Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
Starring: Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O'Herlihy

Synopsis:
When a patient is murdered at his hospital, a doctor and the daughter of the victim investigate a suspicious company that makes popular Halloween masks.

Impressions:
You may or may not be aware, but the original concept for the Halloween series was that it would be an anthology of different stories, but this is the only time the concept was put into practice. Perhaps if Halloween II hadn't been a direct sequel, critics and the public wouldn't have expected the series to be all about Michael Myers and maybe this film would've gotten a better reception. It does have its fans, but it's definitely more of a cult appeal. I can remember seeing part of an edited for TV version of this film on TNT's Monstervision back in the day, and of course host Joe Bob Briggs was annoyed that they couldn't show any of the good stuff. I'll be honest with you; I found this movie to be more interesting than the previous two. The plot could've used a little more refinement, but there's more complexity to it than "silent killer stabs people". We get some more interesting kills and I like the feeling of creepiness and paranoia you get in the company town of Santa Mira. I especially liked Dan O'Herlihy as Conal Cochran. The Silver Shamrock jingle is bound to get stuck in your head. Whether that's a good thing or not, I'll leave that for you to decide. If you want to see a glimpse of the shape the Halloween franchise might have taken if it had escaped the curse of Michael Myers, you might just enjoy this as much as I did. Give it a watch.

Rating:
Watch It