Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1982
Running Times: 96 mins
Format: Technicolor     35mm     Panavision
Ratio: 2.35:1
Sound:

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Dino De Laurentiis Productions / Universal Pictures
Executive Producers: Moustapha Akkad, Joseph Wolf, Irwin Yablans
Executive In Charge Of Production: Jeffrey Chernov
Producers: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Associate Producer: Barry Bernardi
Unit Production Manager: Jeffrey Chernov
Production Co-Ordinator: Chip Fowler

SCRIPT
Script: Tommy Lee Wallace, Nigel Kneale (uncredited)

DIRECTION
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
1st Assistant Director: Ron Wright
2nd Assistant Director: Scott Ira Thaler

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Dean Cundey
Camera Operator: Raymond Stella
2nd Unit Camera Operator: Stephen St John
1st Assistant Camera: Clyde E. Bryan
2nd Assistant Camera: Guy Skinner
2nd Unit Assistant Camera: David Golia
Key Grip: Ronald Woodward
Grips: Richard Babin, Mark Pearson, Nick Kurges
Best Boy Grip: Joe A. Salamdino
Dolly Grip: Laszlo Horvath
Electricians: Jon Antunovich, Allen Marshall, Patrick Marshall, Steve Mathis
Gaffer: Mark Walthour
Best Boy Electric: Thomas Marshall
Stills: Ron Batzdorff
Video Co-Ordinator: David Katz

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editing: Millie Moore
1st Assistant Editor: Maurie Beck
2nd Assistant Editor: Patricia Lee
Post-Production Expeditor: Gretchen Baker

MUSIC
Music: John Carpenter, Alan Howarth

SOUND
Boom Operators: Joseph F. Brennan, Andy Rovins
Sound Mixer: Thomas Causey
Re-Recording Mixers: James Cavarretta, Steve Maslow, Bill Varney
Supervising Sound Editor: David Lewis Yewdall
Sound Editors: Warren Hamilton, Colin C. Mouat
Dialogue Editor: Kendrick Sweet

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Ron Walters
Hair: Frankie Bergman
Costumer: Francis Aubrey
Wardrobe Supervisor: Jane Ruhm

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Special Make Up Effects: Thomas R. Burman
Mask Maker: Don Post

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Jon G. Belyeu
Special Effects Assistant: William Aldridge
Visual Consultant: Charles Moore

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Peter Jamison
Set Decorator: Linda Spheeris
Property Masters: James A. Rathbun, Daniel Stoltenberg
Propmaker Foreman: Jim Walker
Propmaker: Terry Feller
Illustrator: Carl Aldana
Construction Co-Ordinator: Walton D. Hadfield
Construction Painter: Jerry Palermo
Stand-By Painter: Serge Genitempo
Swing Gang: Greg Lynch
Lead Man: William Wright
Title Designer: John C. Wash

MISCELLANEOUS
Script Supervisor: Louise Jaffe
Production Accountant: Larry Hand
Assistant Accountant: Lynn D. Ezelle
Animal Co-Ordinator: Clint Rowe
Assistant Animal Co-Ordinator: Jim Brockett
Assistant To Matt Franco: David Gersh
Assistant To Barry Bernardi: Carol Rosenthal
Assistant To Jeffrey Chernov: Michele Little
Assistant To Debra Hill: Randi Chernov
Caterer: Bert Jetter
Craft Service: Mark C. Grech
Transportation Captain: Wayne Roberts
Transportation Co-Ordinator: Eddie Lee Voelker
Drivers: Louis Galliani, Ray Appel, Jim Lundin, Tom Thomas, Chuck Hampton, Dave Pierce, Gordon Wiles, Jim Huffey, Mario Simon, Marty Huffey, Steve Grossman, Thomas Vilardo
First Aid: Bernie Granados, Maurice Costello
Motor Police: Bob Laird, Doug Laird
Publicist: Anne Thompson
Silver Shamrock Commercial: Sam Nicholson
Labour Foreman: Andrew Flores

LOCATIONS
Locations: Loleta, California, USA
Location Manager: Ben-Ami Agmon
Location Assistants: Bill Cherones, Ken Lavet

STUNTS
Stunt Co-Ordinator: Dick Warlock
Stunts: Kerrie Cullen, Loren Janes

CASTING
Casting: Susan Shaw
Extras Casting: Susie Johnson

CAST
Tom Atkins (Daniel Challis)
Stacy Nelkin (Ellie Grimbridge)
Dan O'Herlihy (Conal Cochran)
Michael Currie (Rafferty)
Ralph Strait (Buddy Kupfer)
Jadeen Barbor (Betty Kupfer)
Bradley Schachter (Little Buddy)
Garn Stephens (Marge)
Nancy Kyes (Linda Challis)
Jon Terry (Starker)
Al Berry (Harry Grimbridge)
Wendy Wessberg (Teddy)
Essex Smith (Walter Jones)
Maidie Norman (Nurse Agnes)
John MacBride (Sheriff)
Loyd Catlett (Charlie)
Paddi Edwards (secretary)
Norman Merrill (Red)
Patrick Pankhurst (technician)
Dick Warlock (assassin)
Martin Cassidy (watcher)
Michelle Walker (Bella Challis)
Joshua John Miller (Willie Challis)
Jeffrey D. Henry (motel technician)
Michael W. Green (technician 2)

PLOT SUMMARY

As Halloween approaches, kids across America are desperate for a new range of masks, heavily advertised with an annoying TV advert. But the masks are in fact deadly killing machines devised by an Irish toymaker, Conal Cochrane, who wants Halloween to be restored to its pagan roots.

A brave and commendable attempt to widen the Halloween franchise and do something more with it than simply have Michael Myers carving up teenagers. Sadly, Carpenter seriously fumbled the ball here, botching a very sound Nigel Kneale idea and turns Cochrane into a surrogate Michael, just another madman intent on killing young people. It was a great idea though and some of Kneale's inventiveness does shine through, but it's more of an interesting failure than anything else. Fans reacted badly to it and the possibility of seeing a series of films based around concepts of Halloween was nipped in the bud when Michael Myers was quickly restored to the series.

Australia
Video Distributor: Thorn-EMI
DVD Distributor: Infogrames

Netherlands
Theatrical Distributor: RCV Film Distribution

UK
DVD Distributor: MIA (DVB1027)

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures
Video Distributor: MCA
Laserdisc Distributor: MCA
DVD Distributor: GoodTimes Home Video (05-81022)

Australia
Rating: M

Austria
Rating: 16

Finland
Rating: K-18

France
Rating: -12

Netherlands
Rating: 16

Norway
Rating: 15

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: 15
The UK video print has been emasculated of all of its violent scenes.

USA
Rating: R

West Germany
Rating: 18

1982
October
22: USA - theatrical release

1983
March
9: France - theatrical release

June
27: Sweden - theatrical release

1984
January
6: Finland - theatrical release

1987
December
15: Netherlands - theatrical release

1998
September
22: USA - DVD release (GoodTimes Home Video (05-81022))

2000
October
9: USA - DVD release (MIA (DVB1027))

The Night Nobody Came Home.

The Night No One Comes Home

The Halloween Horror Continues

Witchcraft enters the computer age, and a different terror begins.

Season of the Witch

SEQUEL TO
Halloween (1978)
Halloween II (1981)

SEQUELS
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Halloween 5 (1989)
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

SEE ALSO
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

MAGAZINES

Cinefantastique vol.13 no.1 (September / October 1982) p.15 (USA)
review

Cinefantastique vol.13 no.4 (April / May 1983) pp.57, 60 (USA)
article

City Limits no.88 (10 June 1983) p.22 (UK)
review

The Dark Side no.60 p.18 (UK)
review

Écran Fantastique no.26 (September 1982) p.6 (France)
review

Empire no.162 (December 2002) p.166 (UK)
illustrated DVD review

Films and Filming no.346 (July 1983) pp.36-37 (UK)
review

Hollywood Reporter vol.274 no.5 (22 October 1982)
credits, review

Killing Moon no.4 p.19 (UK)
review

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.50 no.593 (June 1983) pp.158-159 (UK)
credits, synopsis, review

Radio Times 25-31 October 1986 p.25 (UK)
review

Screen International no.396 (28 May 1983) p.19 (UK)
review

Sight and Sound vol.10 no.11 (November 2000) p.70 (UK)
video review

Starburst no.59 (July 1983) pp.14-17 (UK)
interview

Strange Adventures Summer Special 1989 p.7 (UK)
review

Variety 27 October 1982 p.15 (USA)
credits, review

Variety Production Report 12 May 1982 (USA)
note

KEYWORDS

businessmen, children, druids, halloween, human sacrifices, masks, robots, sequels

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008