Halloween 3: Season of the Witch -- A Series Departure, But Should That Be The Norm?

 

Name: Halloween 3: Season of the Witch

Directed By: Tommy Lee Wallace  

Subgenre: Supernatural Thriller

Series: Spooktober 2021 entry #20; review #113

Review: Halloween is right around the corner, so what better way to celebrate the spookiest of holidays than by revisiting its eponymous horror franchise. The Halloween franchise began when John Carpenter, fresh from his relative success with the action-thriller Assault on Precinct 13, was approached by an independent film producer and financier for a simple task: write and direct a film about a psychotic serial killer out to murder babysitters. Naturally, Carpenter (and fellow producer and screenwriter, Deborah Hill) mocked up a screenplay titled The Babysitter Murders, but apparently that was too on-the-nose, and so they opted to lean into the spookiness of the Halloween holiday instead. Bing bang boom, Halloween was born, and Michael Myers began terrorizing neighborhoods during the titular holiday, and he's still hunting that wascally-wabbit, Laurie Strode, today (at least as of the end of the 2018 Halloween reboot--we'll see what happens with Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends). Halloween (1978) and Halloween 2 (1981) focused on the masked murderer, Michael, but despite the success of the first two films, Carpenter and Hill were feeling a bit burned; when they were approached to write a third entry into the Halloween franchise, they agreed, but only if it was unrelated to Mr. Myers. Halloween 3: Season of the Witch was born from Carpenter and Hill's desire to steer the franchise into more of an anthology setting: a new horror film based around the various elements of Halloween, each story referencing the others but otherwise unrelated--or Mikey wouldn't take center stage, at the very least. Yup: Michael Myers isn't in the third Halloween film. And given that 4th franchise entry is called The Return of Michael Myers, you can probably assume how well the stylistic departure faired with audiences at the time. There's also a reason why Season of the Witch is harder to find compared to the rest of the Myers-centric films. Of course, that's only helped solidify the film's cult status among some circles. If Season of the Witch doesn't have Michael Myers in it, then what's it about? Halloween 3 steers the franchise from slasher to supernaturally thriller territory: a shop owner is attacked by men in suits and placed under the care of the hardboiled alcoholic doctor Challis. When the grey-suit shows up at the hospital to finish the job, he then walks out of the hospital and lights himself on fire. Weird circumstances! Given the strangeness, the murdered man's daughter teams up with Dr. Challis to solve the mystery of why her father was killed. After a bit of story padding, the mustachioed doctor and Pepsi-Cola version of Winona Ryder trace the bizarre happenings back to the Silver Shamrock factory, the biggest manufacturer of Halloween décor throughout the land, and they're gearing up for a BIG celebration this year! A celebration so big that it's gonna be magical! Because they're witches, you see.

But not, like, typical wart-nosed witches or Hot Topic it's-not-a-phase-mom kind of witches (or even bona fide practitioners of the cunning craft), these suits are practicing the most foul, debauched form of the Arte: corporate witchcraft. Maybe: the actual occult elements aren't really explained at all, but the process is about as soulless and automated as you might expect from reading that description. Challis and Co. get captured, of course, and have to do an Escape From New York the Silver Shamrock. A few fairly predictable twists later, the film concludes with a curiously nihilistic tone that, frankly, elevates the film from a cheese-filled 80's supernatural thriller to a cynical jab at consumerist culture and how the spirit of materialism has superseded the spirit of Halloween. While the true ending is only implied, it's a dark one indeed given the evil machinations going on inside the Silver Shamrock. In fact, Halloween 3 doesn't avoid one of the taboos of modern horror--nothing truly terrible can happen to the children--and, instead, leans into it, graphically so, in fact. While the scene might not ruffle too many feathers these days, given the grotesque nature of what's going on and knowing that it's happening to a child is enough to give some viewers pause. The film has a few other gory scenes, one of which is an impressive example of spontaneous body horror, and the other could have been marginally gross if not ruined by the unintentionally hilarious sound effect used. Given that, the whole movie does have a thick layer of 80's cheese to it; it's easy to laugh at, but Wallace does sprinkle in a select few scenes that are genuinely off-putting. The story itself is silly on the surface but incredibly bleak given how it plays out, and while it's not necessarily a Feel Bad Film, it's easy to see why the film has a cult following. It's not a particularly great film, but its unique identify is only solidified by the fact that it's a Halloween film without Michael Myers. So, the question remains: should they steer the Halloween franchise back down that anthology road, especially now that Michael's story seems to be coming to a close (I assume, at least, based on the 2022 film being Halloween Ends)? Personally, I'm all about it. Break up the monotony. Retire the character, or at least use the franchise platform to build up a different set of memorable villains...and hey, if they do well, they can all cross over with each other in a brutal Halloween Avengers-style film, or maybe a Halloween version of Monster Squad? It'll probably happen before Universal's Dark Universe takes form. I'm still bitter about that one. Point is, Halloween is a big enough holiday for multiple stories, and I wouldn't mind some fresh air being blown back into the franchise.

Overall Score: 3 out of 5 Chads wondering how many more days until Halloween, Halloween, Halloween; how many more days until Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Silver Shamrock. Did Halloween 3: Season of the Witch scare you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

IMDB: Here

How to Watch: Halloween 3: Season of the Witch is available on these platforms.

Official Trailer