Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Play trailer

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

R

1982

1h 38m

Holiday

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

Sci-Fi

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

48%

Tomatometer

40 Reviews

31%

Popcornmeter

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

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

Full Review

Aja Romano

Vox

This movie is a dirty trick on all Halloween fans.

Oct 19, 2018

Full Review

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

Full Review

Kat Halstead

Common Sense Media

It's bizarre fun in places, laughable gross-out gore in others, but the pacing is unsteady, the characters not particularly well developed, and the story just a touch too ridiculous.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 27, 2025

Full Review

Bryce Hanson

Horror Movie Talk

The reality is, the critics got it right the first time. This film is not underrated. It is rated. It’s bad.

Rated: 2/10

Sep 18, 2025

Full Review

Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Abandoning Michael Myers is the best thing the franchise could have done, as we got this silly and spooky experience that embraces the sinister side of All Hallows Eve.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 11, 2025

Full Review

Read all reviews

Blake

I fulfilled a lifelong dream seeing this in person at the cinema. I know these re-releases of old stuff may not sell as well as the big blockbusters, but please do this again next year!! I really believe youre servicing an entirely new audience when offering older movies such as this one!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/01/25

Full Review

Kia B

I would love a sequel to this.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/01/25

Full Review

Michael A.

A horribly boring and ludicrous premise that to me is more of a stain on the Halloween franchise than Halloween Resurrection is. I admire that the franchise wanted to go in a different direction, but did it have to be this? Was this the best they could go with? If so that makes it even more pathetic. If there was anything good to come out of this film is a catchy soundtrack and three neat masks. And in my opinion, the worst thing to ever happen to Tom Atkins.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/12/25

Full Review

mark g

I hated it when I was a kid, there was no Michael Myers, felt ripped off. Of course, Michael was left a burning heap of ashes in 2, but still. However, watching this years later, I appreciated it as a decent little movie. The problem was the Halloween name. Of course, Carpenter never wanted the Myers character to go past the original movie, just wanted an anthology of diverse movies about Halloween. 4 would bring Michael back for a whole host of movies. Truth be told, Season of the Witch will be way better than anything after in the series.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/31/25

Full Review

Jonathan O

We'll Michael Myers is not in it but he did appear in tv spot scenes, but i really enjoyed this mean spirited, guilty pleasure of horror film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/29/25

Full Review

Isaac K.

Liked it i used to not like it but the older I got i liked it more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/26/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Tommy Lee Wallace

Director

Tom Atkins

Daniel Challis

Stacey Nelkin

Ellie Grimbridge

Dan O'Herlihy

Conal Cochran

Ralph Strait

Buddy Kupfer

Michael Currie

Rafferty

View more videos

Halloween II

35%

63%

Halloween II

Watchlist

The Thing

85%

92%

The Thing

Watchlist

Halloween

97%

89%

Halloween

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Halloween

Psycho II

67%

62%

Psycho II

Watchlist

Q

72%

43%

Q

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The Killer Body Count Guide

John Carpenter’s Halloween Audio Commentary

Halloween Costume Guide 2011

View more photos

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)

Most Popular at Home Now