So for this first installment of Horror Movies for Newbies, I thought I would take everyone back to a treasured film from my childhood. A film bound by controversy from the beginning but not the kind of controversy that brought attention to films such as The Human Centipede or A Serbian Film because of its disturbing nature. Instead this film is taboo for its title and the franchise it’s supposed to be representing. In the past, members of horror movie message boards across the globe have expressed that this film is one of the worst horror films of all time. I on the other hand consider this film to be one of the greatest horror films of the 1980s. Anyone who likes to hate on it does so only because it’s so far from what they were expecting: a Halloween movie without Michael Myers? BLASPHEMY! The film in question is Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
I have scoured many horror movie message boards reading fans’ responses to what they consider the worst horror movie of all time. A majority of the responses were on Halloween III and all of their answers are the same, “There’s no Michael Myers, therefore it sucks.” Okay, here’s my question to those that bash the film: have you actually sat down and watched the movie? Now I am a big fan of the Resident Evil games, but I actually watched the first film with my expectations set aside and thought that the film was fairly decent, even given how little it actually had to do with the first game. So are you going to give an automatic knee-jerk judgment on a film because it strays from the pattern set by its predecessors?
Well, here is a bit of trivia for you that may help you to understand the reason Halloween III is so different. After Halloween II was released in 1981, John Carpenter devised the idea of turning future Halloween installments into a collection of spooky stories set on Halloween night. While the idea sounds intriguing at first glance, I suppose it was only natural for the audience to expect that since the first two movies had both focused on the same characters (Laurie Strode, Michael Myers, Dr. Sam Loomis), the next sequel would feature more of the same. When John Carpenter and company gave them something completely different, no one knew what to think, and the film tanked at the box office.
I’m gratified to see that the film has since developed a cult following, and that it’s beginning to get some real recognition: Rottencotten.com now sells Halloween III T-shirts, and well-known Internet personality Brad Jones (of “Cinema Snob” fame) has cited it as one of his favorite horror movies. Now with the audience understanding why the film is so different in the first place, they’re beginning to take a second look. If you can overlook the fact that it is “supposed” to be an official installment, Halloween III is an effective horror film that really exposes the dark side of this fun, beloved holiday.
Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) is called in to see a patient that has been brought to his hospital. The man is passed out with a Halloween mask in his tight grasp; he wakes up in terror to the sound of a commercial for Silver Shamrock Novelties, the manufacturers of the mask he’s holding. Just minutes later, the man is found dead in his room with a crushed skull. The man’s daughter Ellie (Stacy Nelkin) comes looking for answers, and Dan teams up with her to work out the mystery of her father’s death. Their investigation leads them to Silver Shamrock’s headquarters and factory in Santa Mira, a quiet and perfectly normal small California town -- which, like all small towns in horror movies, hides an ugly secret.
Atkins and Nelkin give fantastic performances as Dan and Ellie. You feel for Ellie in her search for the reasons behind her father’s death, and Atkins portrays Dan as a man with grave concern and the determination to seek results. He could have chosen not to meddle in this unforeseen situation, but he instead risks everything to uncover the truth. His desperation leads him to explore the unspeakable grounds of the factory and unmask Silver Shamrock’s mysterious plan and the perpetrator behind it. Ellie is right beside him all the way. She does not lose courage as they discover Santa Mira’s bizarre quirks (shady townspeople, security cameras on ever corner, et cetera). In fact she risks blowing her cover as she runs towards her father’s car on the factory’s lot, right in front of the building‘s security staff.
Of course, Halloween III’s strongest asset has to be the villain himself. All right, so you don’t have Michael Myers quietly accosting people and butchering them to death, but the baddie here is certainly a worthy substitute. Dan O’ Herlihy was best known for playing likable characters like Grig in The Last Starfighter, or even the Old Man in Robocop. Here, playing against type, O’Herlihy churns up a deliciously wicked performance as Santa Mira’s prized and feared leader, Conal Cochran -- the CEO of Silver Shamrock. His presence is intimidating even without the business-suited, zombie-like security drones that swarm about him. His cold yet calculating demeanor, and the venom in his soft voice, are enough to make an audience cringe in trepidation. If you can sit through his speech to Dan about the reason behind his scheme, with that cold and iniquitous tone in his voice, and not felt a chill go down your spine… you’ve got guts, my friend! I consider Cochran’s monologue one of the most memorable and chilling scenes of the entire Halloween series, next to Dr. Loomis talking to Sheriff Braddock about his first meeting with Michael Myers. It is a travesty that Conal Cochran is not on any mainstream lists of Most Terrifying Villains, because he most definitely deserves that honor.
Halloween III offers everything that a newbie could appreciate: an intriguing storyline, an incredible cast, and a fabulously haunting soundtrack by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth. There’s also some nice special effects to appease the gorehounds, but the content is not so overtly graphic as to turn away the squeamish. And all of this is capped off by one of the most unnerving endings I have ever witnessed in a horror movie, which you are going to have to see to believe. In conclusion: Leave your Michael-based expectations at the door and give Halloween III: Season of the Witch a try. I promise it will not disappoint.
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