Reviewed by Geno McGahee
This is the movie that is best known as: “Where the Hell is Michael Myers?” This has to be one of the least respected horror movies of all time, and that’s because the people expected the white-faced maniac with a knife killing babysitters, and got a story about Halloween masks. Due to this bait and switch, the horror fans have not given this gem a chance, but I refuse to go with the pack. In Halloween 2, both Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis were killed in that hospital when it blew up, remember? Since when do people come back from the dead in horror films? Uh…bad question, but you know what I mean. Halloween III: Season of the Witch is an extension of the brand name, and it is a really great story with FANTASTIC acting.
We begin this movie with some old bastard hauling ass. He is in bad shape and bought to the hospital, clutching a Halloween mask. Dr. Challis, played by the remarkable Tom Atkins (Maniac Cop, Creepshow) is intrigued by the situation, but his curiosity is not satisfied when the old man was murdered in the hospital. Challis chases the murderer, who jumps into a car and then kills himself. Either there is something fishy going on, or the guilt of the murder set in pretty darn quick.
Challis meets up with the daughter of the old man that was murdered, Ellie (Stacey Nelkin). She has her dad’s planner and realizes that something went wrong on the way back from his job at the Halloween mask factory. Yes, he worked at a Halloween mask factory. Hey, they have to exist. Halloween masks don’t make themselves.
The man in charge of this factor is a nice guy, or so it seems, named Mr. Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy). He is merely running a factory and has no knowledge of the murder. When Ellie finds her dad’s car at the factory however, the duo of her and Challis team up to find out the secret behind the murder and Halloween masks. They get more than they bargained for as they both get captured, and are held separately. Challis is the man that is let in on the big secret though. Cochran is leading a legion of satanic robots in a mass sacrifice to the devil, using the masks as death traps. When the commercial plays on Halloween night, all children wearing that mask will die horribly.
Challis shows the heart of a lion and takes on this huge group and takes them out, but he has to stop the networks from airing that god damn commercial. What goes around, comes around, as Challis runs to the same gas station that the old man in the beginning initially showed up. He grabs the phone and calls the network, and in one of the most well acted and overly dramatic scenes that I have ever seen, Atkins delivers, and attempts to save all the children. Will he succeed? You will have to watch and see, and I recommend that you do watch. Contrary to what the majority of “horror fans” say, this movie is a winner!
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10 Halloween Mask-tastic
