Halloween III: Season of the Witch [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray]

Director: Tommy Lee Wallace Tommy Lee Wallace

Overview

The only installment of the Halloween series to abandon the Michael Myers story line, Halloween III: Season of the Witch is an intricate sci-fi horror hybrid. A week before Halloween, an older man named Harry Grimbridge (Al Berry) is wounded by a mysteriously dispassionate group of assailants in an industrial parking lot. After receiving treatment at a local hospital from Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) -- a hard-drinking divorced father of two -- Grimbridge is killed by an assassin who later sets himself on fire. Blowing off his own kids, Challis teams up with Grimbridge's daughter, Ellie (Stacey Nelkin), to find out why the middle-aged toy salesman was murdered. The duo's search soon leads them to a Halloween-mask factory run by inventor and practical joker Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy). In between bouts of passionate lovemaking, Ellie and Challis begin to realize that the sinister old businessman has something other than treats in mind for America's kids -- something to do with the Silver Shamrock masks that Challis' children and thousands of other youngsters have bought for the holiday. Original screenwriter Nigel Kneale, whose scripts for Britain's Quatermass TV series made him a beloved science fiction fixture, sued the producers of Halloween III to have his name removed from the credits after seeing the gory finished product; director Tommy Lee Wallace ultimately received screenplay credit. John Carpenter, director of the first Halloween film, co-produced the third installment with Debra Hill, who would later soldier on without Carpenter for additional, belated sequels.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/05/2021
UPC:	0826663219654
Original Release:	1982
Source:	Shout Factory
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00
Format:	Blu-ray
Sales rank:	8,356

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tom Atkins	Dr. Daniel Challis
Stacey Nelkin	Ellie Grimbridge,Actor
Dan O'Herlihy	Conal Cochran
Ralph Strait	Buddy Kupfer
Michael Currie	Rafferty
Jadeen Barbor	Betty
Bradley Schachter	Little Buddy
Garn Stephens	Marge
Nancy Kyes	Linda
Jon Terry	Starker,Starker
Patrick Pankhurst	Technician
Al Berry	Harry
Wendy Wessberg	Teddy
Dick Warlock	Assassin
Norman Merrill	Red
Michelle Walker	Bella
Joshua Miller	Willie,Willie Challis
Essex Smith	Jones
Martin Cassidy	Watcher
Maidie Norman	Nurse
John MacBride	Sheriff
Loyd Catlett	Charlie
Paddi Edwards	Secretary
Jeffrey D. Henry	Technician
Michael Greene	Technician
Brad Schacter	'Little' Buddy Kupfer Jr.
Tom Aktins	Actor
Susan Shaw	Actor
Nathaniel Merrill	Red
John Carpenter	Composer
Alan Howarth	Composer

Technical Credits

Tommy Lee Wallace

John Carpenter

Nigel Kneale

Tommy Lee Wallace	Director,Screenwriter
Jon G. Belyeu	Special Effects
Tom Burman	Special Effects
Debra Hill	Producer
John Carpenter	Producer,Screenwriter
Jeffrey Chernov	Executive Producer
Joseph Wolf	Executive Producer,Producer
Irwin Yablans	Executive Producer,Producer
Nigel Kneale	Screenwriter
Warren Hamilton	Sound Editor
Barry Bernardi	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Often maligned for being the lone Halloween entry not to star Michael Myers, Season of the Witch proves to be an exemplary installment of the series regardless. Aided by Dean Cundey's slick lensing and a throbbing score by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth (one of their best, in fact), this third entry sustains the mood of the first two films, while delivering a wholly unique take on a mask mythos. In the director's seat this time is Tommy Lee Wallace, a frequent Carpenter collaborator who amps up the gore (this was 1982, after all) while staying true to the drawn-out pacing that worked so well in previous films. While the famed mask killer makes only a brief appearance (in a coy post-modern twist), the mysterious boogeymen that appear throughout make a fitting replacement - especially since it usually ends with some kind of nasty onscreen death. Halloween III also marks a change in protagonists, from the 'final girl' archetype to yet another Carpenter vet, Tom Atkins, who anchors the film while going from an everyman to a raving Kevin McCarthy-like loon at the end. Time has indeed been kinder to the sequel, as genre enthusiasts become more vocal about their love of the movie. It's clear that film fans are more averse to it than fright fans, but taken on its own, Season of the Witch more than proves its merit. For proof, check out Dan O'Herlihy's stellar turn as Conal Cochran, never mind the kids in the melting masks, or simply the 'Silver Shamrocks' tune - all indelible moments in horror history.

All Movie Guide - Jeremy Wheeler