Search - Halloween III - Season Of The Witch on DVD

Tim G. (slimtimreading) from LAKE WALES, FL
Reviewed on 5/30/2014...

OK you've all heard this movie sucks because Michael isn't it, which in part is true Michael isn't init but you know it still isn't a bad movie. I think the biggest mistake the makers of this moviemade was putting that #3 behind the Halloween they should have called it HALLOWEEN: THE SEASON OF THE WITCH. This one has to do with a psycho Halloween mask maker who plans to kill off kids on Halloween using a chip which is in the mask which would set off on Halloween when the kids watch their TV commercial on Halloween. Its not the best movie but its definitely not the worst

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Ilsa H. from SACRAMENTO, CA
Reviewed on 4/8/2013...

This is the movie I watch every Halloween. It's not the best movie, but I love it. It scared the heck out of me when I was a kid. It's still a little scary because of how creepy and gory it is in parts.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Chad B. (abrnt1) from CABERY, IL
Reviewed on 1/5/2012...

This film got a bad reputation when it was first released. The problem was that people expected it to continue the story of Michael Myers. Problem was Carpenter & Debra Hill both agreed that Michael was destroyed. John Carpenter was under contract to make a third film and used an existing screenplay he wrote.

Season of the Witch is best thought of as being an unofficial part of his Apocalypse Trilogy (which includes The Thing, Prince of Darkness & In the Mouth of Madness). Carpenter allowed Tommy Lee Wallace to direct and acted as Producer along with Debra Hill (RIP).

It amuses me to no end watching Halloween 4 through Halloween Resurrection and seeing their incoherent attempts to tie Part 3 into the series. The fact that in Part 3 evil won (what else do u call the wholesale slaughter of hundreds of thousands of grade school children?), but no mention is ever mention of this fact.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Teddy B. (tigerted) from TUJUNGA, CA
Reviewed on 11/3/2009...

"The Night No One Comes Home" was the teaser for this third visit to Carpenter's "Halloween" franchise. His buddy, Tommmy Lee Wallace,who
wore several hats on the original "Halloween",directs this one in which
Michael Myers is nowhere to be found! A brand new story invloving a
terrible prank and ancient witchcraft takes the lead instead. Most die-
hard "Halloween" fans felt that they were tricked that year. Yes, the
Silver Shamrock masks are cool and the bugs and snakes are disgusting
and scary. Carpenter returns as producer and scores his legendary music
( which saves the film from corny FX and silly plot devices). What Carpenter
had in mind with Universal was to put out a different Halloween-themed movie
every year or so, but each with its own original story. Looked good on paper,
I'm sure, and Tom Atkins (from Carpenter's "The Fog" and "Escape From New York")
was perfect as Dr. Challis. The entire cast was really good and the dark humor was, too. When "Halloween III" done playing in theaters, however,
the bean counters at Universal were less than thrilled. The first two films had gone thru the roof, but the holiday was over. No more treats from Carpenter until he went over to Columbia to make Steven King's "Christine".

3 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Watch The Magic Pumpkin

Stanley Runk | Camp North Pines | 10/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When talking about the Halloween series, you'll always get the schmuck who says, "oh yeah, then there was that one that didn't even have Michael Myers in it. That was stupid". Yup, I've heard it time and time again. Most of the time this statement comes from someone who hasn't actually seen the film or is just a victim of the general consensus that says this is a terrible film coz it's not a legitimate sequel. Sure there are people out there that honestly just don't like the film, and that's cool coz there isn't a single film that everyone agrees is good. If they have reasons for not liking the film other than the lack of Myers, that's A-OK with me. Here's a little backstory. Halloween 3 was the first and only film in an experiment of John Carpenter's. Carpenter went to great lengths to show the audience at the end of Halloween 2 that Myers is dead, terminated, gone forevermore. Carpenter hated the idea of a second Myers film, but was pressured to write a second(with the help of alot of Budweiser according to Carpenter in a Halloween documentary). He left the directing to someone else coz he felt he'd already made this film before(which he did). After part 2, Carpenter decided to start an entire series of "Halloween" films, each with a different theme. One would be made each year, and come out in theaters around Halloween. If you ask me, that's a pretty cool idea. Halloween 3 was the first film in this new direction. Carpenter producing and Tommy Lee Wallace directing. However, everybody bitched about it and the idea was dead in the water. Carpenter was screwed and abandoned Halloween altogether, then Halloween producer, Akkad, saw dollar signs and brought Myers back with no more association with Carpenter. So that's it. This was a film that coulda been the start of a cool concept, but nooooooooooooooooo. Michael's not even in it, damn it! So, Halloween 3 is forever labelled as that rotten movie to avoid like the plague. So, what about the movie itself? Well, it's no masterpiece of modern cinema, but this movie deserves more attention than it gets. It certainly deserves a cult following if it hasn't got one already. It's actually quite bizarre. It's got a helluva concept that actually uses the druid roots of halloween for it's villains' motives. These points were briefly hinted at by Dr. Loomis in Halloween 2. It revolves around the pagan aspects of the holiday. There's some flat out crazy stuff in this movie. Plus it has Tom Atkins which is worth two stars right off the bat. You get orange blooded homicidal androids, an evil toymaking company that rules and terrorizes a town in Orwellian fashion, and some crazy friggin halloween masks. Tell me that scene where they "test run" one of the evil masks on an unsuspecting family isn't totally demented and %#$!ed up! That scene scared the hell out of me as a kid. Who can forget the Silver Shamrock song? The band Helloween sample it on one of their songs so I know at least someone out there likes this film. How bout that lady getting blasted in the mouth with the laser, and later has bugs crawling in her mouth? Wacky! And how about that ending? That's one of the coolest endings I've seen in a horror film. You certainly don't see endings like that in this day and age. Everyone wants closure, everyone wants a nice ending. Halloween 3 ain't got no nice ending. But Michael Myers isn't even in it!!! It's impossible to ignore this film's reputation, but if you dig horror films that are definitely out-there, try overcoming prejudice and check this movie out. Then if you dig it, you can proudly flip off the rest of the world for tarnishing this movie's reputation and keeping you away from it for so many years. The hell with Michael Myers I say. And don't forget to watch the big giveaway at 9!!"

"Watch the magic pumpkin!"

Jennifer C. | Houston, TX USA | 07/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I feel I must defend this movie, even though I'm sure mine isn't the popular opinion in this case. I fondly recall seeing it in the theater when I was 7 years old, in 1982, and remember loving it even then. Sure, the plot has nothing to do with the original Halloween and its many sequels (as has been repeated here ad nauseum), but it's a charming little standalone film and deserves better reviews than it's been getting here! If this movie was not called "Halloween III" and had nothing to do with the Halloween franchise, would the reviews still be so bad? Possibly, but looking at the movie on its own, I can honestly say I've seen a thousand times worse than this. Half the complaints I see are that there's no Michael Meyers, Laurie Strode or Dr. Loomis in it... so what? The movie makes up for that with a decently creepy and unique plot, some rather disgusting scenes if you're even halfway squeamish, and some good old fashioned scenes where the not-so-jaded viewer might even jump. The movie is classic - "Eight more days till Halloween, Halloween, Halloween... Eight more days till Halloween, Silver Shamrock!" That song is incredibly catchy, memorable to the point where you might find yourself singing it a week later, and is horrific in itself, because it's basically a sugar-coated countdown to mass murder! Don't forget the scarily amusing kids on TV, bopping to the beat, in special masks... Not to mention the bugs - perhaps I'm biased, as the only things that EVER affect me in horror movies are bugs... ugh. At any rate, I tend to think of this movie as at least one of my top 25 favorite horror movies of the 1980's. It can be cheesy, but in the best way possible, and I know I'd certainly choose to watch this over some of the rather dismal, trendy 90's "horror" movies, which have unfortunately gotten MUCH better reviews. I guess it's really all a matter of taste.The movie never claimed to have Michael Meyers in it, so try not to feel so ripped off because you just assumed he'd be in it. If you watch the movie with an open mind, dim the lights and pop some popcorn, you might find that you'll actually enjoy it."

"The Night Nobody Came Home"

cookieman108 | Inside the jar... | 10/13/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Some towns suffer through tornadoes, others endure hurricanes, but I think the town of Santa Mira has had it the worst. First they endured aliens (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and now an evil conspiracy involving old world sorcery combined with new world technology to create an unspeakable horror in Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

I rather enjoyed this movie. From reading reviews, it seems the biggest problem people have is being a sequel of the original movie, they are disappointed by the fact Michael Myers isn't in the movie. I've read that since Michael died in the second movie, the intent was to create new sequels, each involving different tales relating to Halloween. Only problem was that this movie was poorly received, so the idea was canned and Michael was brought back for the next movie. I would have liked to have seen where the original idea would have led myself. As a stand alone movie, I thought this was pretty good. After the strange murder of a patient in his hospital, Dr. Dan Chalis (Tom Atkins) meets the daughter of the recently deceased, Elle Grimbridge (Stacy Nelkin) and together they investigate the mystery behind her father's death. This leads them to the town of Santa Mira, the Silver Shamrock Toy Company and it's mysterious owner, Conal Cochran, played by Dan O'Herlihy. As the story moves along, the conspiracy slowly reveals itself, and we can see the extent of the plan. As Dan and Elle get captured, we now see them not only trying to expose the plans, but fight for their very lives. While the movie did move along pretty well, there were some points that sort of dragged, but not, in my opinion because of the actors, but because of the script. The dialogue was a little clunky in some areas, sort of drawing me out of the movie. There were many aspects I would have liked to seen developed more, like the witchcraft angle, or the technical elements, but that's the way it goes. The one part I did find unsettling was the death of that young child. Yeah, he was annoying, but it seems pretty rare that young children get killed in these movies. I am not saying I wish that scene wasn't in the movie, as it was actually integral to the story, just like in Jaws when the shark killed the Kitner boy. I am just used to teenagers or adults as victims in these types of movies, not young children.

No extras, but a really good presentation of an often misaligned movie. Had this movie had a different name, I am sure it would have been better received. I guess if you are going to call your movie a Halloween sequel, it better have Michael Myers in it."