Yep...the third movie is always the waffle...

Halloween 3: Season of the Witch

     Wow. OK, first of all, this is NOT a direct sequel to the Halloween franchise. In fact, the only connection made was a TV commercial for a broadcast of the original Halloween film. That's it! No Michael Myers, no Laurie Strode, no Dr. Loomis.

     In contrast, we have a movie centered around a mysterious Halloween novelty mask factory located in a very strange town featuring a 6pm curfew. Creepy things happen, suited men who don't speak kill people, and the most annoying TV commercial jingle you'll ever hear.

     Sooooo, not that this makes any sense, but I guess the masks contain a chip that is activated when a particular TV commercial is viewed.  Once viewed, you die. Then bugs and snakes start pouring out of your head. I guess it's some sort ancient sacrifice. To be honest,  once I started hearing the explanation, I zoned it out because it was weak as hell.

     This could have been named anything. Anything BUT Halloween. And while not a great movie, it was far from terrible. That's why it's a little hard for me to poke holes in it. It would have made a great movie under any other name. So what we end up with is a decent movie that is considered the red headed step-child of a well known movie franchise. However, there is a very good reason for the dramatic change-up in the story-line: John Carpenter didn't want to continue the Michael Myers saga, so instead agreed to produce it as long as it became an anthology movie series. In other words, every Halloween movie from that point on would have a different story, different director, ect. We know that didn't happen, but it wasn't a terrible idea. But the bottom line was money, and this entry didn't do near as well as the first two. So they went back to what works: Captain Kirk trolling neighborhoods, murdering horny teens, while not saying a word. Would it kill him to do more than grunt once in a while?

Two things I liked:

The soundtrack was full-on synth and I thought it was cool. It reminded me of The Keep's music score.

Tom Atkins, an '80s movie staple whose resume includes The Fog, Escape From New York, Creepshow, Lethal Weapon, Maniac Cop, and one of my personal favs, Night Of The Creeps. 

Friday: I've just now realized that my first 6 movies haven't broken past the '80s barrier....