Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

A scared man named Harry Grimbridge (Al Berry) runs away from two FBI types in a car.
He is sent to a hospital and when he sees a Halloween horrorthon Silver Shamrock mask commercial advertising to tune into it on Halloween night at 9:00pm and to put on the Halloween masks their company was producing for a big giveaway.
Harry warns the people at the hospital that everyone is going to die. He has a mask from the Silver Shamrock factory with him.
Later on Harry is killed by one of the men dressed as an FBI and then he takes his own life by blowing himself up in his vehicle.

Harry's daughter named Ellie (Stacy Nelkin) tries to find out who killed his father so with the aid of the head doctor Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) to go to the factory that made the mask her father was holding on to.

They find out the factory is in the middle of nowhere in a strange town with strange people.
Not only that, the masks were Irish Halloween masks and the factory is set in California.
Also, the people there behave strangely and a 6:00pm curfew is announced with camera's making sure that no one is outside.

Ellie spots her father's car at the factory and then later on the two of them are kidnapped separately.
Dan discovers that the people dressed as FBI agents are androids and the toymaker named Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy) uses the masks for a deadly weapon as when the kids put on the mask during the commercial when an image of a jack o lantern appears on the TV screen, they die of horrible deaths causing bugs and rattlesnakes to form out of the masks which is caused by a microchip button attached on the mask as he uses his witchcraft to create these deadly events with the masks.

A nice start off with Harry running away from a car with two mysterious men after him along with good shots on him finding a way to escape from them giving it a great mysterious feel to everything along with him acting crazy to a person at a counter of a gas station on what will happen which definetely has a terrific horror start to this along with him ending up in a hospital and spotting the Silver Shamrock commercial on a TV screen there getting hysterical. What looked really good and dark is when another mysterious person enters the hospital and comes into Harry's room and kills him in a shocking and painful fashion in which this makes you squirm a little bit as well as later on this man entering his vehicle and setting it to explode which adds even more unsolved mysteries as to why he would take his life after this. So more good scene's while spotting this happening which were good pointers.
The scenery looked great when a paramedic named Dr. Dan Challis drives to a far away land with a supposed estranged daughter of Harry's named Ellie to where there's a factory that makes these Silver Shamrock masks in which there's great weird surroundings of locals who watch carefully on the two driving adding more strange and mysterious flavor to the plot in which I was thinking that the story was really going great for what we might expect for creepy moments to happen later on while we keep watching this. The settings in this town looked neat and very still along with a railroad track cuttung through as this seemed to make everything mysterious about this place and making out that not many people know about this community too.
There's some good humor added to the story when these two find their hotel with suddenly an oddball type of family quickly parks in and are acting rambunctious about stuff as well as spotting a griping woman named Marge about having to stay at the hotel again due to an unorganised schedule the town had which also leaves a bit of a chill down your spine wondering if the locals force these people from out of town to stay in the area for good.
It becomes even more creepy with the small neighborhood having a curfew at 6:00pm with anyone still outside after that having a surveillance camera watching everything and the sun is nearly setting in which we discover anyone skipping this curfew is being killed by other myasterious and powerful men in a shocking gruesome fashion too which should please some gorehounds.
Meanwhile things seem to look peaceful and relaxing with marge lying on her bed reading a book with music playing which the settings on all of this really brought it to life as well as her spotting a Silver Shamrock button that fell off those masks with her picking at a microchip in it which later on really makes you jump on what happens to when she does this which is another great horror feel to the film and my favourite scene too which is another great shocker here after the results to all of this.
There's some interesting suspense when Dan discovers more mysterious men are trying to grab a hold of him and finds some way of escaping in which it definetely brings a great creepiness to the story discovering that the town is evil.
What really looks intense is when that family he ran into on the driveway is in a room watching a clip of the commercial while a spoiled child is watching it on the screen while wearing his Halloween mask in which the comedy is here with the dialogues but then it turns into a good serious horror event after something happens to this child which looked shocking revealing all sorts of creepy events as well as all of them trapped inside the room making this moment a bit disturbing too. This will definetely please horror fans like myself with all the surroundings here.
It looks suspenseful when Dan tries to find a way to call his ex-wife to warn the kids about the masks by Silver Shamrock in which she doesn't believe him making you cringe wondering if we will escape that town in time to save them as well as another good shocking moment when he discovers that Ellie isn't who he thinks she is on that quote won't give it away but fun to watch having almost that Twilight Zone type of appeal to all of this.
Close to the ending makes you cringe big time when he arrives to that same gas station that Harry once did to try and call the TV stations to cancel all the commercials leaving you in terror and suspense wondering if he has succeeded leaving an impression that the apocalypse is going to happen after spotting what will happen to these children around the world that will tune in to find out on how these masks work when that commercial finally airs on Halloween night. It almost makes you want a sequel since it has a sort of to be continued feel to it all.
Bottom line is that this film has no relationship to the Michael Myers series at all so I don't understand why they titled this one Halloween 3. Later on though I found out that the makers planned to make it a series of different stories all taking place on Halloween so I thought that it was a cool ides since the previous sequel made out that Michael was killed off so now make different stoires. Too bad they didn't stick to it though but yet the fans asked to have Michael still carry on so moviemakers will make what the fans want.
It seems to be more of a sci-fi than a horror flick to top it off. It is a horror fof course due to hit's creepy story.
An extremely weird flick but it is interesting but not a classic by any means. Yet, it's not as bad as the Halloween fans made it out to be and a fun one to watch. It's also incredibly mysterious as every moment you wonder what will unravel as we have an eccentric family who stays at the hotel due to their popular masks as well as an unsatisfied tourist which leads nice moments on the whole plot by finding out on what will happen to all of them too.
The film borrows alot from those other strange sci-fi flicks of androids or aliens looking human only to take over the world type of plot.

The acting is very well done as we have a great performance by Tom Atkins (Dr. Dan Challis) as the head doctor who tries to find sonme evidence of the murder of the strange man mentioned in the film. He brought off terrific emotions and a nice charming attitude too along with moments where he is almost losing his mind to try to save everyone on Halloween night from a death incident with the masks. He also does well trying to speak silent on the phone to warn his ex-wife about the Halloween masks and not to let their kids wear them as he does well in an anxious tone almost losing his mind too which looked was well done.
Stacy Nelkin (Ellie Grimbridge) does her job as an estranged one in the flick and knew how to act romantic as well as mysterious being all her characteristics together. She certainly knew how to portray one of those female types in a sci-fi/horror flick along with the perfect looks too.
Dan O'Herlihy (Conal Cochran) was very smooth with his words bringing on a nice evil charm to his role playing the perfect horror villain. His accent was perfect to top it all off almost like an Igor type of appeal. He certainly brought alot of spunk to the story. He also had the perfect clean cut older style looks too which was another bonus to his character.
Ralph Strait (Buddy Kupfer) brought attention to the screen as an eccentric family man in the film acting hyper, loud and annoying. He really reminds you as one of those types if you know what I mean. He can really do well in comedy shows judging from what he did with this film.
Jadeen Barbor (Betty Kupfer) who played the wife really knew how to act goofy too as well as portraying a typical fruitcake too. She was just too much but really showed some good characteristics onto the screen with her hyped up speaking and proves to be quite a ham as well throughout her whole performance in her supporting role.
Next we have young actor Brad Schacter (Little Buddy Kupfter Jr.) as the son who really knew how to act spoiled and too eager for having a Halloween mask. He really knew how to portray someone whom was under disciplined with his wild and rambunctious type of behavior as well as being believeably pushy too.
The actors playing the androids seem to pull off their characters well too as they show no facial expressions.
We also get a surprising cameo by Nancy Loomis (Linda Challis) who played everyone's favourite bitch Annie in the original Halloween. In this one she plays a nagging ex-wife in which she does well acting closed minded along with having a strict speaking type of behavior. Seeing her in this flick was a real treat even if her performance was under 5 minutes long.

There is a butt shot by Tom Atkins when he gets out of bed after fornicationg with Stacy Nelkin (Who almost exposes her nudity but she doesn't) in a hotel room.

Androids dressed as FBI types prodded a patients eyes and then cracking his skull
Then in a small town rips a hobo's head off.
A hotel resident's mouth is shot off by as laser when she picks at one of the Silver Shamrock's chip which was from a mask she found on her hotel room floor.

John Carpenter and Alan Howarth's composing I didn't like in the beginning as it sounded very cheesy but it did have at times some interesting moments and was used in the motion picture Christine too but of course the music suited it more with the effective light synthesizer music and the screeching sounds too. We do spot some booming sounds with a struggling moment on the main character trying to escape the factory while being tied up with a mask on his head in front of a television set. The ending song had a nice dark thumping synthesizer to it with the high pitched playing too. So they do deserve credit for what they had to do for the story around it since during the certain times it worked well.

Walter Jones: He just walked up out of the rain! I swear to God that's all there was to it!

Walter Jones: I was always taught that when someone needs help, you help them. Unless there's trouble. There isn't going to be any trouble is there?

Commercial voices: [singing to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down"] Eight more days 'til Halloween/ Halloween/ Halloween/ Eight more days 'til Halloween/ Silver Shamrock. Eight more days 'til Halloween/ Halloween/ Halloween/ Eight more days 'til Halloween/ Silver Shamrock.
Commercial Announcer: Yes kids, you too can own one of the big Halloween three. That's right, THREE horrific masks to chose from. They're fun, they're frightening, and they GLOW in the dark.

Harry Grimbridge: They're coming... They're coming!

Harry Grimbridge: They're going to kill us. All of us! All of us!

Daniel Challis: How you been?
Teddy: Okay. You?
Daniel Challis: Okay.
Teddy: Sierra Mesa still making you drink your ass off?
Daniel Challis: Oh yeah!

[about Grimbridge's attacker]
Daniel Challis: I've seen lots of people on drugs. The man was in complete control. He looked like a businessman!
Teddy: Well, he had to be one strong businessman, I can tell you that. You don't just pull someone's skull apart without a little lower-arm strength, know what I mean?

Daniel Challis: So, how have you been?
[pager goes off]
Daniel Challis: I gotta take this.
Linda Challis: Drinking and doctoring. Great combination.

Linda Challis: Children, we leave our food AT the table.
Daniel Challis: I'm sorry, it's bad timing.
Linda Challis: I'm used to it. Remember?

[as the Silver Shamrock commercial plays on TV]
Daniel Challis: Come on, come on, come on!
Charlie: [Changing the channel] What's the matter? Don't you have any Halloween spirit?
Daniel Challis: No!

Daniel Challis: I saw something that night... I don't know, your father came into the hospital. He- I thought he was crazy, out of his mind. He's hanging onto a Halloween mask, he wouldn't let it go... And what he said was, "They're gonna kill us all". And in a little while he was dead. And I don't know what the hell is going on!

Ellie Grimbridge: Irish Halloween masks?
Daniel Challis: In California, you never know.

Ellie Grimbridge: I feel like a goldfish.
Daniel Challis: Company town.

[Rafferty lifts up Ellie's overnight bag]
Rafferty: Light packers, aren't you?
Ellie Grimbridge: We've had a lot of practice.

Marge Guttman: Damn factory! Got their orders all SCREWED up, and now I have to stay in this dump again!

[about the motel]
Daniel Challis: This place is a zoo!

Daniel Challis: [walking through an alley, he bumps into Starker] Whoa, Jesus!
Starker: Mister-Mister, didn't mean to scare you. I saw that bottle, I thought it looked pretty heavy. I ain't got no diseases, you mind if I have a drink?
[Dan hands him the bottle; Starker takes a huge swig]
Starker: Mmm, aw damn. Thank you.

Starker: [about Cochran] He's probably listening. And if he is, I got one thing to say: it's the last Halloween for that lousy factory of his. Some pretty wild shit going on in there. I heard rumors.
Daniel Challis: Like what? What did you hear?
Starker: This year I'm gonna get me a case and a half of molitov cocktails and burn that son of a bitch right down!
[Staggers away]
Starker: Last Halloween for him. Last Halloween...

Starker: Hey Cochran, fuck you!

Daniel Challis: Teddy, do me another favor, will you? Find out everything you can about Conal Cochran. He runs Silver Shamrock, the Halloween mask people.
Teddy: Conal Cochran. Okay, but this is gonna cost you some serious dinners when you get back.
Daniel Challis: I'm always ready for dinner with you.
Teddy: Liar. Bye.

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

Daniel Challis: It's getting late. I could use a drink.

Daniel Challis: I don't believe this commercial! It never stops!

Daniel Challis: Maybe I ought to get another room.
Ellie Grimbridge: That would look sort of suspicious, wouldn't it?
Daniel Challis: What I mean is, if it'd make you more comfortable... I can sleep in the car - be a lot better than this floor, anyway.
Ellie Grimbridge: Where do you want to sleep, Dr. Challis?
Daniel Challis: [Staring at her] That's a dumb question, Miss Grimbridge.

Daniel Challis: [during sex] Aren't you just the least bit tired?
Ellie Grimbridge: No.
Daniel Challis: Wait - Wait a minute.
[smiling]
Daniel Challis: How old are you?
Ellie Grimbridge: Relax. I'm older than I look.

Ellie Grimbridge: [During sex, upon hearing Marge Guttman die] What was that?
Daniel Challis: Who cares?

Teddy: I'll see what I can do. No promises. I was always good at moonlighting, wasn't I?
Daniel Challis: Oh, the best. Hey do you still have that...?
Teddy: [laughs] Yes.

Buddy Kupfer: Hey Mr. Cochran, just what is the final processing?
Conal Cochran: Oh I assure you it's just a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Quality inspection, the seal of approval. You know, the usual. And of course, there's a lot of trade secrets.
Buddy Kupfer: Oh I'd sure like to take a look.
Conal Cochran: Aw sorry.
Daniel Challis: Not even a peek for your best salesman?
Buddy Kupfer: Just one little look?
Conal Cochran: Well you see, part of the final processing involves volatile chemicals. They're very dangerous. I wouldn't want to put anybody in any danger.
Buddy Kupfer: Oh sure, I understand.

Betty Kupfer: [about Mr. Cochran] Do you know he's one of the richest men in the country? And he got that way selling cheap gags and Halloween masks. Oh God, there's hope for us yet.

Buddy Kupfer: Conal Cochran, the all time genius in the practical jokes. He invented sticky toilet paper.
Daniel Challis: Ah!
Buddy Kupfer: Oh you must know. The dead dwarf gag, the soft chainsaw, all his.

Commercial voices: [singing] One more day 'til Halloween/ Halloween/ Halloween/ One more day 'til Halloween/ Silver Shamrock.

Conal Cochran: [a bunch of androids have just barred Ellie from seeing inside of a storage shed; to Buddy Kupfer] Trade secrets.

Conal Cochran: Clumsy.
[looks at the head from his grandmother robot]
Conal Cochran: This was a rare piece. German. Made in Munich, 1785. I must try and get a replacement.

Conal Cochran: [turns to see Dan] Aw, Mr. Chaliss.
Daniel Challis: Where's Ellie?
Conal Cochran: Mrs. "Smith"? I'm sure she's resting just now.
[Looks at his watch]
Conal Cochran: Didn't take you long to get here, Mr. Chaliss. DOCTOR Chaliss, I should say.

Conal Cochran: [upon entering Cochran's underground laboratory] Those who went before me, you know they-they never dreamed of anything like this.
Daniel Challis: What is this place?
Conal Cochran: Can't you tell? A vast... Ancient techology. Ha ha ha, a good magician never explains. Come on, then, you've still got time to figure it out all by yourself.

Conal Cochran: The surprising thing is that the internal components were quite simple to produce. The outer features took much longer to perfect but of course in the end it's just another form of mask making.
[Android sneezes]
Conal Cochran: Bless you. Convincing, aren't they? Loyal, obedient. Unlike most human beings.

Conal Cochran: [Shows Dan a body beneath a sheet] Your friend Ms Guttman...
Daniel Challis: You killed her!
Conal Cochran: Oh no, no, no! Ms Guttman was the victim of a misfire. The others...
[Checks his watch]
Conal Cochran: You know what you really need to see is a demonstration and there's one coming right up.

Buddy Kupfer: [the Kupfers have been locked in a room called TEST ROOM A] Relax a minute, will you? Mr. Cochran will be here and everything will be fine. He just wants my opinion about some television commercials or something. You know, I still don't understand why they won't take my orders for next year. You know how I like to work ahead and well they're just not interestwed at all.
Betty Kupfer: Maybe they're not going to have Halloween next year.
[Laughs]
Buddy Kupfer: [sarcastically] Ha ha ha!

Conal Cochran: You don't really know much about Halloween. You thought no further than the strange custom of having your children wear masks and go out begging for candy.

Conal Cochran: It will be morning soon. Halloween morning. A very busy day for me.

Conal Cochran: I do love a good joke and this is the best ever: a joke on the children.

Daniel Challis: Why Cochran? Why?
Conal Cochran: Do I need a reason?

Conal Cochran: From an ancient, sacrificial circle... Stonehenge.
[Shows Chaliss the rock]
Conal Cochran: Ha ha. We had a TIME getting it here. You wouldn't believe how we did it.
[Laughs; Shows him a small stone from Stonehenge]
Conal Cochran: It has a power in it.

Conal Cochran: It was the start of the year in our old Celtic lands where we'd be waiting... In our houses of wattles and clay... The barriers would be down, you see. Between the real and the unreal. And the dead might be looking in, to sit by our fires of turf... Halloween. The festival of Samhain. The last great one took place 3,000 years ago and the hills ran red... With the blood of animals and children.
Daniel Challis: Sacrifices.
Conal Cochran: Part of our world. Our craft.
Daniel Challis: Witchcraft.
Conal Cochran: To us it was a way of controlling our environment. It's not so different now. It's time again.

Conal Cochran: Enjoy the horror-thon, doctor ... and don't forget to watch the big giveaway afterwards.
Daniel Challis: Why, Cochran, why?
Conal Cochran: Do I need a reason? Mr. Kupfer was right, you know ... I do love a good joke and this is the best ever, a joke on the children. But there's a better reason ... you don't really know much about Halloween ... you thought no further than the strange custom of having your children wear masks and go out begging for candy.
[pauses]
Conal Cochran: It was the start of the year in our old Celtic lands, and we'd be waiting ... in our houses of wattles and clay. The barriers would be down, you see, between the real and the unreal, and the dead might be looking in ... to sit by our fires of turf.
[pauses]
Conal Cochran: Halloween ... the festival of Samhain! The last great one took place three thousand years ago, when the hills ran red ... with the blood of animals and children.
Daniel Challis: Sacrifices.
Conal Cochran: It was part of our world ... our craft.
Daniel Challis: Witchcraft.
Conal Cochran: To us, it was a way of controlling our environment. It's not so different now ... it's time again. In the end ... we don't decide these things, you know ... the planets do. They're in alignment, and it's time again. The world's going to change tonight, doctor, I'm glad you'll be able to watch it. And ... happy Halloween.

Commercial Announcer: It's almost time, kids. The clock is ticking. Be in front of your TV sets for the Horrorthon, followed by the Big Giveaway. Don't miss it. And don't forget to wear your masks. The clock is ticking. It's almost time.

Commercial Announcer: It's time. It's time. Time for the big giveaway. Halloween has come. All you lucky kids with Silver Shamrock masks, gather 'round your TV set, put on your masks and watch. All witches, all skeletons, all Jack-O-Lanterns, gather 'round and watch. Watch the magic pumpkin. Watch.

Daniel Challis: [on the phone with network; the Silver Shamrock commercial begins] The third channel, it's still on. Please, take off the third channel. The third channel, it's still running. Stop it, please, for God's sake, please stop it. There's no more time. Please stop it. Stop it now. Turn it off! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!