History Film / HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch

'''''Halloween III: Season of the Witch''''' -- the red-headed stepchild of the ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' franchise -- came about when producer JohnCarpenter decided to transform the series into a yearly {{anthology}} of films centered around various aspects of [[AllHallowsEve Halloween]]. ''Halloween III'' [[InNameOnly attempted to accomplish the task]], but ended up met with a massive backlash from a fanbase hungry for more Michael.

* BodyHorror: When [[spoiler:one of Cochran's little pranks misfires]] in Marge's face, it's partially peeled away, and ''[[{{Squick}} bugs]]'' start coming out of her mouth. What's left stays alive a while longer -- unfortunately. Doubles as a sick ChekovsGun to what happens when the mask works ''as intended''...

** Kind of. Bits of the original score surface when Challis was tied to the chair and the original ''Film/{{Halloween|1978}}'' was playing in the background, providing creepy music for the scene.

While the film has become something of a cult classic in the years since it's release, it performed poorly at the box office, and fans and critics were very harsh on the film for it not including Michael Myers. As a result, John Carpenter walked away from the franchise, which would be given a reboot with Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers continuing the story from the original two films.

** Kind of. Bits of the original score surface when Challis was tied to the chair and the original Halloween was playing in the background, providing creepy music for the scene.

[[quoteright:315:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Halloween_III__Season_of_the_Witch_6349.jpg]]

->''"You don't really know much about Halloween. You thought no further than the strange custom of having your children wear masks and go out begging for candy."''
-->-- '''Conal Cochran'''

'''''Halloween III: Season of the Witch''''' -- the red-headed stepchild of the ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' franchise -- came about when producer JohnCarpenter decided to transform the series into a yearly {{anthology}} of films centered around various aspects of [[AllHallowsEve Halloween]]. ''Halloween III'' [[InNameOnly attempted to accomplish the task]], but ended up met with a massive backlash from a fanbase hungry for more Michael.

A week before Halloween, Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) gets called in to treat Harry Grimbridge, a horribly beaten toy salesman with a Halloween mask in a death grip who mumbles ominous warnings in Challis' presence. It gets stranger from there -- one of the salesman's assailants breaks in, murders Harry, then sets himself on fire. Challis teams up with the man's daughter, Ellie (Stacey Nelkin), to unravel the mystery; the trail leads them to the town of Santa Mira, which serves as the home of the Silver Shamrock Novelty Company. Ellie's father had recently visited the company to pick up a shipment of their popular Halloween masks -- masks like the one Harry had in his hands the night he died. While investigating the town, Dan and Ellie discover that Silver Shamrock has nefarious plans in the works... and that Harry's death served as a warning of things to come this Halloween season.

Not to be confused with ''Film/SeasonOfTheWitch''.
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!! ''Halloween III: Season of the Witch'' contains examples of the following tropes:

* AirVentPassageway
* AllHallowsEve
* AlliterativeName: Conal Cochran.
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:Dan rescues Ellie, only to find out in the end that she's a robot.]]
* ApocalypseHow: One of the more horrifying examples: [[spoiler:it's one specifically directed at children.]]
* ArtifactTitle: From the beginning, Carpenter had planned for all of the ''Halloween'' movies to be [[ThematicSeries stand-alone stories taking place on Halloween]]. With that in mind, the title isn't really so baffling. Then Michael Myers wound up becoming so popular that the ''Halloween'' series basically became the ''Michael Myers'' series, and...
* BodyHorror: When [[spoiler:one of Cochran's little pranks misfires]] in Marge's face, it's partially peeled away, and ''[[{{Squick}} bugs]]'' start coming out of her mouth. What's left stays alive a while longer -- unfortunately. Doubles as a sick ChekovsGun to what happens when the mask works ''as intended''...
* {{Bookends}}: Film opens ends the same way, man with a warning arriving at a gas station (the same gas station, as matter of fact).
* BrownNote: The last commercial.
* CelticMythology: [[spoiler:Conal Cochran really doesn't hate children, but the planets are aligned, and it's time for another mass sacrifice of the innocent on Samhain.]]
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Conal Cochran. The man runs Santa Mira like a police state, [[spoiler:[[MoralEventHorizon invites his top salesman and his family to Santa Mira to kill them,]] and, oh yes, and his business is a front for murdering America's children]].
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Several. [[spoiler:Cochran's robots]] have several very nasty and creative ways of killing their targets, including [[ThisIsADrill power drills]], crushing their nasal passages to suffocate, and simply [[OffWithHisHead ripping people's heads off]]. Never mind what happens to Marge when [[spoiler:one of Cochran's magic mask seals misfires]] in her face. The ultimate has to be Buddy and his family, though, when [[spoiler:a test mask executes its program and slowly destroys his kid before his eyes.]]
* DeceptivelyHumanRobots: Possibly even RidiculouslyHumanRobots, in the case of [[spoiler:Ellie]].
** Cochran's mooks were basically {{Magitek}} clockwork robots and obedient factory workers, but unlike [[TheWonderfulWizardOfOz past]] [[CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory examples]], there wasn't anything the LEAST bit funny about them - they were designed as low-tech [[TheTerminator Terminators]].
* {{Doppelganger}}
* DownerEnding[=/=]DiabolusExMachina[=/=]CruelTwistEnding: [[spoiler:Challis succeeds in getting the commercial pulled from two channels, but it plays on a third. Thus, [[TheBadGuyWins Cochran's plan ultimately succeeds,]] resulting in the probable deaths of millions of children. Worse, he was in the Pacific Time Zone (see FridgeLogic) so the commercial likely already had played in three other time zones while he was still battling Cochran in his factory.]]
* FauxAffablyEvil: Conal Cochran.
* ForTheEvulz: "Mr. Kupfer was right, you know. I do love a good joke, and this is the best ever, [[spoiler:a joke on the ''children'']]."
* GoOutWithASmile: Cochran.
* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler: Conal -- he appears genuinely impressed with Challis' panache at trashing the place, giving him a little golf clap. Of course, that could be because [[DiabolusExMachina he still has one more ace...]].]]
* HelpingHands: After Challis destroys one of Cochran's automatons, its severed arm attacks him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Cochran.
* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday
* HumanSacrifice: Make that sacrifice'''''s'''''. [[spoiler:''Millions'' of them...almost all children.]]
* InfantImmortality: [[spoiler:This film subverts it, averts it, rips it up, throws the pieces on the ground, and stomps on them.]]
* InNameOnly
* IronicNurseryTune: The Silver Shamrock {{jingle}} is based on London Bridge.
* {{Jingle}}
* KarmaHoudini: Conal Cochran. [[spoiler:Challis triggers the block of Stonehenge; Cochran is caught in the middle of the detonation and disappears; the factory burns down around him. His ultimate fate is uncertain, but even if the Stonehenge blast vaporizes him, his plan still goes off and his fate was far kinder then those of his victims.]]
* LampshadeHanging: Conal tells Challis that they had a devil of a time getting the Stonehenge monolith to California -- which fails to explain how (though a magician never reveals his secrets, he points out). Also anticipated by the news broadcast about the theft of the monolith.
* LoadBearingBoss: When Cochran disappears, the Stonehenge piece magically shorts out, starting a massive fire that burns down the factory.
* {{Magitek}}: [[spoiler:Cochran puts tiny pieces of Stonehenge into corporate seals in his masks. When triggered by a flashing picture, they execute an extremely destructive spell, messily decaying the head in the mask and releasing deadly insects and serpents to cause collateral damage. The robots are also a likely example of it.]]
* MechaMooks: [[spoiler:Cochran's henchmen are all eventually revealed to be robots.]]
* MrSmith: Alias of Ben and Ellie when they arrive to Santa Mira.
* MrViceGuy: Challis -- he's a womanizer and an alcoholic, but he's far from being a bad person and does everything he can to stop the Silver Shamrock plot.
* [[spoiler: MurderousMask: The lethal masks that Cochran plans to use to murder millions of children.]]
* NoodleIncident: How the bad guys got the piece of Stonehenge.
-->'''Conal Cochran:''' Ha ha! We had a ''time'' getting it here. You wouldn't believe how we did it!"
* OddballInTheSeries
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Averted and inverted. Cochran - played by an Irish actor - doesn't have a strong Irish accent for most of the movie, but his pronunciation of ''Samhain'' in Irish Gaelic is exactly correct.
* PublicDomainArtifact: Conal's {{Unobtanium}} comes from chips of Stonehenge.
* PursuedProtagonist
* RoboticReveal
* ThemeMusicAbandonment: The classic theme is not heard, because this was an attempt to take the series in a different direction
** Kind of. Bits of the original score surface when Challis was tied to the chair and the original Halloween was playing in the background, providing creepy music for the scene.
* WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties: Subverted -- when it happens, it's a good thing for a change. [[spoiler:It isn't enough to stop Cochran's evil plan from going off and killing millions, unfortunately.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Was Ellie [[spoiler:always a robot, or captured and replaced by one in Cochran's factory? If the latter, what happened to the ''real'' Ellie -- did Cochran kill her, was she killed when the factory burned down, or did she escape?]]
** [[spoiler:The real robots weren't very talkative, but Ellie early on was quite animated, and was hellbound to go to the factory. Probably Ellie was real until she saw her father's car, and was seen being forced into the factory by other robots shortly thereafter. Notice how Ellie never spoke from the moment that she was "rescued"? The ''ad hoc'' robot Ellie was Cochran's last little joke - and assurance that Challis would die no matter what happened in the factory. Ellie was most likely [[FridgeHorror disposed of...]]]]
* WhenThePlanetsAlign
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A week before Halloween, Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) gets called in to treat Harry Grimbridge, a horribly beaten toy salesman with a Halloween mask in a death grip who mumbles ominous warnings in Challis' presence. It gets stranger from there -- one of the salesman's assailants breaks in, murders Harry, then sets himself on fire. Challis teams up with the man's daughter, Ellie (Stacey Nelkin), to unravel the mystery; the trail leads them to the town of Santa Mira, which serves as the home of the Silver Shamrock Novelty Company. Ellie's father had recently visited the company to pick up a shipment of their popular Halloween masks -- masks like the one Harry had in his hands the night he died. While investigating the town, Dan and Ellie discover that Silver Shamrock has nefarious plans in the works...and that Harry's death served as a warning of things to come this Halloween season.

* AndThenJohnWasAZombie [[spoiler:Dan rescues Ellie, only to find out in the end that she's a robot.]]

-->'''Conal Cochran:''' "Ha ha! We had a ''time'' getting it here. You wouldn't believe how we did it!"
* OddballInTheSeries: There is a reason why this movie has its own page.

The red-headed stepchild of the ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' franchise, ''Halloween III'' came about when producer JohnCarpenter, feeling that Michael Myers had died for good at the end of ''Halloween II'', decided to instead try to transform the series into a yearly {{anthology}} of films centered around various aspects of [[AllHallowsEve Halloween]]. ''Halloween III'' [[InNameOnly was an attempt to do just that]], but led to a massive backlash from a fanbase hungry for more of Michael.

In a nutshell, ''Halloween III'' details the travails of Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) who, a week before Halloween, is called in to treat Harry Grimbridge, a horribly beaten toy salesman who's clutching a Halloween mask and mumbling ominous warnings. It gets stranger from there -- one of the salesman's mysterious assailants breaks in, murders him, and then sets himself on fire. Challis subsequently teams up with the man's daughter, Ellie (Stacey Nelkin), to unravel the mystery. The trail leads them to Santa Mira, home of the Silver Shamrock Novelty Company, which her father had been visiting to pick up a shipment of their phenomenally popular Halloween masks -- masks like the one Harry was holding the night he died. While investigating the town, Dan and Ellie discover that Silver Shamrock is up to no good -- and that Harry's death won't be the last this Halloween season.

!! ''Halloween III'' gives us:

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In a nutshell, ''Halloween III'' details the travails of Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) who, a week before Halloween, is called in to treat Harry Grimbridge, a horribly beaten toy salesman who's clutching a Halloween mask and mumbling ominous warnings. It gets stranger from there -- one of the salesman's mysterious assailants breaks in, murders him, and then sets himself on fire. Challis subsequently teams up with the man's daughter, Ellie (Stacy Nelkin), to unravel the mystery. The trail leads them to Santa Mira, home of the Silver Shamrock Novelty Company, which her father had been visiting to pick up a shipment of their phenomenally popular Halloween masks -- masks like the one Harry was holding the night he died. While investigating the town, Dan and Ellie discover that Silver Shamrock is up to no good -- and that Harry's death won't be the last this Halloween season.

** [[spoiler:The real robots weren't very talkative, but Ellie early on was quite animated, and was hellbound to go to the factory. Probably Ellie was real until she saw her father's car, and was seen being forced into the factory by other robots shortly thereafter. Notice how Ellie never spoke from the moment that she was "rescued"? The ''ad hoc'' robot Ellie was Cochran's little joke - and assurance that Challis would die no matter what happened in the factory. Ellie was most likely [[FridgeHorror disposed of...]]]]

** The real robots weren't very talkative, but Ellie early on was quite animated, and was hellbound to go to the factory. Probably Ellie was real until she saw her father's car, and was seen being forced into the factory by other robots shortly thereafter. Notice how Ellie never spoke from the moment that she was "rescued"? [[spoiler: The ''ad hoc'' robot Ellie was Cochran's little joke - and assurance that Challis would die no matter what happened in the factory.]] Ellie was most likely [[FridgeHorror disposed of...]]

* NoodleIncident: How the bad guys got the piece of Stone Henge.

* HumanSacrifice: Make that sacrifice'''s'''. [[spoiler:''Millions'' of them...almost all children.]]

* LoadBearingBoss

* {{Magitek}}: [[spoiler:Cochran puts tiny pieces of Stonehenge into corporate seals in his masks. When triggered by a flashing picture, they execute an extremely destructive spell, fatally decaying the head in the mask and releasing deadly serpents to cause collateral damage.]]

** The real robots weren't very talkative, but Ellie early on was quite animated, and was hellbound to go to the factory. Probably Ellie was real until she saw her father's car, and was seen being forced into the factory by other robots shortly thereafter. The ''ad hoc'' robot Ellie was Cochran's little joke - and assurance that Challis would die no matter what happened in the factory. Ellie was most likely [[FridgeHorror disposed of...]]

** The real robots weren't very talkative, but Ellie early on was quite animated, and was hellbound to go to the factory. Probably Ellie was real until she saw her father's car, and was seen being forced into the factory by other robots shortly thereafter. The ''ad hoc'' robot Ellie was Cochran's little joke - and assurance that Challis would die no matter what happened in the factory.

** The real robots weren't very talkative, but Ellie early on was quite animated, and was hellbound to go to the factory. Probably Ellie was real until she saw her father's car, and was "disappeared" shortly thereafter. The ''ad hoc'' robot Ellie was Cochran's little joke - and assurance that Challis would die no matter what happened in the factory.

** The real robots weren't very talkative, but Ellie early on was quite animated, and was hellbound to go to the factory. Probably Ellie was real until they were separated in the factory, then she was replaced ''ad hoc'' by a robot Ellie to assure that no matter what happened, Challis would end up dead.

* BodyHorror: When [[spoiler:one of Cochran's little pranks misfires]] in Marge's face, it's partially peeled away, and ''[[{{Squick}}bugs]]'' start coming out of her mouth. What's left stays alive a while longer -- unfortunately. Doubles as a sick ChekovsGun to what happens when the mask works ''as intended''...