Chad

Trevor

I'm really glad this one was chosen as a subset pick, and hope at least one more person becomes a fan. Ignore the title and realize when it was made, and it's a smart little ride. I'm looking forward to a Halloween marathon on the 31st. I'm going to try to get them all in.

DaveyJoe

I remember hating this when I first saw it precisely because of the lack of Michael Myers. I have the complete boxset on BluRay so I'm looking forward to revisiting this with more of an open mind.

Cardsfan111

I viewed this earlier in the month and commented in my list thread about it, but why exactly was this labeled as a Halloween "sequel" instead of just being given it's own title/identity?

DaveyJoe

John Carpenter and Debra Hill's original plan for the Halloween franchise was to structure it as an anthology series, with a new stand-alone horror movie revolving around the holiday every year. Michael Myers was just supposed to be a one-off, but its massive popularity caused the producers to fast track a sequel in time for next year. They concluded the Myers/Loomis/Laurie story with Halloween 2 then went back to their original anthology plan for part 3, then fans were disappointed at the lack of Michael so with part 4 it officially became the Michael Myers series.

Trevor

I think I read that the production company wasn't planning on bringing back Michael, but instead planned a series of yearly Halloween holiday related releases. Given the quality of most of the sequels and the abomination of the Zombie films, I think this was a better plan.

Cardsfan111

Thanks. Guess that explains it. I don't recall hearing that before and wondered if it might have been covered in some supplemental material or interviews. A little surprised they didn't see the backlash coming after having 2 related films and then a 3rd one going off in a completely different direction.

DaveyJoe

I was hoping Trick R Treat would become a regular Halloween-themed anthology series but we are still waiting on a sequel.

Spiderbite

I never cared whether this movie had Myers in it or not. I just thought it was a shitty film.

Okay. So I tried to go into this one last night with an open mind even though I watched it last year and thought it was retarded.

Well, my view changed on it a little but the movie is still ridiculously stupid. It really does have some good points: The score is one of Carpenter's best. The gore is really good. The ending is ballsy by being depressing and awesome at the same time. They have no problem killing kids (or anyone int he cast for that matter) and the plot to kill every kid on Halloween night is completely fiendish. It is truly a Halloween (the season not the movie series) horror movie.

The bad: The acting is fucking terrible. I know everyone loves Tom Atkins but damn he is awful in this. The chick is even worse and doesn't get nekked to boot. What a tease with that towel scene. There is no Michael Myers. Stonehenge. The main villain is way too hammy. Wind-up robots.

I do have to admit that after watching this with a less critical eye last night, that the evil plot and villain is really not much wackier than some goofy James Bond movies that I love.

So there. Not as bad but still as bad. Make sense?

My rating: *** out of *****

Mike86

This film is absolutely great and entirely underrated in my opinion. The biggest thing it has going against it is that it has the misfortune of being labeled as a Halloween sequel. On its own I love this movie and think its better than almost any of the other films in the franchise except the first two (even though I do love all the films to some extent with exception to the Zombie entries). Had the anthology idea caught on for the rest of the sequels this film wouldn't be as misunderstood but on its own its an oddity to casual fans.

Undeadcow

The most implausible thing about Halloween III is that one particular brand of masks would be so universally popular. It's so diabolical to imagine that kids everywhere are held hostage my their masks. Eventually Halloween III works on a cartoonish level and when I saw it last year I was pleasantly surprised. I think Halloween III delivers because it is so far "out there."

indiephantom

I don't get why people have such a problem with this being a Halloween film. Never have understood that. Just watched it again and it holds up remarkably well. Dark ending like Carpenter's original film and Dean Cundey's photography and Carpenter's score keep it as atmospheric as anything. If this wasn't part of the Halloween series, it probably wouldn't be remembered nearly as well or get the special treatment it has.

Just a fantastic little horror gem and so perfect to start off the day.

DaveyJoe

The damn song is still stuck in my head.