Matthew Percefull
The Halloween franchise is one of horror’s most successful. The series is best known for its iconic killer, Michael Myers. The stalking menace became an instant horror icon. His mask, intimidating figure, and brutal kills were so engaging that fans clamored for more. Final girl Laurie Strode was also quite popular due to her resourcefulness. The only problem was that the series was supposed to be an anthology, with each film telling a distinct story set on Halloween night. The first Halloween film was such a success that the studio decided to bring Myers and Strode back for the sequel, with plans to return to the anthology structure on the third film. Once they did just that with Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, fans were angered, and critics were just confused.
For quite a while, Halloween 3: Season of the Witch had a negative connotation. I remember my dad once telling me it was the worst movie he’d ever seen. To this day, it’s still seen as the red-headed stepchild of the franchise (quite an accomplishment for a series that features Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2 and Halloween Ends, and David Gordon Green’s modern entries). Critics ravaged the film. Fans were instantly outraged at the lack of Myers and Strode. It was a huge flop, and the anthology concept never got off the ground.
In the context of the rest of the series, this derision is entirely justified. Not only does the film not feature Michael Myers, but it’s also completely different in every aspect. Season of the Witch is a slow-burning mystery full of social commentary. The only true similarities are the Halloween setting and the synth-heavy score. It’s not hard to see why this sudden pivot after two successful slashers rubbed audiences the wrong way. However, on its own merits, Halloween 3 is a really fun horror film that deserves recognition outside of its franchise context. The film is smart, funny, and at times, downright brutal.
Halloween 3 has a fun mix of witchcraft and science fiction. The film centers on a town that has fallen victim to a sinister plot by a suspicious toy company. A seemingly innocuous line of Halloween masks, Silver Shamrocks, is used by their creator for a murder spree on Halloween night. The premise sounds quite silly, and at times it definitely is, but Season of the Witch is not afraid to get into the darker aspects of its concept. It doesn’t hold back on the kills or its scathing (not at all subtle) critiques of consumerism. This makes for an odd but memorable tone that I’ve not seen in many other films.
Season of the Witch is bleak. It’s incredibly violent and jarring. The film is not scared to kill any of its characters, including children. Its ending is unforgiving and goes further than I expected. Halloween 3: Season of the Witch swings for the fences. It’s admirable to use an IP and take it to its limits, even if the result is uneven. This is more than just the weird Halloween film; it’s an attempt at expanding the series and the genre of horror.
Does consumerism harm tradition, or does it provide the means to continue it? Is a holiday like Halloween truly a celebration of fall, horror, and candy, or are we all just being tricked by corporations? Can both be true? Halloween 3: Season of the Witch has these questions at the forefront. The Silver Shamrock masks, which turn children’s heads into bug-infested mush, represent the type of thoughtless consumption that fuels most holidays. These masks don’t appear special. They look like the same cheap products that get bought, thrown out, and replaced every year. The only thing that makes them stand out is the relentless marketing campaign equipped with an irritatingly catchy jingle. The commercial angle is very of its time, but the general theme only grows more relevant as advertisements take up more of our time in the digital age.
I love the design of the Silver Shamrock masks. They’re perfectly generic and cheap-looking, but when the violent nature of their creation is revealed, they turn terrifying. The gruesome visuals of the rotten masks wrapped around some poor kid’s head have always stuck with me. It’s an all-time horror visual, and the mask needed to be perfect to achieve that. The music is also an important element in selling the masks. It’s a jingle that is grating but gets stuck in your head for days. The fact that it has this effect on audiences watching the film makes us relate to the characters as they are tormented by these commercials.
Not only is this film bonkers, but it’s also gorgeously made. Franchise auteur John Carpenter hand-picked director Tommy Lee Wallace to helm this third entry. Wallace took Carpenter’s recognizable style from the first two and ran with it. The visuals of Halloween 3: Season of the Witch are mesmerizing. It screams Halloween and, for my money, makes a better use of the holiday than the rest of its franchise. Jack-o’-lanterns and costumes lay amongst a suburban setting. The atmosphere is strong, and fear lurks in the background of every shot. Autumn coziness clashes with inevitable doom. There’s a subtle evil that sits within the belly of this town that is perfectly encapsulated by the cinematography.
To go along with the spooky visual palette, Season of the Witch employs an overlooked synth-heavy score. It’s one of my favorite horror scores. John Carpenter and his usual collaborator Alan Howarth composed this score. It takes the beats from the first two scores but solely uses synths instead of pianos. The score sits in the film like a snake in a body of water. By the time it’s taken your full attention, something awful is already happening on screen. John Carpenter may not have directed the film, but the music and style have his fingerprints all over. Carpenter and Debra Hill championed this film as the anthology conceit had been their brainchild. To this day, most of the people who worked on this film still stand by it.
The making of this film is interesting and involves a revolving door of horror mainstays. Gremlins director Joe Dante famously almost took a crack at it but was pulled away for a segment in Steven Spielberg’s Twilight Zone: The Movie. Dante brought in the famous science fiction author, Nigel Kneale to write the script who stayed on after the director left. He eventually left the project and requested his name stay off the final film, but Wallace has said a majority of the story is Kneale’s work. His strange mix of science fiction with occult elements is the engine of Halloween 3. Without it, the film would likely feel generic and forgettable. If it was truly just a bad horror sequel with nothing interesting to say we wouldn’t be talking about it almost fifty years later.
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch has been subject to a cultural evaluation. As the years have passed and dozens of Michael Myers starring Halloween films have been released, people have softened on this odd experiment and have begun to take it in for what it is. There’s been talk over the years of remaking the film with modern technology. Jason Blum has expressed interest and received blessings from Carpenter. Despite initially disapointing, this weird little horror film has managed to stake a claim in modern horror fans brains. Many horror heads, myself included, binge it every October. From largely mocked to holiday tradition, Halloween 3: Season of the Witch has stood the test of time.
