Halloween III: Season of the Witch, the third installment of the popular Halloween movie series did not feature Michael Myers, but rather an Irish toy maker/mad scientist and his band of business-suit adorned androids who want to kill every child on the planet with deadly toy masks. The story contains references to the Irish/Gaelic/Pagan celebration of Sauin (or “Samhain” as it’s now known), which is considered to be the true origin of Halloween. It’s also a subtle satirical commentary on American consumerism and mass media.
So why the change in direction? Why not keep the story of Michael Myers going? Well, instead of just doing another slasher sequel, the team behind the film (which included John Carpenter who was only willing to take part in the film if Michael Myers was NOT in the story) took a risk and decided that all future sequels would have a different Halloween-themed story, a la Twilight Zone. It was a great idea in theory, but because the film confused and disappointed fans and bombed at the box-office, it led the owners of the franchise to revisit the same old tired Michael Myers story over the course of seven or so predictable sequels.
Despite it’s disappointing box-office performance, over the years the film has stood on its own as the weirdest and most interesting Halloween movie sequel. Plus, do you know what’s better than the film’s poster? Nothing.
