Halloween III : Le Sang du sorcier

Despite all the flak that this movie catches, I think that it's a great horror movie. I don't think that it fits in well with the rest of the Halloween series, but as a stand alone film I think it gets the job done. There are two things that I mainly look for in a horror movie. One being creative death sequences, and two being a decent ending. This one delivers with both. I hate it when a horror movie is gritty and tough all the way through and follows up with a happy ending (Scream, Scream 2, should I continue?). Put your prejudices aside and I think you can enjoy this one.

It's such a shame that this entry in the "Halloween" franchise isn't more appreciated. It DOES have its admirers (such as this viewer), but it just wasn't satisfying to an audience that only wanted Michael Myers. Certainly a franchise that revolved around different macabre stories told at Halloween time would have been more interesting than yet another "psycho on a murder spree" plot. Conceived by producer Debra Hill as a tale of witchcraft in the computer age, the idea was taken to noted writer Nigel Kneale, although his script would be re-written by producer John Carpenter and re-written again by debuting director / longtime Carpenter associate Tommy Lee Wallace.

Legendary stud Mr. Tom Atkins stars as the commendably flawed protagonist Dr. Daniel Challis (he's insatiable and has a weakness for drink), who's thrown for a loop when a panicked man is brought to his hospital and murdered later that night by a cold-eyed, well dressed assassin. Hooking up with the victims' daughter Ellie (cute as a button Stacey Nelkin), he decides to play detective and tracks the mans' actions to a Halloween mask factory in a small California town. Presiding over the business and town is cheerful Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy, whom you'll recognize from "The Last Starfighter" and "RoboCop" 1 and 2), a maniacal villain putting into motion a horrible prank that he intends to play on the children of America. It's up to Daniel to save the day...if he can keep his hands off of Ellie for long enough.

As noted, this in-name-only sequel (the only nod it makes to past movies is a TV commercial for the '78 Carpenter-helmed "Halloween") owes a fair bit to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", right down to naming the town Santa Mira. It's solidly entertaining and consistently amusing stuff, with Wallace (assisted by ace D.P. Dean Cundey) creating fine atmosphere, especially when it comes to the corporate-controlled town, where Cochrans' "eyes and ears" are everywhere. The film hits the ground running, and there's no let up right until the ending. Tom Burmans' makeup is excellent; there's good gross-out stuff here. Atkins is an appealing unlikely hero and Nelkin is pleasing to look at as the daughter who gets over the death of her father in record time. Supporting and bit parts are played by the likes of Michael Currie ("Dead & Buried"), Ralph Strait ("The Beastmaster"), Garn Stephens (the real-life Mrs. Tom Atkins at the time), Nancy Kyes (Annie in the first "Halloween"), Jonathan Terry ("The Return of the Living Dead"), Maidie Norman ("What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"), stunt coordinator Dick Warlock, and Joshua John Miller ("Near Dark"). Carpenters' score is one of his best. And to top it all off, there's that insidiously catchy jingle (sung to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down") that pops up over and over.

If only it didn't have the name "Halloween" attached, some viewers might be more inclined to give it a break.

Eight out of 10.

For those of you who turn to 'Halloween' movies to get your Michael Myers on, you probably already know to avoid this movie like the plague. But, here is the truth. John Carpenter never wanted Michael Myers to become a series - he hated writing the second 'Halloween' - thought it was a totally useless concept that Michael turns out to be Laurie's uncle. That's why he blew him up at the end - so he didn't have to do the storyline anymore. Instead, he wanted to use the 'Halloween' title to come out with Halloween-themed movies - a new movie with a new them every year. I guess enough people didn't read that or understand what he wanted to do with it. Too bad. You're missing a decent show.

Saw this film again recently after watching it as a kid in the 80s. Nobody else seems to like this film but personally i thought it was great. Maybe its because I'm a sucker for nostalgia and 80's B Movie 'shockers' and sci-fi generally, but also because I love Carpenter's work, especially from this period (and even though he didn't direct this he did produce it and it has many of his hallmarks) - The score is excellent and the whole film has the mood of a period of film-making that is forever imprinted upon my psyche. The story is typically ludicrous and fanciful to the extreme, (the theft of parts of Stonehenge and transportation to Western US for example, and the formation of snakes and insects out of thin air, but then we are talking witchcraft here so fair enough...)

A very bizarrely positioned film in a series that was both preceded and succeeded by psycho-killer Micheal Myers' character, this is in my opinion a little b-movie gem.

'Season Of The Witch' is the swiftly-ignored footnote in the 'Halloween' franchise - quickly forgotten evidence that 'Halloween' was meant to be more 'Creepshow' than 'Friday The 13th' in style. In retrospect, bringing back Michael Myers for 'Halloween II' was a possible mistake if the intention was for 'Halloween' to become an anthology series with a different tale in each installment. The sequel's success only cemented expectations in the viewer's minds that homicide in Haddonfield by a mask-covered psychopath was what they would see unfold each time on screen. And so by 1983, audiences clearly weren't prepared for 'Season Of The Witch' and made this fact abundantly clear at the box office, which is a great shame, because deeply-flawed as it is, 'Halloween III' is a lot of fun and does not deserve to be overlooked the way it often is.

The storyline, centred around a toy factory manufacturing murderous masks designed to bring nationwide doom at 9pm on October 31st, is built up very intriguingly. We have a 'Simon Van Gelder'-like madman trying to warn the world of the impending slaughter, chillingly-ruthless killers in business suits silencing anyone who tries to get the word out, and strikingly memorable death scenes - one of which might be described as 'facial origami', and that's only the first 15 minutes. Soon, our story's heroes are embroiled in the factory's strange machinations, where nothing and no-one is exactly what they seem. The script builds up a tense atmosphere, leading to a truly compelling end that will keep viewers guessing long after.

Yet 'Season Of The Witch' (a title not to be taken too literally) comes across as an intriguing second draft - full of good ideas, but lacking the kind of logic and key exposition that would have really brought the audience on board. Writer Tommy Lee Wallace's America, for example, seems to occupy one single time zone, in which it's possible to have the nation's children watching their televisions at the appointed hour. Likewise, we are expected to believe that the illegal appropriation of one of the world's largest and heaviest artificial landmarks - a key plot point at the climax - seems to be no more difficult than stealing a mattress from a bedding store and spiriting it away on a car's roof. Dr Challis, the lead character, is an obvious graduate of 'Action Hero Medical College', stitching up wounds one day and tackling the undead like Indiana Jones the next. The film's other two leads are also something of a puzzle, with their identities and ultimate fate never being satisfactorily explored. All of which leaves 'Halloween III' as a series of entertaining sequences that anyone attempting the most basic of critical analysis will be punished instantly with crushing bafflement. The lack of audience enthusiasm cannot be solely attributed to the absence of Michael Myers (who ironically, does enjoy a few seconds of screen time).

Nonetheless, it would have been interesting if 'Halloween' had become an anthology series of horror, and with 'Halloween III' not short on ideas, it's only a shame more care and attention wasn't put into the effort. All involved clearly failed to understand what they had set in motion with the first two outings, unable to see that any change in direction for the franchise would have to be very well-executed to win the fans over. However, it wasn't and Michael Myers would go on to make a respectable return five years later. For what it offers, I think 'Season Of The Witch' is definitely worth a look - arguably more creative than most of the 'Halloween' sequels, but seriously lacking polish.