Halloween is almost upon us – and there are lots of films to consider on the streaming platforms from decades and recent times.
The imminent release of the reboot sequel HALLOWEEN KILLS will draw people like the James Bond film back to the cinema. For UK fans of the 1982 cult horror sequel HALLOWEEN III – SEASON OF THE WITCH, there is even more cause for celebration.
Netflix is screening the full uncut and letter-boxed version of the film, along with the original 1978 John Carpenter classic and subsequent sequels if you fancy watching the first five films, HALLOWEEN, HALLOWEEN II, HALLOWEEN III, HALLOWEEN IV – THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS and HALLOWEEN V – THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS.
Watch the original HALLOWEEN III Theatrical Trailers here:
So, the unaware of you might wonder, what is the cause for celebration about this particular presentation?
Here goes:
Around the time that VHS cassettes were starting to get regulated and classified like films in the UK, the first distributor, THORN-EMI Video released a rental version that was pre-cut for release, which took out some key moments of shock (restored for this Netflix presentation). In addition, this version was a pan-and-scan version of the film, formatted for the 4:3 televisions that audiences of home video had to make do with before the advent of DVDs and Blu-Rays.
Subsequent DVD releases were formatted to fit the new flat-screen televisions, but there has never been a proper uncut version with the original theatrical ratio released in the UK. Fans will certainly have much to enjoy, as they can then watch the full version of a film that has grown in stature since its’ original release, when it was originally dismissed by fans who cried out for more of Michael Myers.
HALLOWEEN III – SEASON OF THE WITCH, written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace (Carpenter’s Production Designer on earlier films of his) is a stand-alone sequel which takes the series in a different direction, the original intention of Carpenter and the late producer Debra Hill who were keen to create different Halloween-themed stories, so aside from a brief appearance of the killer in a TV advert for the original classic on a screen in a bar, don’t expect the killer to turn up to surprise victims in this one.
The story, which takes place in Northern California in the days leading up to Halloween 1982, concerns the mysterious death of a man holding a Halloween mask in a hospital by a mysterious suited figure who before he dies tells Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) ‘They’re going to kill us…they’re going to kill us all!”
Challis meets the man’s daughter, Ellie Grimbridge (Stacey Nelkin) in the aforementioned bar who decides to help her retrace the steps of her father, a trail that leads them to Santa Mira, where the mask her father held on the night of his death is manufactured courtesy of Silver Shamrock, owned and run by Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy, THE LAST STARFIGHTER, ROBOCOP).
However, there is a much darker secret behind these masks which Cochran is preparing in advance of a Halloween that he and others won’t want to forget…
If you take it on its’ own terms and forget that this is not your traditional HALLOWEEN sequel, you will find much to enjoy. There are some cool shocks throughout and next to his score for ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, Carpenter has fashioned a terrific synth-based score in collaboration with Alan Howarth, who composed the music for HALLOWEEN IV later on.
HALLOWEEN III – SEASON OF THE WITCH – and the original and other sequel films in the series up to HALLOWEEN V – are available via Netflix now.
