Opening in Northern California, Halloween III: Season of the Witch begins with a chase. A man carrying a mask is being chased by suited men in a car. He manages to escape, barely, and in the hospital says “They are going to kill us all!” He is soon murdered in the hospital and the perpetrator douses himself in gasoline and kills himself in his car. The physician (Tom Atkins) who had been taking care of the patient combines forces with his daughter to investigate what the man with the mask had done right before his death. Their quest leads them to the factory where the mask he was carrying is made. There, they discover a horrifying plot involving Stonehedge, androids, and television control of the masks!

It plays out even worse than it reads. John Carpenter and Debra Hill decided to end the Michael Myers saga and hoped to turn the series in an anthology of horror and suspense films, but their first effort to leave the Myers’ storyline was a disaster. The plot is nearly risible and Atkins as the male lead is unappealing, unconvincing, and untalented. Dean Cundey’s photography is still excellent and Dan O’Herlihy brings some dignity to the role of the insane factory owner but these factors aren’t nearly enough to save the film. Some of the intriguing issues of the film are never explained, such as why would someone would want to kill all his customers, or how is a piece of Stonehenge moved from England to Northern California. Some take the film as a criticism of corporatism, but given the low quality of the direction and acting and the general dimwitted nature of the film that seems like unearned respect for ideas that aren’t really there.  ✰.

MJM  02-11-2012