By Geno McGahee

I’m a huge fan of the HALLOWEEN series.  It’s easily one of the best horror franchises of all time and the 2018 sequel to the original wasn’t that bad.  It was promising.  Maybe the series could come back on this new timeline and bring back Myers in a cool way.  It did in 2018, but in 2021, HALLOWEEN KILLS came out and it wasn’t that good.  It was amusing with the overacting and absurd final act, but it wasn’t good.

It’s 2022 and HALLOWEEN ENDS is here, the finale to the new timeline and it’s been getting terrible reviews and I’m here to say that those reviewers that have trashed this movie are absolutely correct.  I considered H20 the worst of the series for a long time.  Take a bow HALLOWEEN ENDS, you beat that one by miles.

Corey (Rohan Campbell) is a babysitter, for some reason, and is watching a little shit that needs a punch in the chops.  Jeremy (Jaxon Goldenberg) watches THE THING with Corey and is just trashing him and actually scaring him with “The bogey man is coming for you”.  He then terrifies him even more by locking him in the attic.  When Corey kicks the door in, it knocks Jeremy to his death and now the town has a new bad guy since Michael Myers hasn’t been seen in four years.

Because it was an accident, Corey didn’t go to prison, but he is still harassed in town.  A group of teens harass him and beat him up a little until Lorrie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) shows up and scares them off.  They are apparently afraid of a 70-year-old woman.  Anyway, she helps Corey up and then they slash the tire of the teens and take off.  Laurie only saw the tail end of the altercation.  For all she knew, Corey could have started all the shit, but she immediately sides with him and then commits a crime. 

Saving Corey’s ass wasn’t enough.  Laurie wants to see him hook up with her granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak).  She gets them together and hopes to make a love connection.   Remarkably, Allyson is immediately taken by the weird Corey, even though he resists her from jump.  Allyson is incredibly attractive.  Why is she chasing this geek? 

After some persistence, Allyson gets her way and she is now a couple with Corey.  Corey comes face to face with Michael Myers and they meet eyes, sparks fly, and now Corey wants to be the new Myers.  UGH.  I realized that it was over an hour and Myers has not been a part of this film for the most part.  They took this curly-haired nerd in that position.   This is worse than FRIDAY THE 13^TH: A NEW BEGINNING.  At least that was a fun movie, fake Jason or not.

Spoilers ahead, if you care…

Corey is now wearing the Myers mask and going around and trying to live that life.  Laurie is determined to stop him and doesn’t want him banging her granddaughter either.  I began wanting to stop this one and then apologize for all of my criticisms over H20.   For the record, that movie ruled compared to this.  What the fuck is this that I’m watching? 

Fuck.  The movie continues and Corey tries to kill Laurie, but he gets his ass handed to him and that leaves the 80-year-old Michael Myers to finally get the job done.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much left and Allyson and Laurie team up to make sure that he can’t come back.  HALLOWEEN ENDS as the title notes and it ends in a way that made me want to puke in my shoes.

HALLOWEEN ENDS is the worst film in the series.  It’s the worst film I’ve seen in years.  This film isn’t as bad as the critics have said. It’s worse. 

Rating: 1/10

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By Geno McGahee

I’ve said this before.  The HALLOWEEN series was the strongest series of horror films in any franchise despite an H20 here and there.  Now, I have waited a while before watching HALLOWEEN KILLS because I heard so much negativity about it.  So when I found it for 9 bucks, I said what the hell and am now all caught up on the series.

In 2018, HALLOWEEN was released, bringing the series back in a much better way than Rob Zombie ever could.  It wasn’t a masterpiece but I enjoyed it and looked forward to a follow up that understood the storyline and what the fans wanted.  So, in 2021, we got HALLOWEEN KILLS, and it’s a definite mixed bag that I found terrible at times and enjoyable at times.

Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is injured after her battle with Myers in the last one and is now finally content because Myers is going to die.  As they drive away, Strode screams “let it burn” to the passing fire trucks.  Who does she think she is?   Those fire brigade members don’t work for her.  Then again, she pays taxes.  I guess they do.

I have to give some big points here to the film for bringing back Donald Pleasence in one way or another.  They used latex prosthetics to recreate Dr. Loomis and I was certain it was CGI because it was pretty close but they went practical.  Even though Pleasence is gone, this film was able to bring him back and that was pretty awesome to see.

Officer Hawkins (Will Patton) has a backstory about an encounter with Myers in the 70s and he has now been attacked again by the pale-faced killer.  He’s made it and now shares a hospital room with Strode and they go down memory lane, but neither is too happy when they find out that the killer is still alive.  It was those fucking firemen.  They rescued Myers.  I think they swear an oath and had to save him.  Then again, I’m not sure if they swear an oath.   At the least, they don’t want to fuck up their paycheck.

A big problem with this film is the random victims.  They just aren’t believable.  There’s an old couple that fly around a small drone and get butchered and then you have Little John (Michael McDonald) and Big John (Scott MacArthur), two gay guys that currently live in the old Myers house.  The characters have no depth, outside of calling each other “Little John” and “Big John.”  I would think that would get annoying.   It annoyed me as Myers entered the house and they kept using their names.  “Dining room is clear Big John.”   “Bedroom is clear Little John.”

One of the characters I really hated at first was Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall), but halfway into the film, he became really funny.  Doyle is the all grown up kid that was in the first film and is now somewhat obsessed with ending Myers that he calls “The Boogeyman” several times.  I find that sort of silly.  If there was a serial killer loose in the town and I had the community around me, I would not stand on stage and say that “the Boogeyman is loose!”  They’d laugh at me.

Some more absurd funs when it’s determined that Myers is targeting the hospital.   Doyle feels the need to rally all of the people in the hospital to become an angry mob, determined to stop Myers.  He starts a chant that “the evil ends tonight” and it’s so funny.  It’s really ridiculous and it amused the hell out of me. 

Myers goes on a killing spree and finally comes face with the huge angry mob and they hand him his ass, but true evil never dies, and they fucked around and found out.  (Spoiler) Myers took his lumps but came back swinging and started the biggest killing spree he’s ever done.  It’s never good to be part of an angry mob.  It never ends well.

HALLOWEEN KILLS is terrible for about an hour, but then, if you make it beyond that hour, you are in crazyville where everything is over-acted, overdramatic and hilariously absurd.  That is how this film finally won me over.  I suffered through the medicine and was handed the treat.  The absolute amusement this film brought me during that time along with some amazing visuals makes this a winner.  I want to go to the hospital and scream “evil dies tonight” but there are too many old timers on their last leg there and I don’t want to make them feel bad.

I recommend HALLOWEEN KILLS.  I am still laughing as I think about it. 

Rating: 7/10

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By Dave Wilcox

In 1978, John Carpenter made a modern day masterpiece with the original “Halloween”. Although it’s original sequel, Halloween II was serviceable, the following sequels throughout the 80’s and 90’s were, shall we say, less than desirable.

I grew up obsessed with the Halloween saga. I’ve seen them all, including the bad sequels more times than I could count. I was always dumbfounded why the film makers could not muster up better efforts with the follow ups to the original 1978 classic.

It almost seemed as if the film makers just didn’t care about the story and characters like I did.

I always wondered what would happen if people that had a love for the franchise like I did took a crack at making one.

My wonders had their answer with 2018’s reimagined Halloween. Filmmakers David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Scott Teems had an idea to pretend all the sequels and bad storylines after John Carpenter’s classic would be treated as if they never happened and their version would pick up 40 years after. (And I thank them)

The story would focus on the mental trauma that Halloween night in 1978 had caused the baby sitter supreme, Laurie Strode and her family, played once again by the scream queen herself, Jamie Lee Curtis.

Although the movie wasn’t perfect and had a few what the hell moments, it brought back the magic of the original and respected what John Carpenter had created.

At the end of Halloween 2018, It appeared that Laurie, her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) had finally put an end to their mental and physical pain when they trapped Michael Meyers in the basement of Laurie’s Michael proofed house and set it ablaze.

Of course, they were the wrong and part two of the movie trilogy is now upon us.

Halloween Kills was scheduled to be released one year ago in October, but the pandemic forced the filmmakers to delay its opening until now.  It’s been a long year of waiting, but I can now say I’ve seen the new film and it was worth the wait. The Strodes are back and they brought some old friends with them this time.

Kills opens at the exact moment 2018 ends with the Strode women in the back of the truck fleeing the scene relieved that they finally rid the world of “The Shape”

The fire fighters on the scene quickly discover Michael is alive and well and ready to continue terrorizing the people of Haddonfield, Illinois.

Once the news gets out in town that Michael is back, the citizens of Haddonfield decide to fight back. Leading the charge against Michael are the grown up kids from the original film.

In a cool casting move, Anthony Michael Hall takes the role of Tommy Doyle from Brian Andrews and at times steals the show. An even cooler move was the original Lindsey Wallace and current housewife of Beverly Hills, Kyle Richards reprising her role from 40 years ago. Other characters making their triumphant return to Haddonfield are Tommy Doyle’s old nemesis and now friend, Lonnie Elam (Robert Longstreet), Nurse Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens) and good old Sherriff Bracket himself. (Charles Cyphers)

From here on out, all hell breaks loose in Haddonfield. The gore and violence in this movie were off the charts and quite honestly I was exhausted when the credits rolled. It’s nonstop with the carnage and mayhem. I thought Halloween Kills hit it out of the park.

Directed by David Gordon Green from a script written by Green, Danny McBride and Scott Teems, Halloween Kills stayed true to the heart of the story line and made me feel like this is the progression Michael and Laurie would have taken on their journey together. They pay homage to moments in the original and even some of the sequels that add to the fun ride that is Halloween Kills.

I think any fan of the original will appreciate this effort in spite of some of its flaws.

On a side note, the flashback scenes might be worth the price of admission on their own.

Evil dies tonight (maybe)

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By Dash Jordan

Hey kids, it’s Dash Jordan! Hope you guys are enjoying Devil’s Night, and I hope you’ve all also enjoyed my Top 8 Halloween Films…because tonight, you’re entering a world of pain.

…Don’t EVER complain about Rob Zombie again!

‘Halloween: Resurrection’ is the eighth and final installment of the original ‘Halloween’ series from 2002. The film is set three years after the events of ‘Halloween H20’, where we see that Laurie Strode is locked away in a mental hospital, Michael Myers is still alive(through shenanigans) and returns to his childhood home which is now used as a set for a ‘Big Brother’-esque web-series. In other words, it’s a boring and unnecessary sequel to a film that had a perfect ending, starring Busta Rhymes and a bunch of unlikeable twats with POV cameras; which damn-near killed the franchise and put any future films on hold for the next five years…and yet, you people still hate on Rob Zombie?!?

I really hate to have to make this comparison over, and over, and over, and over, and over again! So, this is the last time I’m going to explain why I enjoy the ‘Halloween’ remake and it’s sequel. Rob Zombie’s films had great acting for the most part, it was also interesting seeing Michael’s origin, great cinematography, awesome kills AND it made Michael Myers badass and creepy again. Which is the complete opposite of how he was portrayed in this installment. Let me ask all of you a question…would you rather have Rob Zombie remake ‘Halloween’, or would you rather have Michael Myers get his ass kicked and killed by Busta Friggin’ Rhymes?!?

Not only was this the biggest slap in the face to the franchise, but so was the first couple minutes of the movie. Screw the spoiler alerts, I’m gonna tell you exactly why this movie is so stupid. In the beginning of the movie, we see Laurie Strode in an insane asylum waiting for Michael. Because the real Michael put his mask on some other guy, so Laurie pretty much killed the wrong person. I’ll admit, this part of the movie was pretty cool and it did get me excited. The whole idea of Michael Myers being smart enough to escape death like that and still come after Laurie would’ve been cool if it was the whole movie, and it almost felt like a neat little callback to the original ‘Halloween 2’. Especially when you realize that this movie is directed by the same guy who directed ‘Halloween 2′ But of course, I had this terrible feeling that something was a little off with this opening. Then it hit me, it felt too rushed. This whole set-up was not going to be the entire movie. How did I realize that? Look up at the poster for this movie, who do you see? Jamie Lee Curtis, the Scream Queen herself. Think about what this franchise did for her career, and after everything this character has been through in the series…AND THEY FRIGGIN’ KILL HER OFF! Okay, I guess I don’t mind the idea of Michael finally killing his sister. BUT NOT IN THE FIRST 15 MINUTES!!!

I don’t understand it! Rick Rosenthal directed ‘Halloween 2’! One of the best sequels of the franchise, if not, one of the best sequels of all time. But, this is what we get in 2002?!? A completely boring mess full of bad acting, bad writing, wasted potential on the POV camera idea, unlikeable characters, one good character who should’ve lived, one REALLY bad character who should’ve died, and probably some of the worse sequel-begging I’ve ever seen since the ‘Super Mario Bros.’ movie. You could not make this movie any worse, even if Paul W.S. Anderson directed it!

“Yeah…I would’ve had Milla show up and kill Michael in the first FIVE minutes, and then she would put on Michael’s mask and continue the franchise as the new killer! Wouldn’t that have been smashing?”

Oh Jesus Christ, nevermind! God, I hate you! But ‘Halloween: Resurrection’ is still the worst in the franchise, and one of the worst films I’ve ever had the misfortune of revisiting. It’s a piece of crap, in every sense of the word. I would never even recommend this film to my worst enemy, it’s that horrible! Now, I have mentioned nine ‘Halloween’ films so far. There’s only one movie left in the entire franchise. You know what? Pardon my French, but after the shit I had to go through these last couple of days…I think I deserve to have this year’s Halloween to end on a high-note! So, this final ‘Halloween’ movie, is this the high-note I’m looking for? Could this be the one to cheer me up, help me wash the taste of Busta Rhymes electrocuting Michael Myers’ balls out of my mouth?

Hmm…you know that kid shouldn’t be sitting that close to the TV. Nevermind, I’m sure he’ll be fine. Anyways, Happy Halloween! I’ll see you guys in a little bit. Until then, Gotta Dash!

Rating: 1/10

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By Dash Jordan

Happy Happy Halloween, kids! It’s the Dash man coming at you on the ghoulishly delightful time of year that is Halloween! Can you tell I’m really excited? Sorry if I’ve seem a little down the past two days, I just got a REALLY big boost once the clock struck at midnight last night. Now, I’m better than ever. As I’ve mentioned before, I wanna try and go out with a bang. What better way to end things than to check out one of the most controversial entries in the ‘Halloween’ series? Just one more movie in this franchise to go…So what’s really wrong with it anyway?

Hmm…again, what’s really wrong with it anyway?

…What?!?

‘Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch’ is a 1982 horror film and the unofficial third installment to the ‘Halloween’ franchise. After ‘Halloween 2’ where they pretty much killed off Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis, ‘Season Of The Witch’ was originally intended to be the beginning of a new direction the studio was going to take the series; a horror anthology with each new film having a different story taking place on Halloween. Unfortunately, due to poor box-office results, mixed reviews from critics and fans alike at the time and the fact that the movie has ‘Halloween’ in the title after two successful Michael Myers movies, the film has since left a lot of people split down the middle. You either hate the film and forget it ever happened because of the fact that there’s no Michael Myers, Dr. Loomis or Laurie Strode, or you love the film because of the fact that they had the balls to try something different and give us a very unique story to boot. What do I say?

Seriously, this is probably one of the more inventive movies I’ve ever reviewed. I will admit, when I first saw this movie, I was confused. I knew about Michael Myers prior to actually watching the movies, but I didn’t hear much about ‘Season Of The Witch’. Then, I realized why. So yeah, I hated this movie…but I was a kid! I didn’t know any better! This movie took a lot of balls to reinvent itself and try to start something new. As far as the plot goes, it’s very smart as well. I’ll try not to give to much away, but ‘Season Of The Witch’ is basically a witty stab at consumerism during the holidays, featuring creepy masks, witchcraft, robots and a lot of death. Yes, this does sound crazy. Almost ‘Kung Fury’ crazy!

The acting is also very good. With Tom Atkins as the film’s main protagonist, Dr. Dan Challis, and legendary Irish-American actor Dan O’Herlihy the charming yet eerie villain, Conal Cochran…who is by far the best thing about this movie. Conal Cochran is the owner of Silver Shamrock; the novelty company that manufactures a new line of Halloween masks used to kill children all over the world. How, you ask?

Oh, Brittany Murphy…I still miss you. Anyways, did I mention that this movie has balls? I mean, this movie has serious balls! We’ve had plenty of horror films that featured monsters or villains trying to kill children, but ‘Season Of The Witch’ is one of the few films that will outright MURDER kids!

I warned that kid not to sit so close to the TV.

The only reason why I wouldn’t recommend this movie to everyone is because there’s some scenes that may cause seizures. Just giving you guys a heads-up, because I love you guys. I’m not like ‘Twilight: Breaking Dawn-Part 1’ which is so bad that it COULD possibly kill people. Other than that, this is a fantastic movie. If it was just called ‘Season Of The Witch’ instead of ‘Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch’, this movie would’ve gotten A LOT more than just a cult following. Great acting, decent scares, an interesting plot, an ambiguous ending, more awesome music from John Carpenter AND the film just looks beautiful. This is one of the most “Halloween-iest” looking films I’ve ever seen in my life!

Okay, okay, the 2nd most “Halloween-iest” looking film I’ve ever seen. Just ignore the title and fact that there’s no Michael Myers, Jamie Lee Curtis or John Carpenter’s original ‘Halloween’ theme. Take my word for it, this is one of my personal favorites and I would never steer you guys wrong. This is the perfect film to watch on Halloween. With that said, time to iron my purple shirt and green tie, I’m going to finally check out ‘Goosebumps’ and get plastered! Stay tuned, I’ll see you guys very soon. In spite of everything, I’ve still had a lot of fun doing this…hopefully, I’ll do even better next year. Until next time, Gotta Dash! Oh, and Happy Friggin’ Halloween!

Rating: 8/10

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EPISODE 19 – HALLOWEEN SERIES

EPISODE 20- HALLOWEEN SERIES, PART II

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“He came home.”–Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence)

When you speak of classic horror films, John Carpenter’s Halloween has to rank right up there. This is a great movie all around, featuring a great pace, great camera work, excellent dialogue and superb acting all the way around. Donald Pleasence as “Dr. Sam Loomis” really stands out in this film, and I cannot say enough good things about this late and great star.

We begin with a young Michael Myers, butcher knife in hand, killing his sister. When he parents arrive home, they find him standing in the front yard with a blank expression on his face, and dressed like a clown. When it is discovered what he had done, he is sent away to a mental hospital, staying there for fifteen years. His doctor, Sam Loomis, tried to reach him until he realized that he was “simply evil,” and he wanted him permanently locked up. During a routine visit, he and a nurse drive up to the hospital where all the patients are walking around aimlessly. Out of nowhere, the adult Michael Myers carjacks the vehicle and drives away, prompting Loomis to scream: “The evil is gone!” I love that line.

The intended victim is the other sister of Myers, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Strode is working as a babysitter and has no idea of the horror in store. As she watches the children, Myers is on a killing spree, cutting through many of her friends. Jamie Lee Curtis is perfect for this part as Strode. She is an ordinary girl (although some rumors dispute that) and plays the part normally. She is not over the top, and until the end of the movie when everything is exposed, she is basically downplaying her fear as just an irrational silly thing.

Michael Myers is the perfect killer. He is quiet, emotionless, and there are certain things that he does that are memorable and really add a lot to the film. He takes a guy, picks him up by the throat, stabs him with a knife through the chest that leaves him hanging on the wall. While hanging, Myers just looks at him, examining him, as if he didn’t understand what was happening. When you think he’s dead, he just sits up like Dracula, and is back for the attack. He creeps out of the darkness, with the only visible things a lot of the time is the white mask that he is wearing. It is really creepy.

A lot is made out of the conflict between Strode and Myers, but the true story is between the killer and the doctor. Dr. Loomis, with his lines and delivery, turns this movie from a good flick to a great one. Donald Pleasence found his signature role in this movie and nobody could have done it better. I also don’t think that Jamie Lee Curtis has ever been more convincing in a role. This is just a case of all the right elements coming together at the right time and creating a classic. John Carpenter and Debra Hill wrote a great screenplay with dialogue unmatched by most horror films. When Dr. Loomis says: “I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes… the devil’s eyes! I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy’s eyes was purely and simply evil,” to the police officer, I still am amused. It is the writing, mostly, that makes this movie. There are a lot of slashers out there, but most of them focus on the death scenes and body counts because they can copy style, but you cannot copy talent and this crew that made this flick are extremely talented and understand horror movies.

Halloween is one of the best horror films of all time, and set the standard, inspiring many other horror films. This film is a true gem and I cannot recommend it enough. As I have said, all the right elements came together and created a memorable classic that horror fans will be talking about forever.

Scared Stiff Rating: 9/10. A horror classic.

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In 1988, Michael Myers was brought back to the big screen after the negative backlash after HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH, which had no pale-faced killer. HALLOWEEN IV brought forth the story of Jamie (Danielle Harris), the niece of Myers and her fight for survival. Jamie and her adopted sister, Rachel (Ellie Cornell), were able to fend off the killer and put him down in a hard way, but like every other slasher of the 80s, you can’t keep them down forever. Myers was down but not out and in 1989 he returned in HALLOWEEN 5.

HALLOWEEN 5 once again covers the story of Jamie and her uncle. Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) returns to the side of the young girl, which is strange. At the ending of the last one, he pulled out a gun and it took every fiber of his being not to kill her. He just kept screaming “no” after she held a bloody knife at the top of the stairs. In the defense of Loomis, he had a rough couple of days and Jamie was kind enough to forgive him. That’s good enough for me.

Rachel is also back and her friend, Tina (Wendy Foxworth), who assumes the role of lead female in this one. Her character is such a mixture of bad 80s style and her personality is over the top. The character is hard to believe in, where Rachel was very warm. They killed her off early and the focus shifted to Tina. The film really lost a lot there and even Dr. Loomis became very mean-spirited in this. He always has that hard exterior but soft soul, but not here. He comes off as a giant prick. Jamie forgave him and this is how he acts? For shame Loomis. For shame!!!

The sell on this film is that you get to see Myers unmasked, but does it matter? He just looks like a guy and there really wasn’t an intrigue in it. If they showed Myers full frontal, then that would be something. No wonder he’s so mad…he’s hung like a mouse!

The positive element in this film is the shift to the cult that controls Michael. We see the man with the bad cowboy boots and black trench coat walking around and then eventually helping Myers, which leads to HALLOWEEN 6: The Origin of Michael Myers (the producer’s cut), where we really see where the killer came from and why he was who he was.

HALLOWEEN 5 is one of the weakest in the series and didn’t really have its own story to tell. It basically took what HALLOWEEN 4 did and then did it again with a few minor changes. This was a cash-grab sequel and is very forgettable. I still recommend it as a HALLOWEEN fan, but it’s nothing special.

Rating: 5/10

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In 1995, HALLOWEEN 6: The Curse of Michael Myers was released and I was one of the first in line to see it and when it was over I was confused and disappointed. Up to this point, the series had did a pretty good job putting out quality films and I expected the same thing here. It wasn’t that it was horribly shot or that it didn’t have the Halloween feel to it. It just didn’t make a lot of sense and there was a reason why. They put out an incomplete version of the film, trimming and cutting out things that made a very special movie ordinary. Well, it’s 2008 and I got my hands on a copy of the complete film with the 45 minutes that were cut out placed back into it and it made all the difference.

We begin with a familiar character, Jamie (J.C. Brandy), about to give birth and being wheeled to a Satanic cult ceremony where the birth will happen. We already start with a great scene. How can you go wrong with Michael Myers AND a Satanic cult? You cannot. In case you don’t remember Jamie…she was the youngster in the fourth and fifth that Myers had a special interest in. Now she’s older and knocked up and ready to give birth. When the baby is born, it is handed over to a man in black with a black fedora…the leader of this cult. The intention is to kill the baby, but thanks to an insider, Jamie escapes with baby in tow, but Myers is hot on her tail.

Myers doesn’t allow many to escape (spoiler) and he finally gets Jamie, but no baby. She hid the little dude away somewhere and now the white faced killer is now shit out of luck. Boy, is that cult going to be mad at him. I love the idea of the cult controlling Myers…that’s great stuff.

In the 1995 theatrical version, they all but cut out Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance) who died during filming, but in the director’s cut, he is in it quite a bit and it adds a great deal to the movie. Loomis was more than 50% responsible for the success of the series with his over the top acting and hunt for the killer. Although older and sorta sickly, he still delivers very well in this movie.

Loomis believes that Myers is back for several reasons and teams up with an associate from the hospital, Dr. Wynn (Mitch Ryan). Collectively they are going to try stop the bloodbath before it begins. A new character…that was sort of an old character brought back in Tommy (Paul Rudd). Ever since witnessing Myers when he was a kid, he had dedicated his life to studying the killer and figuring out just why he is who he is. I found the character annoying, but not annoying enough to ruin my film experience.

In Myer’s old house we have the Strode family…and what is a horror movie without a jerk? John Strode (Bradford English) doesn’t like the fact that Kara Strode (Marianne Hagan) and her son Danny (Devin Gardner) were now back under his roof. He yells at the neighborhood children and calls young Danny a “bastard” and then proceeds to crack Kara across the face, bloodying her nose. He is hilarious! And you know with behavior like that he’s not going to make it very far in a horror movie right?

Danny is getting visions of a man in black with a black fedora, telling him to kill. This is what happened with Michael Myers and it was now happening to another youngster. Kara dismisses it, but her experiences with her next door neighbor Tommy and the legend of Myers have gotten to her.

Now Tommy annoyed me throughout the film but even worse was Barry Simms (Leo Geter), the shock jock that is trying too hard to be funny and I don’t know if it was written to be a reflection on the shock jocks’ comedy routines and how they are not really funny or if Daniel Farrands, the writer, thought that it was actually funny. I don’t know, but the (spoiler) quick death of Simms is a good thing.

The mystery surrounding Myers in this film is fantastic and as the film goes on it gets more and more interesting. There are some surprises and seeing Myers standing alongside the Satanic cult was really neat. This is a quality Halloween movie and I love the direction they went and how they explained just what Myers was. If you can get your hands on this film, which is tough, you will really enjoy it. I highly recommend it.

Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10. Why did they ruin this movie?

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This is the movie that is best known as: “Where the Hell is Michael Myers?” This has to be one of the least respected horror movies of all time, and that’s because the people expected the white-faced maniac with a knife killing babysitters, and got a story about Halloween masks. Due to this bait and switch, the horror fans have not given this gem a chance, but I refuse to go with the pack. In Halloween 2, both Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis were killed in that hospital when it blew up, remember? Since when do people come back from the dead in horror films? Uh…bad question, but you know what I mean. Halloween III: Season of the Witch is an extension of the brand name, and it is a really great story with FANTASTIC acting.

We begin this movie with some old bastard hauling ass. He is in bad shape and bought to the hospital, clutching a Halloween mask. Dr. Challis, played by the remarkable Tom Atkins (Maniac Cop, Creepshow) is intrigued by the situation, but his curiosity is not satisfied when the old man was murdered in the hospital. Challis chases the murderer, who jumps into a car and then kills himself. Either there is something fishy going on, or the guilt of the murder set in pretty darn quick.

Challis meets up with the daughter of the old man that was murdered, Ellie (Stacey Nelkin). She has her dad’s planner and realizes that something went wrong on the way back from his job at the Halloween mask factory. Yes, he worked at a Halloween mask factory. Hey, they have to exist. Halloween masks don’t make themselves.

The man in charge of this factor is a nice guy, or so it seems, named Mr. Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy). He is merely running a factory and has no knowledge of the murder. When Ellie finds her dad’s car at the factory however, the duo of her and Challis team up to find out the secret behind the murder and Halloween masks. They get more than they bargained for as they both get captured, and are held separately. Challis is the man that is let in on the big secret though. Cochran is leading a legion of satanic robots in a mass sacrifice to the devil, using the masks as death traps. When the commercial plays on Halloween night, all children wearing that mask will die horribly.

Challis shows the heart of a lion and takes on this huge group and takes them out, but he has to stop the networks from airing that god damn commercial. What goes around, comes around, as Challis runs to the same gas station that the old man in the beginning initially showed up. He grabs the phone and calls the network, and in one of the most well acted and overly dramatic scenes that I have ever seen, Atkins delivers, and attempts to save all the children. Will he succeed? You will have to watch and see, and I recommend that you do watch. Contrary to what the majority of “horror fans” say, this movie is a winner!

Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10 Halloween Mask-tastic

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