Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 horror film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace. It stars Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, and Dan O’Herlihy. Halloween III: Season of the Witch is the only film in the Halloween franchise that does not feature Michael Myers. Instead, it introduces a standalone story centered around an eerie conspiracy involving a sinister mask manufacturer, a Celtic curse, and mass murder on Halloween night.
The film opens on October 23rd, as a frightened man, Harry Grimbridge (Al Berry), is chased by mysterious-suited assassins. Clutching a Silver Shamrock brand Halloween mask, he collapses at a gas station and is taken to a hospital. There, he warns, “They’re going to kill us all!” before being gruesomely murdered in his hospital bed by one of the assassins, who then immolates himself in a car explosion.
Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins), the hospital’s physician, is baffled by the strange events and decides to investigate.
Dan teams up with Ellie Grimbridge (Stacey Nelkin), Harry’s daughter, who believes her father’s death is connected to Silver Shamrock Novelties, a company producing extremely popular Halloween masks. The company, owned by the enigmatic Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy), has been aggressively marketing three masks—a Pumpkin, Skull, and Witch—with a catchy yet ominous TV jingle: “Eight more days ’til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween…”
Dan and Ellie travel to Santa Mira, California, the eerie company town where Silver Shamrock is based. They check into a motel and meet other customers, including Marge Guttman (Garn Stephens), who complains about a defect in the masks, and the Kupfer family, enthusiastic winners of a factory tour.
During their stay, Dan and Ellie realize that the town is under constant surveillance, and those who question Silver Shamrock disappear. Marge accidentally activates a microchip in a Silver Shamrock mask, releasing a deadly energy beam that melts her face and spawns insects from her skull.
Dan and Ellie are invited to the factory tour alongside the Kupfers the next day. Cochran proudly showcases the production of the masks but becomes suspicious of Dan and Ellie. Later, the Kupfers are placed in a test room, where their young son wears the mask while watching a Silver Shamrock TV commercial. When the commercial’s flashing signal activates the mask’s microchip, the boy’s head is gruesomely transformed into a mass of insects and snakes, which then attack his horrified parents.
Dan and Ellie realize the horrifying plan: Cochran has embedded microchips containing fragments of Stonehenge into each mask, designed to activate on Halloween night through the commercial’s signal, killing millions of children wearing the masks.
Cochran captures Dan and explains his motivation: he is a warlock reviving the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, where sacrifices were made. He intends to sacrifice children to return to ancient traditions. Ellie is taken away, and Dan is restrained, forced to watch a broadcast of the deadly commercial.
Dan manages to escape and rescues Ellie, destroying the control center and triggering a feedback loop that obliterates Cochran and his factory in an explosive surge of mystical energy. As Dan and Ellie flee, Dan discovers that Ellie is actually an android created by Cochran’s forces. After a struggle, he destroys her, but the night is not over yet.
Dan races to a gas station, desperately calling TV networks, urging them to pull the deadly commercial before it airs nationwide. Two networks comply, but one continues broadcasting. Dan screams into the phone as the countdown begins: “STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!!!”
The film cuts to black, leaving the audience uncertain about whether the commercial was successfully halted—or if millions of children perished. Halloween III was a box office disappointment, but it has gained a cult following for its eerie atmosphere, synth-heavy score (by John Carpenter & Alan Howarth), and unique plot.
The film was originally intended to launch an anthology series of standalone Halloween-themed stories. However, due to backlash over Michael Myers’ absence, the franchise returned to its slasher roots with Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988). You’ll have to wait for that one next Halloween.
The Other Cinema 