Note: this review contains spoilers for a 1982 film. Please consider avoiding this article if you have not seen this film and have interest in watching it without opinions from an internet weirdo who is also a cat.
I’ve written a number of reviews for this site, with the reviews largely functioning as recommendations. It’s easy to sell something you believe in, to debate a position that you personally support. It’s also safe, and can be short-sighted. So I wanted to write a review of something with positive qualities, a work I found interesting but troubled. For reference: the other candidate for this review was Willy’s Wonderland, which I may return to at some point (especially given that the work it effectively plagiarized received a movie adaptation earlier this year). For now, I focus on Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
H3 (until I come up with a better abbreviation) has little in common with the predecessors sharing its name. John Carpenter and Debra Hill were directly responsible for its production, but they saw it as the second installment in a horror anthology. Today, we’d refer to this as The Halloween Shared Cinematic Universe, but viewed independently it feels like a different idea being sold under a familiar name. Like recasting an actor, it is difficult to ignore the change even when the end result is positive.
Beyond the production aspects, the familiar elements from Halloween are all absent: there is no Michael Myers, no Jamie Lee Curtis, no teenagers being menaced. It does feature a synth-heavy score from John Carpenter, which is always a plus. However, the greatest omissions are glaring conflicts with the title. There is no witch in this movie. What’s worse, Donovan’s 1966 song “Season of the Witch”, a certifiable jam, does not appear in this film. While psychedelic rock was decidedly passé by 1982, the song would have fit perfectly over the closing credits, and the missed opportunity seems glaring today.
It may not be fair to consider H3 in perspective to its predecessor, though. There are some obvious issues here, but there are also some great horror elements. The overall result is something of a mixed bag, and the movie’s Wikipedia page appropriately cites it as a cult film. (Note: no cult appears in this movie, either.)
The movie begins with a shop owner fleeing professional draculas that ends in a late-night murder at a hospital. More curiously, the murderer sets himself on fire in his car, leaving behind no body but mechanical components. This curious series of events introduces our protagonists, Dr. Daniel Challis and the daughter of the victim, Ellie Grimsburg. Their shared interest in unraveling the mystery of this bizarre murder sets the stage for the uncomfortable first act of this movie.
Dr. Challis is a troubled protagonist at best. His alcoholism is unapologetic, even the hospital staff know enough to look for him at the bar. I think he even takes a detour on investigating the murder to pick up a six-pack! He does seem to have a drink anytime he’s not actively engaged in another activity; his other main hobby seems to be arguing with his ex-wife about their children over the phone. The ex-wife or the children appear once before their presence is limited to the phone calls. I am convinced that between the drinking and the arguing, at least one of the Challis children became a stand-up comedian. I can see Doc Challis hanging out at the same bars as Quint from Jaws, easy.
If the alcoholism was the only troubled element of this movie, it would be much easier to watch. Dr. Challis develops a relationship with Ellie over the course of their investigation, and the age difference between the two is visible and disturbing. I can see this as being the breaking point for some viewers, and I completely understand giving up on the movie here. It’s only a shame because the second half of the movie, where the horror elements are more realized, is much stronger.
Once the plot moves to Santa Mira, and the Silver Shamrock factory, the story becomes much more interesting. Conal Cochran, the factory’s cheerful owner, changes the entire tone of the movie when he appears. Dan O’Herlihy plays Cochran with warm familiarity, charming and easygoing, even as his suited employees provide increasing menace. I’m not sure you’d have a character like Mr. Fischoeder on Bob’s Burgers without this movie, who plays like a benign version of Cochran, right down to the three-piece suit. Cochran is a lot of fun, he really deserves a better movie and a better hero to threaten.
Santa Mira is Cochran’s kingdom, and he rules over the factory town with an iron hand in a velvet glove. He’s happy to give you a tour of the factory, but don’t you dare wander off, or ask too many questions. There are security cameras all around the town, but nobody seems to be bothered by it, except for one homeless man who naturally shares a drink with Dr. Challis while the latter is out for a liquor run. Overall I love the idea of this surveillance state factory town with its seemingly imported Secret Service, though I’m not completely sure it lives up to its potential.
The movie does explore the factory setting, and mostly explains its mysteries, but its storylines still feel underserved here. There’s a subplot about Stonehenge that doesn’t serve a real purpose, and the mask storyline is compelling but little more a plot device. Dr. Challis continues to argue with his ex-wife about the children. The sum of the parts here is underwhelming, given how much potential the different elements have.
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch is not a great movie, to be clear. I understand the affection for this era of horror movies, and its strong elements can’t be dismissed. It is ultimately interesting if not quite enjoyable, and worth exploring but maybe not for everyone.