Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

(On TV, November 2016) One of the two best things about Halloween III is how it’s completely disconnected from the other movies in the series. For a series that has come to be defined by its antagonist Michael Myers, Halloween III stands completely apart, focusing on presenting a standalone film revolving around Halloween itself. The second best thing about Halloween III is that it’s, to put it bluntly, a crazy film. Trying to explain it cold sounds like an unhinged rant: A plot to kill children using Halloween masks made with pieces of Stonehenge, and robots killing anyone coming close to exposing the conspiracy! … yeah, OK. Other than the crazy disconnect though, there isn’t that much to be seen here. Stacey Nelkin still looks really good (which isn’t often the case for heroines in early-eighties films) but much of the film plays along dully in between flashes of insanity. The conclusion is grim, although it would have been interesting to see the kind of world that would have resulted from those events. There is a little bit of techno-historical interest in seeing how the film grapples with early questions of networked evil, surveillance cameras and the gradual integration of computers in everyday life. But don’t let that fool you into thinking that Halloween III is essential viewing except as an eighties curio. It does have its moment, though. Don’t expect to forget that infernal Silver Shamrock jingle anytime soon.