BLOOD WORK: HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 31: HALLOWEEN III

John Carpenter's 1978 film, Halloween, was one of the most successful films of its time. What followed was a countless number of imitations and knock offs that would eventually flood the market and be lovingly referred to as "The Horror Boom of the 1980's." Among those imitators came classics like FRIDAY THE 13TH, THE BURNING, THE PROWLER, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, and others. And in three years time HALLOWEEN II came out and audiences were finally able to see the final chapter of Michael Myers' and Laurie Strode's struggle. That was 1981 and the 80's Horror Renaissance was only just getting started.

People demanded more Halloween movies. With Michael Myers firmly in the grave (???) what were John Carpenter and his crew of filmmakers to do with the inevitable Halloween sequel? Then John Carpenter had an idea, what if the Halloween films became an annual tradition, every year a new film would be released? But instead of finding a way to bring back Michael Myers over and over again, what if each film was its own story and explored a new aspect of horror and Halloween? The Halloween series would become an anthology series of sorts, each subsequent film its own breed of horror.

This new direction for the series was green lit and the first film in this new era would be HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH. John Carpenter was busy working on his next project, THE THING, and was unavailable to direct Halloween III but he stayed on as producer, co-writer, and helped with the score. For directorial duties he turned to his longtime friend and collaborator Tommy Lee Wallace, the man who'd eventually go on to direct the original film adaptation of Stephen King's IT. Tommy Lee Wallace had worked on many of John Carpenter's films including Dark Star, Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog, and later Big Trouble In Little China. If you want anyone filling in for John Carpenter it's Tommy Lee Wallace. Right?

The result... was mixed, but not because the movie was bad. Because people fear change. This was well before the internet so John Carpenter and associates couldn't put the feelers out online to gauge fan reactions to this radical new direction for the franchise. They just had to put it out there and see what would happen. The word "Halloween" was still in the title of the movie and for some this was misleading. Many thought they were receiving another Michael Myers film and when Michael never showed the result was negative. Remember this was 1982 and Slasher films were still the hottest horror commodity at the time. And Halloween III was not a Slasher film. Thus it garnered a little more negativity. With the negative response to both of John Carpenter's projects that year (The Thing was also met with extreme negativity in 1982) the Halloween franchise was effectively dead.

Fast forward to today. John Carpenter's The Thing has earned the respect it so justly deserves as one of the greatest horror films of all time. But what of Halloween III? For a long time I was one of those Halloween III haters. I'm not proud of it but it's true. But given time and perspective my opinion of Halloween III has drastically changed. Let the record show that...

I love Halloween III: Season of the Witch! Why? Because it's a good movie. You just have to know going in that the film is not a sequel but its own entity. So yeah, having "Halloween III" in the title probably sent the wrong message.

THE PLOT

Every year on Halloween night hospitals are flooded with patients exhibiting bizarre injuries. There are still weeks before Halloween arrives and already Dr. Dan Challis is having to treat patients for all sorts of crazy injuries. A woman arrives asking about her father who has recently died. She's sure of foul play but can't prove it. Dr. Challis calls in a favor at the morgue and comes up with many irregularities regarding the woman's father. Her father was investigating the Silver Shamrock company, one of the premiere purveyors of Halloween masks. Dr. Challis and the woman decide to investigate Silver Shamrock themselves, uncovering a plot that could cost them their lives, and potentially the lives of every child wearing a Silver Shamrock mask the world over.

WHAT I LIKED

Damnation of the Druids. The idea behind this film was an exploration of the darker forces surrounding the fall harvest. The pagan deity Samhain was briefly mentioned in Halloween II, and in Halloween III, the servants of Samhain play the central villains. The main antagonist Conal Cochran has a speech towards the climax of the film where he details the druidic power at work in the film, harnessing the forces of the rune stones of Stonehenge. And the insidious plot of attacking the world's children who celebrate Halloween. Perhaps the greatest fear of any parent is the death of a child. It's my greatest fear now being a parent and the film takes on a new level of horror for me.

An Alignment of Many Horror Elements. While some see Halloween III as a total abandonment of the elements that made the first two films so great, Season of the Witch contains elements of the Slasher sub-genre and much more. The "Agents" of villain Conal Cochran conduct their business in very "slasher-like" ways, killing people with power-drills to the face and so forth. The way those characters behave is cold and robotesque (kinda like Michael Myers). Then the fact that these agents are mechanical adds a sci-fi twist to the narrative which is reinforced when Dr. Challis is shown the central chamber with the rune stone. Mix in the druidic elements, magic, and the thriller mystery elements and what you have is horror film unlike any other.

And Halloween III is perhaps the only film in the series that can be characterized as atmospheric. The unnerving score by Alan Howarth and John Carpenter sets the tone for the film from the start. As the bizarre events continue to mount the pervading sense of dread and doom reaches a crescendo at the end. The filmmakers create a wonderfully rich atmosphere giving this film a character all its own.

A Carpenter Film By Any Other Name

Of all the Halloween sequels, Halloween II and III feel the most like John Carpenter films. And I love John Carpenter films. This is due to a number of reasons, foremost being Carpenter's involvement with writing, helping with the music, and producing along with Debra Hill (who also produced and co-wrote Halloween, produced The Fog, Escape From New York, and more Carpenter films). And of course Tommy Lee Wallace having collaborated with Carpenter many times in the past. The film features a few Carpenter regular actors too foremost of which is lead actor Tom Atkins (The Fog, Escape From New York) and a bit part by Nancy Kyes (Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog).

But then there's Alan Howarth also contributing the music. Alan Howarth has collaborated on many Carpenter films as well and can channel the esthetics of a John Carpenter score better than anyone else. I really enjoy Alan Howarth's horror film scores, especially on the Halloween sequels IV through VI. Halloween III looks amazing due to the brilliant director of photography Dean Cundey who was DP on Halloween, The Fog, Escape From New York, Halloween II, The Thing, Romancing the Stone, Back to the Future I-III, Big Trouble In Little China (seriously, this guy is amazing). And there's more Carpenter associates as well like Irwin Yablans, Moustapha Akkad, Dick Warlock, and more! Even Jamie Lee Curtis has an uncredited cameo.

Given all this evidence can anyone not call this a John Carpenter film? And all these people have made many great films. So is Halloween III any different? Had the film simply been titled "Season of the Witch" the initial reaction may have been more positive and more accurate.

NITPICKS

Misleading Title? Going off of what I just mentioned above, I have to question the choices made when the filmmakers assembled the title. Leaving off the Halloween III portion of the title may have helped audiences disassociate the film with the Michael Myers plot and get on board with this new direction for the series. Or merely leaving off the Roman numeral because keeping Halloween in the name is appropriate for the story. What does confuse me is the word "Witch." With the lead villain being a male (at least I think he is) wouldn't the correct term be "Warlock?" I also don't get the sense of witchcraft at play but rather a mix of alien or futuristic themes. I'm not an expert on the druids so I don't know how much of the film's plot is in keeping with the actual beliefs of the druids.

And then there are moments of violence that the film embraces and moments with which it shies away from. For example, the moment in the coroner's office where the coroner receives a power-drill lobotomy. Instead of embracing the gore and showing the audience the gruesome sight in full bloody glory, they pan back to where the violence is hidden behind the perpetrator's back. Yet they show us the brutal results of an electro-mystic blast to the face. So why they chose one piece of gore over the other remains a mystery. Maybe they had it included but the MPAA demanded cuts be made. Who knows?

THE VERDICT

Halloween III: Season of the Witch marks an incredible departure from the previous two films in the series. While basically the same crew as the previous two films, along with many nods and themes from the first two films still present, Halloween III is its own film. And a very good film at that. A well crafted thriller mystery centering on seldom used druidic subject matter, rich in atmosphere, and a unique mix of horror sci-fi elements. All of these aspects render Halloween III a horror film unlike any other.

Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10

Nude-O-Meter: 1 out of 10

Michael Myers/Halloween III Connection

Halloween III also marks the first injection of druidic elements into the series. The influence of the druids comes back in a major way with Halloween 6 and looking at the series as a whole many interesting "fan theories" can be drawn between Halloween III's druids and the forces behind Michael Myers' rampages. So, maybe Halloween III isn't as disassociated from the Michael Myers plotline as we thought?