Halloween III: Season of the Witch (Film)

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For other uses, see Halloween II (disambiguation).
Halloween III:
Season of the Witch

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
Produced by Debra Hill
John Carpenter
Written by Tommy Lee Wallace
Starring Tom Atkins
Stacey Nelkin
Dan O'Herlihy
Music by John Carpenter
Alan Howarth
Cinematography Dean Cundey
Edited by Millie Moore
Production
company
Dino De Laurentiis Corporation
Debra Hill Productions
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date October 22, 1982
Running time 98 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $2.5 million
Box office $14.4 million (US)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 American science fiction horror film and the third installment in the Halloween film series. It is the first film to be written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace. John Carpenter and Debra Hill, the creators of Halloween, return as producers. Halloween III is the only entry in the series that does not feature the series antagonist, Michael Myers. After the film's disappointing reception and box office performance, Michael Myers was brought back six years later in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988).

It treats the prior films in the franchise as fictional films, and the film's tagline is a reference to the one from the original as well. It also departs from the slasher genre, which the rest of the installments were a part of, and instead features a "witchcraft" theme with science fiction aspects. John Carpenter and Debra Hill believed that the Halloween series had the potential to be an anthology series of films that centered around the night of Halloween, with each sequel containing its own characters, setting, and storyline. Director Wallace stated that there were many ideas for Halloween-themed films, some of which could have potentially created any number of their own sequels, and that Season of the Witch was meant to be the first.

The frequency of graphic violence and blood is less than that of Halloween II, but the film's death scenes remain intense. As with other films in the series, suspense and tension is a key theme, and the element of violence against young children is also explored. On a budget of $2.5 million, Halloween III made a profit by grossing $14.4 million at the box office in the U.S., but it was also the poorest performing film in the Halloween series at the time. Most critics gave the film negative reviews, due to disappointment over the absence of Michael Myers. Despite the reception, re-evaluation in later years has given Halloween III new legions of fans and has established its own reputation as a stand-alone cult film.

In 2018, a new Halloween film was released that served as a direct sequel to the original 1978 film, effectively retconning all other Halloween sequels and remakes, including this film.

Contents

[edit] Plot

[edit] Cast

Main article: List of Halloween (film series) characters

[edit] Production

[edit] Writing

[edit] Casting

[edit] Directing

[edit] Music

Main article: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (soundtrack)

[edit] Reception

File:HalloweenIII Fangoria.jpg
Edd Riveria's Halloween III artwork featured on the cover of Fangoria.

[edit] Box office

[edit] Merchandising

[edit] Home media

[edit] Novelization

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

Template:Halloween Series Template:Tommy Lee Wallace Template:Nigel Kneale Template:John Carpenter

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