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Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

1982
Sci-fi
Horror
1h 38m
Kids all over America want Silver Shamrock masks for Halloween. Doctor Daniel Challis seeks to uncover a plot by Silver Shamrock owner Conal Cochran (imdb.com).
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Halloween III: Season of the Witch

1982
Sci-fi
Horror
1h 38m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 30.25% from 1077 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(1077)
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Rated 11 Apr 2014
72
51st
When I woke up this morning, I wasn't thinking that not 15 hours later I would be watching Tom Atkins' naked ass squeeze itself into some khakis. Sometimes life is a roller-coaster.
Rated 10 Sep 2018
71
53rd
This redheaded step-child of the franchise is much better than its reputation. Low on actual scares but high on novel lunacy & festive spirit. Despite the positively bonkers plot there's actually some intense spooky stuff in there augmented by a nice Carpenter score. Memorably goofy schlock that's refreshingly unencumbered by any kind of marketing sense. Or sense in general. Extra points for inexplicable anti-children content. Good luck ejecting that godforsaken Shamrock tune from your head.
Rated 03 Jun 2009
77
62nd
Proof that even in 1982 the staleness of the slasher genre was recognized and somebody had the good sense give it a miss and take the series in a different direction, sadly it's perpetuators didn't learn anything--I'm talking about YOU MR. ZOMBIE.
Rated 18 Mar 2014
83
92nd
In honor of my 1300th review I thought I'd rate one of my favorite movies. And this is it. Why are you laughing? No, I really like it, like, genuinely. Well, this didn't go the way I thought it would. I like things heaped in the mystique of the holiday Halloween. Between this and Trick r' Treat you can't not get into the spirit. As noted in the Simpsons, "And it wasn't long before this yearly custom became an annual tradition."
Rated 19 Jan 2014
35
11th
In the (all too long) line of horrible slasher sequels, this stands out as an honorable attempt at shredding the formular and trying something new... The "new" being a fairly half assed Twillight Zone ripoff with terrible acting and one of the worst evil plots ever conceived. But still, you know... credit where credit's due.
Rated 01 Nov 2015
50
29th
I can see both sides of the infuriating vs. refreshing argument. But that this endearingly trashy sequel among traditional and decidedly middling sequels has just about nothing to do with the other flicks in the franchise is truly and royally odd! In fact, chances are its quite insane content has just about nothing to do with anything else you've ever seen or experienced... One thing I can promise you, though: Next Halloween you'll know which song to either chant or fail to erase from your mind.
Rated 08 Nov 2018
69
63rd
Back, in my youth, I first took a trip to the local video store, "Couch Potatoes", and rented the entire Halloween series to binge watch. I made it about 30 minutes into this one before pausing the tape and asking why Michael Myers isn't in this movie, and sadly, completely bailed after learning, he just, wasn't in "this one". Luckily, I've grown to correct this mistake, and have come to finally see and appreciate, what is arguably, the best movie in the franchise outside of the OG classic.
Rated 29 May 2007
50
39th
Underrated in that it is NOT one of the worst movies ever made, nor is it even the worst of the series.
Rated 31 Oct 2015
30
9th
And now for something completely different.
Rated 26 Oct 2018
65
47th
I think everyone is being a little too harsh on this one. Maybe, I'm being a little too nice to this, but Season of the Witch was so much fun. No Mike Myers sucks, but it's more than a competent story on it's own and actually manages to be pretty unsettling. There's some stupid uses of tropes and at times it shows that it can embrace it's B-movie-ness, but I think there were some great shots and great moments of tension.
Rated 13 Oct 2013
74
41st
The redheaded step child of the Halloween franchise. The stars should be right here with Irish references, Samhain legends, clockwork robots and analog meets sci-fi thrown in for good measure. But let's be honest, the screenplay is a real mess. A lot of the character's are almost entirely unmotivated and the story's trying to be something it's not; a mystery. However, combined with They Live this makes for a rather prophetic film from John Carpenter.
Rated 25 Sep 2020
70
52nd
A nonsensical detour from the rest of the Halloween franchise that is a lot of fun. Now that I think about it -- I don't remember there being a witch. Tom Atkins beds a grieving woman that is 24 years younger than him, and everyone is like "yeah, that tracks".
Rated 01 Nov 2018
83
83rd
If they have to make a sequel to Halloween (2018), then I actually hope they go back to the originally intended anthology format and leave Michael Myers alone. Seeing a 37 years later followup to Season of the Witch where something like 33% of the US child population was wiped out in a single day could be interesting if handled well. BTW that Silver Shamrock song is my fucking jam, Im'ma make that shit my ringtone! Video review: https://youtu.be/blAs2pyHpNQ
Rated 27 Oct 2013
80
77th
Tom Atkins mustache picture.
Rated 09 Nov 2018
75
69th
Even though this has basically nothing to do with the franchise I give it major props It takes some balls to walk away and do your own thing ....And probably the worst real or fictional annoying commercial and theme song ever invented !
Rated 09 Sep 2018
46
20th
OK, so it's woefully misplaced as a Halloween sequel, but as conspiracy thrillers about big-business commercialization of popular holidays go, it's not bad at alloween, halloween... sorry, I don't know what came over me. I meant to say happy happy halloween, halloween, halloween, HAPPY HAPPY HALLOWEEN SILVER SHAMROCK
Rated 01 Nov 2020
40
6th
Breaking away in a completely different direction, there's some initial confusion if this exists in the same universe as I & II (as Carpenter's original appears to exist as a movie here, even if the establishing scenes seem to take place in the hospital from Part II). This is possibly the most interesting aspect of the plot, as the rest devolves into a fairly tired variation on BODY SNATCHERS, with some inadvertent comedy arising when mismatched Nelkin and Atkins quickly fall into bed together!
Rated 31 Oct 2009
30
8th
You know, Halloween is one of the best horror films ever. So it mystifies me how bad the sequels are.
Rated 04 Sep 2014
85
63rd
Clearly the best Halloween film that isn't the first, featuring a hero so annoyed by the typical monomyth that he shirks it repeatedly to bang a grieving 18 year old and drink every chance he gets, yet the film isn't about him being a comedy screwball. The villain is similarly quirky, enacting a plan to kill every child in America just because Americans have fucked up Halloween by making it cute and fun.
Rated 31 Mar 2007
50
33rd
Nice of them to try something different with this series, and better than _Halloween II_, but still not there
Rated 20 Oct 2016
25
3rd
The bastard step child of the Halloween franchise. I could live with the fact that Michael Myers is missing here, and I thought knowing this in advance would allow me to better appreciate this, but I was so wrong. Even by 80s standards the acting here is pathetically bad, especially from the lead. The plot is effectively a mediocre tale from the crypt blown up to feature length and they fill in the gaps terribly, with the romantic sub plot being beyond ludicrous. And that advert song! ... Jeez!
Rated 14 Aug 2007
56
30th
Very untraditional horror movie, which saves it for me.
Rated 10 Aug 2019
80
85th
The shot of a kid wearing a pumpkin mask while watching a Shamrock ad and having head taken by bugs and snakes might the best one of the most frightening stuff ever shot on American horror. SOTW brings sci-fi to a plot about witchcraft, the insidious influence of TV -- nothing more like 80s than this -- and technology new and ancient -- a rock of the Stonehenge. Every kid in America represents a sacrifice in order to produce a REAL, celtic, demonic Halloween. Still underrated.
Rated 17 Feb 2010
55
19th
Not deserving of all the hate that it receives. Yes, it has nothing at all to do with the Halloween slasher films. Yes, it has a really strange and completely improbable plot but that's part of the charm. This is still a bad film so and there's no denying that but it does have some surreal charm there.
Rated 27 Apr 2009
41
39th
A Different Take On The Halloween Series Does Not Raise It Over Averagity
Rated 18 Oct 2010
0
0th
Happy Happy Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.....Happy Happy Halloween, .....Silver Shamrock!!
Rated 19 Sep 2018
71
26th
As a child of the 80s who wanted to love horror films, but hated them because they frequently featured uninteresting teen clichés & tired slashers, it's fun to take a dip into 80's horror that has neither. The synth score, ridiculously eager nymph, gratuitous T&A (although it's only 1 shot it's gratuitous), & gory murders (esp 1 surprising & gruesome one) are nostalgic fun for a little while but the plotholes are glaring, esp the 3rd act's escape which only raises more questions than it answers
Rated 06 Nov 2010
30
12th
Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!
Rated 22 Nov 2008
6
2nd
Why was this even made?
Rated 09 Oct 2016
68
20th
This feels like a short film stretched to feature length. If it were 40-50 minutes it would be a punchy little movie with a few fun twists, a neat little morality tale underpinning and genuine moments of horror. As is, it becomes lethargic and predictable and all the tension is drained away. It's still an ok movie, and it doesn't exactly drag, it just wears out its thin premise well before its over.
Rated 11 Feb 2008
58
35th
How many more days 'till Halloween, Silver Shamrock?
Rated 08 Jul 2012
60
51st
If you like bad movies and cruel black humor than this is for you if not and you like this series just skip this and stick to the Michael Myers films.
Rated 05 Apr 2017
58
42nd
(viewed on 1/09/15):The decision to move away from Michael Myers into holiday themed anthology horror was a great idea with real promise, but it falls short due to Wallace's tentative direction. It has its merits: a thick apocalyptic atmosphere, Carpenter's ominous score, Cundey's moody lighting and an admirable critique of large corporations and the dangers of mass consumerism, but the script is messy and the pace is sluggish and it gets sillier as it progresses.
Rated 16 Apr 2009
75
54th
A rad departure (to say the least) from earlier series entries. The endlessly repeated "Silver Shamrock" toy jingle burned its way into the brains not only of its intended child victims but of viewers as well.
Rated 06 Dec 2011
6
0th
This film is better than Eraserhead and Manos: The Hands of Fate.
Rated 01 Jun 2014
64
29th
It's so weird and inadvertently hilarious, but it manages to work on a level when it's not making Tom Atkins nude-spider-crawl his way up a horny bereaved daughter. The weird sci-fi conspiracy and commercials are surprisingly creepy if a bit baffling, and despite its pitfalls (namely STEALING STONEHENGE) show that all you need to do is use a reasonably good or new idea to make a movie not utterly terrible.
Rated 17 Oct 2014
62
31st
As is well known by now, following the conclusion of the first two movies, Carpenter wanted Halloween to become an anthology series based around the Halloween season. Low profits killed that plan, so III is now the oddball. But, judged on its own merits, Halloween III is enjoyable. It captures some of the style of the first two, and it's dripping with atmosphere. The story, though over the top and silly, is fun and blends with science fiction. It's certainly better than nonstop slasher rehashes.
Rated 04 Oct 2014
65
40th
Basically a campier version of Cronenberg, which isn't a bad thing.
Rated 30 Oct 2008
43
26th
Hell I thought it wasn't all that bad. No it's not a "real" Halloween sequel, as there is no Michael Myers, but it actually dares to take a horror series in a new direction. It feels like Videodrome-lite to me, and yes I say this with the knowledge that Cronenberg's Videodrome came out months later. In the end it's highly mediocre but I have to give it credit for actually attempting to explore social issues instead of just having people killed with knives.
Rated 16 Oct 2015
25
20th
Clearly made for those who were disappointed by the scant number of robots in the first few entries of the Halloween series.
Rated 28 Dec 2013
1
5th
Let's just say it's pretty goddamned obvious why the existing Halloween fanbase largely rejected this one back in '82.
Rated 23 Dec 2017
50
8th
Top badass moment? My buying the Halloween TV commercial music from Amazon. Sadly (given today's date) there was no 312 days to Halloween version. So whilst Michael Myers recovers from being totally burnt to a crisp, we have to put up with this decently acted but idiotically scripted nonsense. Our porn star moustached hero gropes a fellow worker, sleeps with a vulnerable woman whose father's just been killed and a chunk of Stonehenge is stolen. 2 cats, 2 decapitations and no chainsaws.
Rated 16 Oct 2016
65
23rd
Yeah yeah, it doesn't have Michael Myers. So what. The movie on its own is intriguing and goes back to Halloween's Celtic roots. Above all else this movie has atmosphere. Not only does it have a creepy tone throughout, it just reeks of Halloween charm. The film is filled with kids running around in rubber Halloween masks of jack-o-lanterns, witches, and skeletons. This movie is one of those films that really gets me into the Halloween spirit. Enjoyable!
Rated 29 Sep 2008
75
72nd
ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the other films thoughstill quite a charmer
Rated 31 Oct 2017
8
59th
Halloween III: Come for the masks that turn people into snakes and the Wiccan laser robots, stay for the shockingly biting critique of capitalism.
Rated 03 Nov 2010
0
4th
bored
Rated 28 Jan 2013
64
47th
Underrated and weird little experiment, love the dark synth soundtrack and 'Wicker Man' cult vibes. It's a bit of a mess tonally and obviously doesn't fit in with the rest of the series but its refreshingly weird for an American horror. This is the closest Carpenter as gotten to bizarro Lucio Fulci-style dream logic.
Rated 15 Dec 2008
80
61st
yeah I liked this, it tried something new, and frankly they should have just killed Michael Myers off for good in part 2, sure 4 was decent but the rest were not very good. Still 3 is flawed but overall I enjoyed this picture. It's weird, I like weird.
Rated 19 Oct 2008
30
39th
20 points for "The Old Man." -3141341344 for subjecting me to HAPPY HAPPY HALLOWEEN HALLOWEEN a thousand times.
Rated 20 Dec 2010
32
3rd
32.375
Rated 25 Nov 2015
65
28th
Like Cronenberg-Lite. I don't hate it. In fact I kinda like it. I mean, it's not a good movie - it has some really silly scenes, wooden acting, and a general lack of focus. But it's kind of fascinating in its weirdness. Love the masks.
Rated 17 Jan 2018
40
18th
I would like for every Tom Atkins movie to end with him screaming "TURN IT OFF".
Rated 06 Nov 2020
25
21st
Notable for not having Michael Meyers in it but just about nothing else. Compared to the rest of the Halloween sequels, I'll take crap like this over all the other crap that makes up the Halloween franchise.
Rated 08 Feb 2008
79
56th
There are revisionists out there who are spreading the notion that this was actually one of the better entries in the series. Don't listen to these lunatics. The Halloween franchise has given birth to its share of clunkers, yes, and while this one SHOULD get points for originality vs. the others' dogged laziness, the execution is so god-awful and tedious that ones PINES for another generic slasher. (2014: I'm here to eat my hat. I've watched this since and it IS better than I remembered).
Rated 19 Apr 2018
60
25th
Look past the much whined about lack of Jason, and the franchise's third outing is a lot of fun. The motives are ludicrous but the film moves along with great energy and with a fantastic score from the master himself. The cherry on top is watching Tom Adkins nakedly slip into some tight pants...or maybe that is my worst nightmare.
Rated 26 Aug 2010
60
49th
nothing to do with the series, but still a good movie imho.
Rated 05 May 2017
93
67th
1
Rated 25 Apr 2015
60
24th
Great soundtrack!!!
Rated 02 Nov 2009
50
13th
Weird story for a Halloween movie.
Rated 10 Mar 2020
49
11th
49.4
Rated 08 Jun 2007
60
40th
People hate on this movie because it doesn't have Michael Myers, but it's pretty good flick (a kid dies horribly) until the explanation that somehow includes Stonehenge. That Silver Shamrock song gets pretty fucking annoying though.
Rated 11 Nov 2007
60
17th
"Happy, happy Halloween, Halloween, Halloween. Happy, happy Halloween, Silver Shamrock." Ridiculous, in an endearing way. Dan O'Herlihy is a genius as the evil old man. And, it's about viral marketing! Gotta love it, even if it is bad.
Rated 03 Jan 2022
8
84th
Beautiful nonsense and required viewing every October 31. Cochran did nothing wrong.
Rated 26 Feb 2024
40
12th
I think that the decision to move away from Mike Myers in this third movie was a very poor one. One might say the premise of this one was interesting - haunted masks and a creepy little town with secrets - but it had just zero thrills for me. I liked the very beginning with the starting scene from the killers' perspective and the motel woman and the bug. Otherwise, just not for me. At all.
Rated 01 Nov 2021
65
70th
Whoever has the rights to the franchise needs to stop being a fucking coward and go back to the anthology path. A leftover Tales of the Crypt script is surely going to be more entertaining than some asshole's "fresh take" on Michael Myers and trauma or whatever.
Rated 05 Feb 2021
1
4th
a real low point in cinema
Rated 07 Jun 2007
20
4th
Uhh... Where's Michael Myers?
Rated 07 Jan 2018
50
23rd
Surprisingly enough the low-budget and Myers-less H3 runs on sheer suspense and an intriguing mystery, with the cheesy acting and dialogue adding to the cult quality. It's enjoyable, tense and above all interesting. Pity then that everything goes tits up in the third act: both the supernatural sci-fi element and the bad guy's motives are poorly developed and unconvincing (aka the mystery's solution is bollocks), the good guy has his way eye-poppingly easily and the ambiguous finale is bullshit.
Rated 31 Aug 2007
15
3rd
What does this have to do with anything?!
Rated 19 Jan 2016
75
40th
A super fun 80's slasher that totally isn't what you'd expect. The song will be stuck in your head for days.
Rated 28 Apr 2009
78
14th
An interesting premise undone by too many plot holes and a near-total lack of atmosphere.
Rated 11 Oct 2016
6
95th
Killer score.
Rated 04 Oct 2014
40
6th
This moving was extremely slow, and very boring. We barely get any motivation for the bad guy, and they don't even try to explain the specifics of how the bad guy's plan works. The characters are bland, there are basically no scares, and most of the horror violence is off screen. Overall, this is just a bad horror movie, and the lack of Michael Myers has nothing to do with it.
Rated 30 Nov 2008
65
17th
it would be better if it was not conneted to Halloween series
Rated 10 Feb 2013
5
98th
A childhood favourite and still good today.
Rated 07 Mar 2017
86
62nd
B+
Rated 11 Mar 2023
25
7th
Using rocks from Stonehenge as a magical power source, the videodrome signal travels one year backwards in time, causing insects and snakes to emerge from the human body, all as part of a plan to…possibly…replace children with robots, because…it’s Halloween. Somehow the craziness of the premise isn’t as much of a problem as the fact that, even though it starts out with a certain amount of promise, the execution seems to deteriorate inexorably as the movie unfolds, with deflating consequences.
Rated 29 Oct 2014
35
23rd
70s sci-fi that still feels as overplayed as it probably did at the time. It had one really cool shot though: the trick or treaters on the poster. Nobody likes a film for the establishing shots, but this one had a really good second unit. Text book stuff. I'm also not a film major, so what do I know? Oh, the soundtrack is really good. It's usually in print too. It's worthwhile even though the movie stunk.
Rated 19 Aug 2016
70
46th
I kinda love this movie! It goes to really weird places, which I like. Definitely a gem.
Rated 30 Oct 2018
76
34th
This deserves more respect. Even now, in an age of retrospect and renewed appreciation, Season of the Witch still deserves more respect. The film is a fun and well paced mystery that goes off the walls in all the right ways. Acting, camerawork, and conceptual framework are all great.
Rated 01 Nov 2012
63
28th
Really 80s, but it is actually better than Halloween II. I don't mind that it isn't related to Michael Myers. It could have been way worse. The theme song is played way too much though and the romantic parts of the film are beyond terrible.
Rated 13 Jul 2016
0
4th
I wish there was less than zero for this movie. FUCK THIS PIECE OF FLAMING DOG SHIT!
Rated 24 Aug 2009
86
59th
A decent horror movie, but the title is very misleading: it has nothing whatsoever to do with the Halloween milieu. It should have been called simply "Season of the witch." A lot of people were rightly expecting to see a Michael Myers movie and were disappointed here, but this is still a good stand-alone that used a deceptive title to make some extra money at the fans' expense.
Rated 09 Aug 2017
75
44th
The one where you realize, hey this is actually pretty good, once you get over the fact that Michael Meyers isn't in it.
Rated 22 May 2012
6
34th
This movie really takes a lot of shit for being a part of the Halloween series (it isn't). It's actually a quite effective, if strange, thriller film starring the always reliable Tom Atkins. The face melting scene is still creepy.
Rated 13 Oct 2014
30
14th
Sometimes nostalgia is a blanket infested with bed bugs.
Rated 26 Aug 2013
39
3rd
38.500
Rated 22 Jul 2022
70
44th
A bizarre story that gets bizarr-err by the minute. Few things are explained and the ones that are make little sense, but it is a fun ride nonetheless.
Rated 17 Oct 2022
83
88th
Obviously has nothing to do with the rest of the franchise, but besides that I don't really get why people dislike this.
Rated 06 Nov 2013
20
3rd
The protagonist looks like a bloated, dying Tom Selleck and yet is still very appealing to women. This is not the most nonsensical thing you will see in this 90 minutes.
Rated 05 Nov 2010
69
31st
AN interesting idea with a decent execution makes a OK movie. A bit too eighties at times, but that can be good or bad, depends what you want. Nice that they had the balls to try to make something different than Michael Myers yet again, but , as part 4 an the rest shows, ppl want the same, over , and over, and over again till it makes their eyes bleed.
Rated 06 Jul 2018
5
91st
I feel like one's enjoyment of this movie now really depends your level of tolerance for dirtbag protagonists. All I can say is it works for me. Between the score, the weird as hell script, and Tom Atkins, Season of the Witch is the one Halloween sequel that feels something like a Carpenter movie. It's so strange and fun and I love it
Rated 08 Oct 2009
65
24th
This film has to be taken in two different ways, as a standalone film; Season Of The Witch, it's a 65-70, as a Halloween film it's a big fat 9. NOT a part of the Halloween series despite the title.
Rated 21 May 2007
5
2nd
Worst of the Halloween films and for some inexplicable reason having absolutely nothing to do with the leading man of the franchise, Michael Myers.
Rated 02 Mar 2009
57
46th
This in-name-only follow-up owes more to _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ than it does to the first two Halloween films. How and why the mass murder described in the summary is being done are just two of the many plot loopholes in Wallace's contrived rewrite of Nigel Kneale's original script. Not as bad as its reputation suggests, with icky Tom Burman makeup effects, including melting faces, decapitations, and one obnoxious little kid whose masked mug explodes in a welter of insects
Rated 23 Oct 2018
40
18th
A stupid plot that I think it could have been sold as a Mystery movie and not give away the central plot in the synopsis. Not that bad but Retrospective Razzie for the stupidest script.
Rated 13 Jun 2012
20
4th
In a strange way I think this may have something to do with druids as well.
Rated 16 Jun 2017
60
54th
watched: 2017, 2022
Rated 02 Dec 2008
23
14th
This would be perceived better if it wasnt a Halloween movie.
Rated 22 Feb 2009
50
6th
Been a long while.

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