Halloween III: Season of the Witch

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Halloween III: Season of the Witch

R

Released Oct 22, 1982

1h 38m

Holiday

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

49%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

30%

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50,000+ Ratings

Hospital emergency room Dr. Daniel "Dan" Challis (Tom Atkins) and Ellie Grimbridge (Stacey Nelkin), the daughter of a murder victim, uncover a terrible plot by small-town mask maker Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy), a madman who's planning a Halloween mass murder utilizing an ancient Celtic ritual. The ritual involves a boulder stolen from Stonehenge, the use of Silver Shamrock masks and a triggering device contained in a television commercial -- all designed to kill millions of children.

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Critics Consensus

Its laudable deviation from series formula not withstanding, Halloween III: Season Of The Witch offers paltry thrills and dubious plotting.

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Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

Absolutely atrocious. I admire the fact that they did try to propel the story in a different direction. But the story they chose was insanely boring.

Rated: D-

Nov 3, 2018

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Aja Romano

Vox

This movie is a dirty trick on all Halloween fans.

Oct 19, 2018

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Time Out

The end result is a bit of a mess but hugely enjoyable, and often (thanks to Dean Cundey's camerawork and John Carpenter's close supervision as producer) as striking visually as its predecessors.

Jun 24, 2006

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Joe Leydon

Houston Post (Texas)

Silly and slackly paced, this film exists solely to wring the last few bucks from an exploitable title. This is a trick, and it's no treat.

Aug 27, 2025

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

Stifling mediocrity.

Rated: 3/10

May 26, 2025

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Brian Rowe

InSession Film

Lee Wallace’s directorial debut has some effective atmosphere, a solid cast led by the great Tom Atkins, and a fantastic final scene, but it’s also overlong and too slow at times.

May 3, 2023

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Dennis F.

Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch gets credit for doing something new and trying to take the series in a new direction, but those efforts lead to a weak script, dull pacing and poorly written characters

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/28/25

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Clara R

This is the worst movie I have seen. The plot was confusing and far from the main focus. The main character was a glorified version of a divorced doctor who ignores his children and sleeps with a girl 25 years younger with no context. The ending sucks more than anything and it makes no sense in general. Never watching it again.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/26/25

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Khaliel P

Halloween 3 is a standalone entry in the franchise with no Michael Myers or connections to the other films. John Carpenter originally intended Halloween to be an anthology, but audiences expecting Myers were disappointed. The story follows Dr. Dan Challis and Ellie investigating a sinister plot by mask-maker Conal Cochran in Santa Mira, though his motives are unclear. Its Twilight Zone-like approach could have worked, but the film’s poor reception led to it being considered non-canon.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/20/25

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Eric W.

While not perfect, I thought this film was ahead of its time. I think Carpenter should have pulled this out of the franchise and made it as a stand-alone with more gore and more focus on missing cricket head kids.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/13/25

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Tom G

fun idea but i want Michael!!!!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/28/25

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anon u

Its mediocre in the aspect of the plot, but I love this different approach of the film, not only its different from most horror movies (since they tend to feature a slasher as the "big bad villain" of the movie) but the effects in this movie are a spectacular part of it, and the ending of Daniel begging the TV stations to get the silver shamrock commercial off the air its just fantastic!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/22/25

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Tommy Lee Wallace

Director

Tom Atkins

Daniel Challis

Stacey Nelkin

Ellie Grimbridge

Dan O'Herlihy

Conal Cochran

Ralph Strait

Buddy Kupfer

Michael Currie

Rafferty

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Synopsis

Hospital emergency room Dr. Daniel "Dan" Challis (Tom Atkins) and Ellie Grimbridge (Stacey Nelkin), the daughter of a murder victim, uncover a terrible plot by small-town mask maker Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy), a madman who's planning a Halloween mass murder utilizing an ancient Celtic ritual. The ritual involves a boulder stolen from Stonehenge, the use of Silver Shamrock masks and a triggering device contained in a television commercial -- all designed to kill millions of children.

Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
Producer: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Screenwriter: Tommy Lee Wallace
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures, Dino De Laurentiis Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Holiday, Horror, Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 22, 1982, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 11, 2015
Runtime: 1h 38m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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