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Halloween III - Season of the Witch

Halloween III - Season of the Witch

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: NO MICHAEL MYERS!!!
Review: I never understood why this movie had nothing to do with the evil serial killer Michael Myers. Instead, it's about an evil old man who owns the Silver Shamrock Mask Company and markets Halloween masks that possess the trick-or-treaters. The only scene with Michael Myers in this movie is during a trailer of the original Halloween on a television in a bar.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good, if you don't have Michael Myers expectations
Review: Halloween 3 aka "Season Of The Witch" does what most horror movie series has never done - totally skip the star killer of their series and go with something new. I recently bought this dvd this past week, because I faintly remembered the movie (as I haven't seen it in over 15 years), and my suggestion is what I have told everyone: Just forget about the Jamie Lee Curtis and Michael Myers storyline for this movie, and don't even think of it as a movie in the Halloween series. Watch it as a Halloween related movie, nothing more, nothing less. And that's the best way to watch this movie, as it has no relevance to the previous 2 Halloween films. In the third installment of the Halloween series, an Irish novelty and gags company is heavily promoting their new line of Halloween masks, and each mask has a "Silver Shamrock" logo coin-shaped tag attached to it. When a person wears the mask and watches a television commercial featuring a flashing pumpkin and the infamous "Silver Shamrock" Halloween jingle, their head explodes with bugs and snakes. A man who works for the hospital tries to stop the owner of the factory, and runs into quite a bit of drama and fights with robotic men. Though this movie is somewhat cheesy, and some of the effects are generic, it still has a couple good scares and the soundtrack is especially creepy. If you watch this movie as I mentioned above, and if you enjoy silly 80's horror movies, you will likely enjoy Halloween 3. If you watch this movie with expectations of Michael Myers to be stalking Laurie Strode, you will probably be disappointed. Also, as for the dvd, it was dissapointing that it has no extras, not even the theatrical trailer. But this movie has finally received dvd format attention, and should be added to your horror collection, especially at this fair price.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Never, ever,ever,ever, see this movie
Review: Okay,this movie is called Halloween, yet there is no Micheal Myers!?!?!? Thats what Halloween is about, Micheal Myers killing people! Micheal Myers not being in this one is not the only reason
why this was bad,
Horror, Not scary at all! They just talk about stuff that has nothing to do with ANYTHING F-
Villon, Who was that guy any way? In the beging his smiling and waving at people. Has other people do his killings for him F-
Kids, Very VERY annoing, I know their sapose to be but come on! F-

Overall F-
Well thier we have it. One of the worst horror films ever.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "...an immensely skillful horror movie..."
Review: I'm always surprised at how underrated and under appreciated this movie is, mostly considering this is one of my top favorite movies, and my second favorite in the series, following the original.
I guess it's somewhat because of the great storyline. This movie totally abandons the Michael Myers storyline, and picks up a new one, not at all linked to the previous two movies. But, I figure, hey, what's the problem? Many people also say, okay, it's good, but why be a part of the Halloween series? Well, over time and being a big Halloween fan, I've come to enjoy it's little place in the series.
So, why the new plot? Here's the story. John Carpenter, who worked on the first two movies, first as a writer-director, and then just as a co-writer, figured that the way to continue the series was with a new plotline, which was...
Here is goes: About a week or so before Halloween, a man named Harry Grimbrige is stalked by these two suspiciously emotionless men, one of whom later grisly kills him at the Sierra Mesa hospital. But before his death, he's able to tell Dr. Dan Challis (a divorced, drunken wreck) a final statement: "They're going to kill us! All of us!" He's also clutching a Halloween mask in his hand, branding a Silver Shamrock trademark tag.
Teaming up with Mr. Grimbrige's daughter, Ellie, she and Dan find themselves in a little farming community named Santa Mira where Silver Shamrock Novelties holds its factory.
A series of gruesome murders and bizarre twists later leave Dan and Ellie on a fight for survival and to reveal the truth about the evil mask maker who runs Silver Shamrock named Conal Cochran (played brilliantly by Dan O'Heriley), who has a plan to systematically kill millions of children on Halloween night.
So what's great about this movie, you ask? I'll tell you. First off, the moody feel is terrific. The movie is very atmospheric, and director Tommy Lee Wallace knew what he was doing as far as keeping a great tone. Later in the movie, we come to believe the film's actually exposing the awful truths about the origins of the festival of Samhain (Halloween), and we get a great Halloween-event like feel.

"It was the beginning of the year in our old Celtic lands and we'd be waiting....the barriers would be down, you see, between the real and the unreal, and the dead might be looking in..."

It's an immensely skillful horror movie that's expertly structured, and I love every minute of it. Continuing with the atmosphere, John Carpenter and Alan Howarth return with great original music to set the scenes. A scene I specifically love for it's beauty it when Dan Challis and Ellie Grimbrige are driving to Santa Mira, reading about the town's history, and we get a view of the town's landscapes, which come in later foreboding with Conal Cochran's "...the hills ran red..." and his descriptions of the Celtic lands.
As far as the acting goes, it's not bad at all. Sure, it's not Oscar-winning or anything like that, but it's great and enough to let you believe the characters, especially Dan O'Heriley and Tom Atkins (who played Dr. Dan Challis).
So, it's a sad fact to learn just how maligned and hated this movie is. It's on the worst available DVD for the whole series, and remains very unknown. So, until maybe someday when it's appreciated more, "Halloween III" still has many fans along with myself who love the movie and think it deserves much better.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Different But Still Scary!
Review: I seen this movie with my husband in 1982 in the theatre and I
thought it was good and scary then, and I still think it's a
good and scary movie. It doesn't have anything to do with the
first 2 Halloween movies, but it was really good. The music is
good, and the very beginning of the movie when a man gets his
forehead ripped out, that's a scene I never forgot! I thought
it had a good, surprising ending, also. I recommend it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: An attempt to do something different, but just plain bad
Review: It's been a while since I've seen this film, so my memory is rather foggy. The plot has something to do with masks that have become the latest craze among children. What the children (and their parents) don't know is that these masks were crafted by a madman bent on destroying children. On Halloween night, these children have been instructed to watch some commercial or program or something; they haven't been informed that when they watch it, the masks will horribly mutilate their faces or some crap.

I really appreciate the effort from John Carpenter to turn the series in a different direction, but this movie really is just plain bad. It's extremely campy (not in a good way), the actors are a bunch of bland no-names, and the plot is just silly. Only see this if you really have to view the entire Halloween series.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Its not that bad
Review: Why all the bad reviews? yes, its cheesy but its not as bad as halloween 4-oh who cares they all sucked after part 2! At least part 3 takes the series in a different direction. Tom atkins who played in creepshow(1982)who along with stacey atkins is out to find the killer of her father. they get in over their heads. a few scenes are truly sickening. and it does have a rather abrupt ending. but at least its an orignal idea. nice score too.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: weird and interesting!
Review: I remember seeing a glimpse of this film a long time ago and didn't think much of it. A month ago, I watched the whole thing for the first time and thought it was interesting. I know Michael Myers wasn't in it and that's ok. But still, John Carpenter produced it and if anybody's a fan of John Carpenter as I am, it should be part of their Carpenter collection or Halloween collection. One of my favorite things about this movie is the music. I thought John Carpenter did a great job. I bought the soundtrack and my favorite tracks are #1-(the main title) and #9-(the rock). I just didn't get the ending of the movie and as far as the dvd, I was disappointed there were no special features, not even a trailer, but at least the picture and sound are great.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: it makes no sense
Review: Halloween III has nothing to do with Michael Myers and the orginal Halloween. The box office sales were even below Halloween II,the movie was so poorly made. That Halloween IV,was called,the return of Michael Myers to boost ticket sales. Halloween II-H20 are nothing more than a joke as Halloween 4,5,6 show an ageing Donald Plesance.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Scarier Than The Shape
Review: Yeah, yeah...we know, we know...this film does not feature Michael Myers so therefore it's nothing to do with the others in the sequence...
But wait: there was a time when horror, SF and fantasy were about imagination, not spoon feeding people the same old stuff again and again. In this sense 'Season of the Witch' wins out over all its critics. Written by Nigel 'Quatermass' Kneale, it is naturally the usual intelligent mix of supernatural terror and eldritch science only Kneale's pen can deliver. If you enjoyed Carpenter's later 'Prince of Darkness' (which he scripted under the pseudonym Martin Quatermass as a homage to Kneale) then THIS is for you. If you just want more stalk and slash then stick with Jason Voorhees...
It's quite simple: if you are sharp, the sheer meanness of the trick (in the form of a treat) the pagan Irish villain of this movie plays on kids using remnants of an ancient artefact will chill you. If you want the old knife ritual, forget it.
Recommended for anyone who likes intelligent original horror/SF.


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