Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) Review: The Halloween Movie Without Michael Myers
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Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a well-made, genuinely eerie Halloween movie that got punished for one thing: it isn't a Michael Myers movie.
Hear Stan and Grobe's case on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Overcast.
John Carpenter and Debra Hill wanted an anthology, one new story every October. Audiences in 1982 wanted the Shape. So the film that gave us the Silver Shamrock jingle, a piece of stolen Stonehenge, and Tom Atkins at his most magnificently rumpled was cited at 50% with critics and 29% with audiences when the hosts recorded the episode. Those recording figures can differ from today's Rotten Tomatoes page. Slept-On Cinema's defense is simple: forget the roman numeral and watch what's actually on screen.
The Slept-On Cinema Case
Stan and Grobe agree the movie has been quietly climbing for years. As Grobe puts it on the episode, "I feel like each year that goes by, it gets more credit for being good." The hosts' read is that most of the bad reviews aren't about the film at all; they're about the missing slasher. Take the title away and you're left with a tight, strange, creepy small-town conspiracy that the hosts compare to Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
The structure helps. It opens with a man running and several minutes with no dialogue, just shoes on pavement and a car crawling behind him. It ends on an ambiguity the 1980s weren't ready for and modern audiences now appreciate. In between you get a factory, a creepy animatronic room, a robot who politely goes to his own car before setting himself on fire, and a demonstration scene that shows you exactly what's about to happen to every kid in America.
The first pick
Stan takes the jingle first overall, and Grobe concedes there's no other choice. It's "London Bridge Is Falling Down" with new words, a public-domain melody turned into a daily countdown, and it is the single thing everyone remembers. Grobe's next pick is the factory tour with the Kupfer family, where the movie stops hinting and shows the mask's full effect on the most annoying family in the film.
Also drafted: Tom Atkins as Dr. Challis (the mustache, the drinking, the effortless charisma), the empty dive bar playing cartoons at 10 p.m., the bookend opening and closing scenes, and the idea of advanced ancient technology built around a chunk of Stonehenge.
BOLOs
- Moustapha Akkad's name in the credits, a pumpkin, and a mafia-style coat worn with the arms out of the sleeves.
- A window full of TVs, one of the earliest CGI shots, and an all-time mustache.
- Drinking and doctoring, a handkerchief, and Wiffle ball packaging that hasn't changed since 1982.
- Nancy Loomis in a cameo, Jamie Lee Curtis in an uncredited voice role, and bad guys with their own music.
- Head ripping, bugs, snakes, a sarcastic clap, and a general store.
Worth watching?
Yes, and October is the time. The hosts' one honest caveat is a slower stretch in the middle when the doctor first reaches the town; Stan says once Challis makes it to the lab, "that's when you check in," and the last thirty minutes run hot. The superlative for favorite mask goes to the pumpkin, which this movie made scary. Drink to pair: a Shamrock Shake (mint, vanilla ice cream, milk, green food coloring, and whatever adult addition you like) or a simple cold sangria topped with an orange.
Production observation
Released October 22, 1982, the film opened second behind First Blood, with Rocky III still in theaters, a triple feature the hosts would take a time machine for. It earned about $14.4 million in the U.S. on a $4.5 million budget. Carpenter and Hill only wanted to be involved if the story had nothing to do with Michael Myers, which is why the anthology idea existed at all. The hosts' one change to make it a blockbuster: don't call it Halloween III. Stan's spin-off pitch, Halloween: Curse of the Mask, has a coven of Cochran's descendants trying to control Michael Myers with a magic mask. It does not go well for the coven.
Keep the movie night going
- Silent Night, Deadly Night for another holiday horror that critics never forgave.
- The Strangers for masks used sparingly and to devastating effect.
- Horror Movies Critics Got Wrong for more underdog scares.
- The Qualification List for every movie the show has defended.
Hear the Full Halloween III Reappraisal
Start spoiler-free, watch the movie, then return for the Draft, BOLOs, one-change ideas, spin-off pitches, and the full discussion from Stan Steamer and GrobeStreet.
Listen to the Halloween III episode of Slept-On Cinema on Spotify, Overcast, or Apple Podcasts.
FAQ
Is Halloween III: Season of the Witch worth watching?
Yes. Judged as its own film rather than a Michael Myers sequel, it's a well-made, eerie small-town conspiracy movie with a legendary jingle and a bold ending.
Why is there no Michael Myers in Halloween III?
Carpenter and Hill planned an anthology series with a new Halloween-set story each year. Audiences expected the slasher, the anthology idea was dropped, and the film's reputation took the hit.
What is the Silver Shamrock jingle?
A commercial countdown set to the public-domain melody of "London Bridge Is Falling Down." It's the movie's most famous element and, per the hosts, its first overall draft pick.
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