, involving a company that makes scary Halloween masks. He follows the clues to an obscure coastal California town, where the mysterious company is based. Joined by one of the 80's great babes, Stacy Nelkin, he eventually ferrets out the evil truth behind the demonic masks... but are they too late?

If you are prepared for the fact that this movie has NOTHING to do with the first two "Halloween" films, you should be able to relax and have fun watching this. It makes no sense that they even named it "Halloween III" -- just try to get past that irritating fact. Writer, director, and composer John Carpenter's fantastic musical score is guaranteed to give you the uber-willies, as usual. And Tom Atkins is really good -- he did several films with John Carpenter. They seem to have worked well together. An interesting fact -- Stacy Nelkin once dated Woody Allen, and their relationship was the basis of the unusual film "Manhattan."

I was about 13 or 14 when I first saw this movie. I was confused about some things, at the time, when I saw this. Why is the coastal California town populated by evil Irish people? I'm part Irish. I thought maybe I should be offended. Well, in case some young person out there has the same confused reaction I did -- John Carpenter is trying to emphasize the (real) connection between our holiday Halloween, and the ancient Celtic festival called "Samhain." The Irish are considered Celtic -- the word "Celtic" is sort of an old, blanket ethnic term, referring to the ancestors of Irish, Welsh, and Breton people, along with several other ethnic groups. If you'd like to learn a little more about the Celts, and about Samhain (along with other, less sinister holidays and festivals celebrated by the Celts) I would like to recommend that you read "The Celts" by T.G.E. Powell. You might also enjoy "Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales," by Alwyn Rees.

All in all, this is a pretty good October movie. It can be even better, however, if you use it as an introduction to learning some ancient history. Two thumbs up.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A poor movie, to be seen only for the sound
Review: After Michael Myers and his doctor, Sam Loomis, both die in the end of "Halloween 2", John Carpenter and his pal Tommy Lee Wallace make a second sequel to classic "Halloween" which has nothing more to do with the two previous works. Here the evil is no more a young masked serial killer but an old sick man who hates kids and wishes to kill them all on Halloween night, all over the country, using a signal given through TV and blowing up Halloween masks and the heads with them.

The story is very poor. The too rare and underrated Tom Atkins (the real hero of "The Fog") is very good but he can't save this piece of work from meaninglessness. Stacey Nelkin acts very badly, Dan O'Herlihy doesn't really belong in this and the killer robots - the Terminators - are more ridiculous than really scary. The movie is watchable, but only for Carpenter's sound, soundtrack, and legendary art of atmosphere which are just great. The movie's frightening only thanks to it.

Because of the public failure of the film, Michael Myers and Sam Loomis have been decided to be (senselessly) 'resurrected' for the 4th, 5th and 6th parts of the series. And after Donald Pleasence's death, they brought Jamie Lee Curtis back for the following ones. The result is only worse to this and the second part. So what's the use, except money?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Horrible!
Review: This movie dosn't even belong here.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A different, if not good Halloween Un-Sequel
Review: ... realize that some Hollywood producer (Mustapa Akkad) wanted to continue the series as an anthology series revolving around Halloween holiday. (As you can see his producing of 4-8 of the Halloween series as only as a money making ploy, and not as great scripting. However H20 isn't that bad..)

The Pros of the film: Interesting storyline, scenic settings (who would have thought that a small town would harbor such evil?) This movie is kinda wooden with it's acting. Tom Akins pulls off another memorable genre preformance as a doctor who becomes wound into the sinister plot. Great moody and eerie synth music by John Carpenter. Dan O'Herlihy is great as Conal Cochran, the brains behind the plot.

Cons: But, however it really should been called 'Season of the Witch' as a standalone movie, not as 'Halloween III'. And of course it is dated, because I doubt Commodore 64 Graphics would kill anyone (Except for the latest technophiles)

I love horror movies, this movie really is 80's cheezy horror, but is still great to watch.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Killer Masks and Scary Irishmen
Review: Well here we have the dreaded Halloween III, the movie that Halloween fans hate. I rented it a while back since I hadn't seen it in 15 years, and I must say that I really didn't think it was that bad. It was certainly better than Halloween 5 or 6. People get so upset at this movie because they claim false advertising (using the Halloween name and not delivering Michael Myers). Well Michael Myers DIED at the end of the second movie, he perished in flames...... so yes it was misleading, but the story is still about Halloween. You do at least get a nice little Halloween television cameo in the film. Tom Atkins really does a good job I thought, even if the story wasn't up to par. The idea behind the movie is creepy, and John Carpenter's synthesizer score really makes up for the story's shortcomings. The music is actually the reason I bought this movie, because it is unlike any of the other Halloween movies. Sure, Tommy Lee Wallace didn't do that great a job with this, but it really isn't as bad as most people say. It's got that early 80's horror style to it, and even has cinematography by Dean Cundey. It's an effective movie for the most part, you just have to go into it knowing it will be much different.

The DVD from Goodtimes is now out of print thanks to their rights ownership now being up. Universal now has the rights to it again, and I've already confirmed through e-mail that they have no intention of releasing this anytime soon. So try to track down the Goodtimes version if you can find it...... I found mine in the back of the horror rack at Circuit City. The video is not bad, despite not being anamorphic. Where the video falters is that the black level is more like gray (the letterbox bars as well), and the picture is lacking in detail since it seems little work was done to restore the print. The audio is only in 2 channel mono. The music in the film is amazing, and while a 5.1 mix would have been nice, the mono does the job well enough. As for extras, well, sorry. Not a bad disc though for a bargain bin title...... and since Universal won't re-release it, get the Goodtimes one before they're all gone. Halloween III may not be a great movie, but I've seen far worse.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I THINK IT IS VERY GOOD!
Review: I HAVE REVIEWED THE FIRST TWO FILMS ALREADY. ALL THREE FILMS I GIVE 5 STARS. I LIKE THE NEW STORY!


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