What is it about?
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is the outlier in the 13-film Halloween series because it strays entirely from the slasher format established in the 1978 original. I argue that this is a strength, not a defect, and as yet another addition to the series is released, we should instead embrace the originality, strangeness, and significance of this almost-forgotten work.
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Why is it important?
For decades, horror franchises have been recycling themselves in increasingly boring ways, from the 1980s glut of Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street movies to 2022's staggeringly dull, stupid, and cynical take on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Halloween III: Season of the Witch was a sincere, daring attempt to unmoor the series from this route, and instead create smaller, darker, stranger worlds within a pre-existing franchise, while allowing a rookie director to work with an experienced team. As such, it should be celebrated as a (doomed) effort at helping the Halloween series avoid the fate that it sadly sank into the late-80s and 90s. Horror franchises did not have to pay fan service to a loyal yet largely unsatisfied group, and an examination of the cultural significance and true artistry of Halloween III: Season of the Witch is an excellent case study to make this point with.
Perspectives
I had been intrigued by this film for almost 15 years, ever since I couldn't sleep one Sunday night in October and watched a weird film on the Sci Fi Channel about an Irish maniac who killed people by putting bits of Stonehenge in Halloween masks. I had strong memories of being disturbed by scenes from Halloween H20: 20 Years Later as a child, and so when I dedicated myself to watching all of the Halloween movies, as well as John Carpenter's whole film catalogue, I was astonished how the franchise immediately became after the 1978 original, and also by the fact that Halloween III: Season of the Witch was evidently a Carpenter film. He worked as a co-producer on the film, and along with his extraordinary soundtrack, this helped provide an angle to the article - this was not the rogue movie of an outsider who did relatively little of serious merit, but a piece of such independence and daring that I had to share and argue for my appreciation of it.
Dr Ciarán Leinster
University College Dublin
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This page is a summary of: Halloween III: Season of the Witch: It’s time (again) for a re-evaluation, Horror Studies, October 2022, Intellect,
DOI: 10.1386/host_00053_1.
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