1982
Director- Tommy
Lee Wallace
Cast- Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O’Herlhy
Music by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth
You
probably already know the origin of the movie. Michael Myers was dead at the
end of Halloween 2 and Hollywood had not yet decided to make its slashers
immortal so it was time to move on. Part 3 was to be the first of many
Halloween films that would all be different.
However, folks just couldn’t dig a movie called Halloween that didn’t
star Mike. If the tag had been left off and the film had just been billed as
Season of the Witch, it may have fared better.
This
movie is one of the most bizarre combinations of themes you are likely to find.
A millionaire toy maker (Dan O’Herley) is hatching a scheme to end the world as
we know it. He has transported a piece of Stonehenge to a factory in America.
There he uses a complex array of technology to channel eldritch forces. This
energy is transmitted, via a microchip, into Halloween masks that do some
really horrible stuff when activated. Assisting him is an army of androids! A
doctor going through a failed marriage (Tom Atkins) and a young woman (Stacey
Nelkin) stumble on the conspiracy and then try to stop it.
Without
a doubt the best known part of the movie is the Silver Shamrock theme song
(“Happy Happy Halloween Halloween!). An earworm from Hell, once you start
singing it, it will be there all day.
As weird
as this film is, it somehow manages to hold itself together. It is very moody.
John Carpenter’s musical handiwork is immediately recognizable in the score.
Most films shy away from violence against children, but this film doesn’t,
showing it in pretty dramatic fashion.
The
dread in the film builds and a real sense of paranoia is evident almost from
the beginning. We are exposed to increasingly bizarre things. Accepting these
makes it that much easier, by the end of the film, to go along with its weird
science-magic premise. Genre great, Tom Atkins and Stacy Nelkins are believable
as average people caught up in a supernatural conspiracy. Dan O’Herlhy makes my
top 10 villains list with his portrayal of a modern day witch using technology
to work magic.
Watch
Halloween 3 and just accept what you see. Don’t try to reconcile the disparate
elements. The incongruity adds to the fear.
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