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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Popcornmeter

51%

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35 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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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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David Gonzalez

The Cinematic Reel

It has taken 40 years for Halloween III to gain the cult status it rightfully deserves. Next time, that Silver Shamrock commercial plays, always remember kids, take those masks off.

Rated: 4.5/5

Jan 31, 2023

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William Jones

CBR

Despite the fact that Halloween III: Season of the Witch is Michael Myers-less, it's a great sequel that makes Carpenter's first film even scarier.

Jan 9, 2023

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John R

Very underrated but I think it would been better if it was in it's own universe and not Michael's

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/14/25

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Josh A

This movie isn't a Michael Myers movie, it's part of the original anthology concept for Halloween, so I'm judging it as a standalone movie and writing this review before I watch the other 12 movies, since I watched this one first, but posting it after I watch Halloween Ends, with my other reviews. And wow. This movie is absolutely insane. It's basically Ring meets Goosebumps and it is a wild experience. Let me start by saying that the concept is absolutely amazing. An evil mask company makes haunted masks that, when their ad appears on the TV, kill the children wearing them, the company being led by a warlock named Conal Cochran who wants to revive the Pagan aspects of Halloween by sacrificing children. It's wild, just like this movie, and I love it. The ending is also amazing and, in my opinion, the best part of the movie. It's intense watching Daniel begging the TV stations to take the commercial off the air and the ending is open ended in the best way possible, feeling haunting. It's one of those movies where the more you watch it, the more it grows on you. Overall, this is an absolutely wild movie and I wish we got more Halloween movies like this. But for now, this will suffice.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/08/25

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Skibidi T

Dude, Halloween III: Season of the Witch has NOTHING to do with "Him." I think this movie would've done better if it was just it's own movie instead of being a part of the original series.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/16/25

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Audience Member

"This movie is just okay. The kills are pretty good, and the movie has its moments, however, it's also pretty slow and takes a minute for things to ramp up."

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/10/25

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Alexander S

Halloween III: Season of the Witch, intended to establish John Carpenter’s Halloween series as an obstacle course franchise in relation to the holiday rather than a Michael Myers franchise, presented a solid original premise of cursed masks, however, the film occasionally veers into silly directions. Grading: C

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/25

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Jerod S

That was a random detour.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/07/25

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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: Dino De Laurentiis Productions, Universal Pictures
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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