Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Dir: TOMMY LEE WALLACE
Country: USA

The third entry in the Halloween franchise emerged just a year after Halloween II (1982) hit the screens and seemed to confirm to audiences that the masked psychopath Michael Myers had perished and would be heard of no more. This is the infamous one that didn’t feature the knife wielding maniac, or the dogged lunatic Dr. Loomis who is always one step behind. Although some fans of the Myers movies consider this entry to be an aberration, or even an error, it was in fact a daring and progressive move from producers John Carpenter and Debra Hill. The intention was to create a stand alone film every couple of years that made use of the Halloween period - an intriguing concept that deserves far greater respect and admiration than the pathetic Myers driven sequels that followed this daring film from 1988 onwards.

The reasons for its commercial failure are fairly obvious to anyone who has sat through this film. This is a deeply pessimistic, cynical, and bleak horror film -  unremittingly grim it features villains who triumph, a hero who ends the film emotionally broken, and the nations children convulsing and puking up snakes and insects on the living room carpets of suburban America. This deep cynicism is almost certainly a hangover from the uncredited work of British fantasy writer Nigel Kneale on the screenplay. Kneale regularly satirised authority and  ideological institutions that are sacred to the conservatives amongst us. This film goes one or two steps beyond Kneale in its attack on consumerism, advertising, and the media. This is a film that sees the ever growing affluence of a consumer driven generation as a mindless and pliable mass ripe for exploitation (or destruction) by any passing Irish druid cult.

These admirable qualities make Halloween III easily the most subversive, politically motivated, and challenging entry in what is primarily a very reactionary and conservative film franchise. The Irish toy company Silver Shamrock take full advantage of the capitalist system by purchasing advertising space to drum their message into the heads of gullible children with a very irritating and annoying jingle. This thinly veiled attack on the repetitive nature of advertising bleeds into the film itself when several characters moan about the advert. I don’t think its possible to watch the film without getting deeply annoyed by this, but this would seem to be the filmmakers intention. Silver Shamrock have done their market research and there is a certain clammy terror about the way in which they manipulate the tools of American capitalism to wheedle their way into a position to destroy America from the inside out.

The inherent darkness of the film is not alleviated one jot by a series of morose performances and a very murky mise-en-scene. Our nominal hero is Dr. Daniel Challis (Tom Atkins), an alcoholic divorcee. In the shape of Atkins, he is far from the type of conventional hero one was accustomed too in 1980’s horror. The revelation that the cult of Silver Shamrock have harnessed the mythical powers of Stonehenge to exact their plan is one of the films weaker moments - and the manner in which their operation is taken apart happens rather too swiftly and unconvincingly. The film seems in a rush to end. The film does also suffer from leaden and uninspired direction by Tommy Lee Wallace, but he and his collaborators succeeded extremely well in creating a mood drenched with dread and despair. The film also has some fine set pieces - the first involving a couple of creepy androids is a highlight, and if you don’t like creepy crawlies this is one to avoid. These things tick the genre boxes nicely, but ultimately this is a film that has things to say beyond its generic niche. It is an attack on television and the media and its power to communicate (in this case through subliminal means) death and destruction. This message is resolute and nicely conveyed within the generic parameters of horror. It is very easy to dismiss this entry in the Halloween franchise, but it has always been a firm favourite of mine (second only to the original 1978 film that started it all). This is one of the most apocalyptic and nihilistic of 80’s horror films - and if you like your horror bleak and depressing, you’ll find something of value here.