‘Season of the Witch’: The Best ‘Halloween’ Sequel?
With David Gordon Green’s new Halloween sequel set to be released in US theaters on October 19th, what better way to mark the occasion than by looking back at the film many now consider to be one of the better entries in the original Halloween franchise? While the new film re-unites stars Jamie Lee Curtis (as Laurie) and Nick Castle (as “The Shape”) from the original 1978 Halloween, it also represents the first time writer/director John Carpenter has been involved in any creative capacity since 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch where he served as writer, producer, and composer.
Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, the third film in the Halloween series caused quite a bit of controversy upon its initial release in 1982, mainly due to the absence of masked maniac Michael Myers, who had terrorized the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois in the previous two entries. Also missing here are Donald Pleasence as Dr. Sam Loomis and the now-iconic score from John Carpenter which helped make Halloween and Halloween II so effective. The intention at the time was to make the series into an anthology of films in which each year a different Halloween-themed movie would be released in conjunction with the holiday. However, the box office failure of Halloween III: Season of the Witch resulted in the departure of creators John Carpenter and Debra Hill from the series and ultimately led to the return of Myers, Loomis, and the famous theme music in 1988’s Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.
For a long time Halloween III was considered a low point in the franchise, but in recent years an appreciation has grown for what it is – a good horror movie with a good story. It is probably best to approach Halloween III as a standalone rather than a sequel in order to fully enjoy it. The film has a darker tone than its predecessors, and takes risks by tackling subjects which are usually considered taboo in filmmaking, in particular the murder of children.
The story centers around a mask making factory in California called Silver Shamrock Novelties which is headed up by the diabolical Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy). The opening moments of Halloween III reveal the murder of an old man who is hospitalized after fleeing from a stone-faced would-be assassin. While in the hospital, the old man is seen clutching a Jack-O-Lantern mask, insisting that “they are going to kill all of us”. Soon after his murder, the man’s daughter Ellie (Stacey Nelkin) arrives at the hospital where she teams up with Dr. Daniel Challis (Tom Atkins) in order to find out who is responsible for her father’s death. This leads the pair to a town called Santa Mira, home to the Silver Shamrock factory, where they discover that the murder of Ellie’s father was just part of a larger, much more sinister plot. Now it is up to Dr. Challis and Ellie to try and stop Cochran’s evil plan before it goes operational.
While its delivery may be somewhat exaggerated, Halloween III explores some intense topics which have been prevalent in our society and are still relevant in today’s world. The idea that “big brother is watching” is touched upon in the town of Santa Mira, where video cameras are installed everywhere and a strict curfew is imposed on its residents. Anyone who defies the man in charge is quickly disposed of, as we see with one unfortunate who vows to personally take down the evil mask maker. The film also serves as a metaphor for the issues of population control and eugenics which have been perpetrated by various governments throughout history, only here the weapons of war are tainted Halloween masks. Described as a necessity by the film’s villain, ritual sacrifices of animals and children have been practiced by many cultures around the world and are brought to a mass scale in Halloween III. Finally, the subject of how television can be weaponized and used as an instrument of control is present here (an idea which was also studied in David Cronenberg’s Videodrome the following year).
Halloween III brought the series into darker territory and also increased the violence and gore in comparison to its predecessors. Among some of the highlights in this sequel are a victim’s head being torn from his body and a skull being pulled apart by way of the eye sockets. Dan O’Herlihy is especially menacing as Cochran, and it’s always fun to watch Tom Atkins in a lead role. Overall solid performances from the entire cast. There is an underlying social commentary, whether intentional or not, along with a rich and moody atmosphere. And let’s not forget one of the coolest horror movie endings ever…
John Carpenter again provides the score, along with Alan Howarth. It may not be the original Halloween theme, but it is still quite effective for this movie. (The music actually sounds more like the duo’s later work in Carpenter’s 1983 film Christine.)
In what seems like an attempt to separate Season of the Witch from the first two Halloween films, while still capitalizing on the brand, the masks featured in the film – a witch, a skeleton, and a Jack-O-Lantern – are referred to as “The Halloween Three” in one of the Silver Shamrock TV ads. (Speaking of which, who doesn’t still enjoy hearing that jingle?)
Despite the initial disappointment of a Halloween without the dominating presence of Michael Myers, Halloween III has enjoyed a resurgence and a new recognition for what turned out to be an atmospheric and vicious horror story. In fact, “Michael” does indeed appear in the movie, as one of Cochran’s robot henchmen is played by none other than Dick Warlock, who was “The Shape” in Halloween II.
Halloween III has gone from being the least popular installment in the long-running series, to now being regarded by many fans as at least on par with Halloween II. The film is arguably superior to any of the subsequent entries that have been produced in the years since. It will be interesting to see if that changes on October 19th, 2018.