Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

User Rating:

3.6/10   

Director:

Tommy Lee Wallace

Writer:

Tommy Lee Wallace (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

22 October 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

...and now the earth will run with blood again!

Plot:

A large Halloween mask-making company has plans to kill millions of American children with something sinister hidden in Halloween masks.

Plot Keywords:

Exploding Car | Stand Alone Sequel | No Ending | Gothic | Halloween

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tom Atkins	...	Dr. Daniel 'Dan' Challis
Stacey Nelkin	...	Ellie Grimbridge
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Conal Cochran
Michael Currie	...	Rafferty
Ralph Strait	...	Buddy Kupfer
Jadeen Barbor	...	Betty Kupfer
Brad Schacter	...	'Little' Buddy Kupfer Jr. (as Bradley Schachter)
Garn Stephens	...	Marge Guttman
Nancy Kyes	...	Linda Challis
Jonathan Terry	...	Starker (as Jon Terry)
Al Berry	...	Harry Grimbridge
Wendy Wessberg	...	Teddy
Essex Smith	...	Walter Jones
Maidie Norman	...	Nurse Agnes
John MacBride	...	Sheriff
Loyd Catlett	...	Charlie
Paddi Edwards	...	Silver Shamrock Secretary
Norman Merrill	...	Red
Patrick Pankhurst	...	Technician
Dick Warlock	...	Assassin
Martin Cassidy	...	Watcher
Michelle Walker	...	Bella Challis
Joshua John Miller	...	Willie Challis (as Joshua Miller)
Jeffrey D. Henry	...	Motel Technician
Michael W. Green	...	Technician #2
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Curfew Announcer / Telephone Operator (voice) (uncredited)
Tommy Lee Wallace	...	Silver Shamrock Commercial Announcer (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Tommy Lee Wallace

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Nigel Kneale		uncredited
Tommy Lee Wallace		written by

Produced by
Moustapha Akkad	....	executive producer
Barry Bernardi	....	associate producer
John Carpenter	....	producer
Debra Hill	....	producer
Joseph Wolf	....	executive producer
Irwin Yablans	....	executive producer

Original Music by
John Carpenter
Alan Howarth

Cinematography by
Dean Cundey		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Millie Moore

Casting by
Susan Shaw

Production Design by
Peter Jamison

Set Decoration by
Linda Spheeris

Makeup Department
Frankie Bergman	....	hair stylist
Thomas R. Burman	....	special makeup effects artist (as Tom Burman)
Ron Walters	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jeffrey Chernov	....	executive in charge of production
Jeffrey Chernov	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Scott Thaler	....	second assistant director (as Scott Ira Thaler)
Ron Wright	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Carl Aldana	....	illustrator
Terry Feller	....	propmaker
Andrew P. Flores	....	labor foreman
Serge Genitempo	....	stand-by painter
Walton D. Hadfield	....	construction coordinator
Greg Lynch	....	swing gang
Jerry Palermo	....	construction painter
James A. Rathbun	....	property master
Daniel Stoltenberg	....	property master
James F. Walker	....	propmaker foreman (as Jim Walker)
William Kemper Wright	....	lead man (as William Wright)
John Naulin	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Joseph F. Brennan	....	boom operator
Thomas Causey	....	sound mixer
James Cavarretta	....	sound re-recording mixer
Warren Hamilton Jr.	....	sound editor (as Warren Hamilton)
Steve Maslow	....	sound re-recording mixer
Colin C. Mouat	....	sound editor
Andy Rovins	....	boom operator
Kendrick Sweet	....	dialogue editor
Bill Varney	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Lewis Yewdall	....	supervising sound editor

Special Effects by
William Aldridge	....	special effects assistant
Jon G. Belyeu	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Charles Moore	....	visual consultant

Stunts
Kerrie Cullen	....	stunts
Loren Janes	....	stunts
Dick Warlock	....	stunt coordinator
Dick Warlock	....	stunts
Lance Warlock	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jon Antunovich	....	electrician
Richard Babin	....	grip
Ron Batzdorff	....	still photographer
Clyde E. Bryan	....	first assistant camera
David Golia	....	assistant camera: second unit
Laszlo Horvath	....	dolly grip
Nick Kurges	....	grip
Allen Marshall	....	electrician
Patrick Marshall	....	electrician
Thomas Marshall	....	best boy electric
Steve Mathis	....	electrician
Mark Pearson	....	grip
Joe A. Salamdino	....	best boy grip
Guy Skinner	....	second assistant camera
Raymond Stella	....	camera operator
Stephen St. John	....	camera operator: second unit
Mark Walthour	....	gaffer
Ronald Woodward	....	key grip

Casting Department
Susie Johnson	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Frances Vega Aubrey	....	costumer (as Frances Aubrey)
Jane Ruhm	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Maurie Beck	....	first assistant editor
Patricia Lee	....	second assistant editor

Transportation Department
Ray Appel	....	driver
Louis Galliani	....	driver
Steve Grossman	....	driver
Chuck Hampton	....	driver
Jim Huffey	....	driver
Marty Huffey	....	driver
James A. Lundin	....	driver (as Jim Lundin)
Dave Pierce	....	driver
Wayne Roberts	....	transportation captain
Mario Simon	....	driver
Tom F. Thomas	....	driver (as Tom Thomas)
Thomas Vilardo	....	driver
Eddie Lee Voelker	....	transportation coordinator
Gordon Wiles	....	driver

Other crew
Ben-Ami Agmon	....	location manager
Gretchen Baker	....	post-production expeditor
Jim Brockett	....	assistant animal coordinator
Randi Chernov	....	assistant: Ms. Hill
Bill Cherones	....	location assistant
Maurice Costello	....	first aid
Lynn D. Ezelle	....	assistant accountant
Chip Fowler	....	production coordinator
David Gersh	....	assistant: Matt Franco
Bernie Granados	....	first aid
Mark C. Grech	....	craft service
Larry Hand	....	production accountant
Louise Jaffe	....	script supervisor
Bert Jetter	....	caterer
David Katz	....	video coordinator
Bob Laird	....	motor police
Doug Laird	....	motor police
Ken Lavet	....	location assistant
Michele Little	....	assistant: Mr. Chernov
Sam Nicholson	....	silver shamrock commercial
Don Post	....	mask maker
Carol Rosenthal	....	assistant: Mr. Bernardi
Clint Rowe	....	animal coordinator
Anne Thompson	....	publicist
John C. Wash	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Dino De Laurentiis Company
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical)
• Altomedia. Co. Ltd. (Korea) (DVD)
• Altomedia. Co. Ltd. (Korea) (VHS)
• Astro Distribution (2002) (Germany) (DVD)
• GoodTimes Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• GoodTimes Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Kabel 1 (????) (Germany) (TV)
• MCA Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA Videocassette Inc. (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• RCV Film Distribution
• RTL2 (????) (Germany) (TV)
• Succéfilm AB (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Tele 5 (2006) (Germany) (TV)
• Thorn EMI Video Australia
• Universal Studios Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The Last Halloween (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

96 min | USA:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (VHS rating) (1998) | Finland:K-18 (1983) (cut) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1988) | Australia:M | Austria:16 | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | UK:15 (theatrical release) (uncut) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) (cut) | UK:15 (video rating) (2002) (uncut) | UK:15 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Domino's Pizza - 17 Kersting Court, Sierra Madre, California, USA

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

The voice of the announcer in the Silver Shamrock commercials and radio spots is that of the film's writer/director Tommy Lee Wallace.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: The "big giveaway" that happens at 9pm across the whole country would have to happen at least five different consecutive times due to time zones. The "big giveaway" in the most eastern time zone would be successful, but further west it would be earlier than 9pm.

Quotes:

Commercial voices: [repeated line; singing] Two more days 'til Halloween/ Halloween/ Halloween/ Two more days 'til Halloween/ Silver Shamrock.

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

Not without its charm

Halloween III has taken on a new life on the AMC cable channel. It is used to pad some time during their "Monsterfest" marathon in the 10 days leading up to Halloween.

It's not a good movie. People who like it, when asked, "Do you want to see a movie that's like the Twilight Zone, only slower, longer, and not as good?" would probably answer, "You had me at Twilight Zone."

There are a few things to enjoy about this movie:

1) The 1-man synthesizer soundtrack is pure early 80s. 2) Also for nostalgia lovers, this movie came out when personal computers had been out for about a year and any kind of computer graphics were considered cool. 3) The producers showed some guts by breaking from the formula (and unfortunately got creamed at the box office for it.) 4) It doesn't have an eye-rolling formulaic ending. 5) It turned out to be somewhat prophetic. 15 years after this movie came out, hundreds of Japanese children were stricken with seizures after watching an episode of "Pokemon." 6) If you like the song "London Bridge," this is the movie for you.

Unfortunately, it's kind of plodding and layers implausibility upon implausibility until it just gets too much. If you watch this movie, here are some things NOT to think about. It'll just make your head hurt: (Spoiler alert)

*How could someone steal a 5-ton rock from Stonehenge?

*If you're a supervillian, is there a better use for your lifelike androids?

*How does Silver Shamrock pay for all those TV ads that must change on a daily basis?

*How much revenue can a company generate with a product line that features a whopping three different masks? (two of which are pretty lame.)

*Did stores used to carry Halloween merchandise for longer into October? (since currently, the Halloween stuff is moved to clearance by about October 20th to make room for Xmas stuff)

*Would a factory so paranoid that it enforces a curfew on its citizens be a little suspicious of two buyers who showed up to get masks on October 29th without phoning first?

*Why is Buddy Kupfer's family staying in a motel if they have a big RV? In fact, why is "one of the richest men in the country" staying in a cheap motel at all?

*When are football games televised on Friday afternoon?

*What makes divorced alcoholic 47 year old deadbeat dads attractive to hot 23 year olds?

*Why are there so many leaves on the trees on October 31?

*Has there ever been a lazier attempt at a montage of cities than the one that appears in this movie?

*Wouldn't time zones put a kink in Cochran's wicked scheme?

*Did network TV used to air horror movies at 7:00 PM? ("The Big Giveaway" at 9:00 follows the airing of the original Halloween movie, with a run time of about 2 hours, including the inevitable commercials.)

*Whom can you call to immediately pull programming from multiple networks, especially if you don't have any special credentials?

*What did this movie have to do with witches or the Donovan song?

I could have overlooked all those glaring problems if Cochran had shown even a modicum of motivation for his evil plan to murder all his customers (and ensure bankruptcy even if he dodges criminal proceedings) but the plot is so preposterous by the time Challis confronts him that Cochran can't even offer up a response. "Do I even need a reason? ... In the end, the planets determine our actions." That's right. Blame it on astrology.

Sheesh!