Day 27: Halloween Movie Reviews Part II...

The third film in the Halloween series is strange. There is no Michael Myers, and the movie just kind of stinks. Why create a Halloween 3 when there is no mention of the first two films? It just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Even though this is highly regarded as the worst film of the series, I still like it. At least, a little. It’s completely different than the others, and the masks look pretty cool!

Here’s the review of the third installment of Halloween….

The Basic Story:
Michael Myers is nowhere to be seen in this one, so Halloween 3 is about an Irish Halloween mask company called : Silver Shamrocks run by a Conal Cochrane. His masks are the hottest thing, the commercial plays all the time and kids love them. What the brats don't know is that on Halloween the commercial will trigger the masks to do something real gross to them. Nosy doctor Daniel and dumb bimbo Ellie are on the case, trying to figure out what’s going on and how to stop the evil mask maker.

The lowdown:
The first five minutes pulls you in, with a man being chased by human looking androids. It’s scary and violent. But the setup is the only good thing about this film. The "Shamrock" commercial had me singing along to it immediately, and still does to this day. Not much really happens here, the characters are boring, Cochran’s motives have to do with druids or some crud like that, the story lags and never really pays off. It’s a cool-concept of masks that attack, but it doesn’t work that well. I can imagine that had it been a better story, there would actually be some reluctance to putting on Halloween masks….much like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre keeps you weary of locals.

The Blood and guts:
Some skull crushing, beheadings and neato mask effects. Stuff missing from the first two Halloween films, but nothing enough to save this one.

The Good stuff:
No skin to speak of. If there is, I didn’t notice…signs of a very bad movie.

The music:
Great, Carpenter did it and it’s in the same vibe as the other Halloween flicks.

The Bottom Line:
The only good things about this movie are: Nice looking masks, good effects, some violence a great score and a clip from a "Michael Myers" Halloween on a TV set...that's it. It’s too bad the script sucked cause the idea was pretty good.

Trivia:
This film cost 2.5 million dollars. The reason it was made, was because Debra Hill and John Carpenter didn’t want another Shape entry, they wanted to take the Halloween series in the "Twilight Zone" direction, different story every film. Boy did they fail.

The voice in the commercial is the director’s Tommy Lee Wallace.



Halloween 4 is just completely different from the others, and is truly a nice gem in the Halloween installments. It has its moments where it is very creepy and Michael's return is a good one. With Danielle Harris playing in Rob Zombie's Halloween this year, that adds another cool tidbit about this film.

Basic Story:
Michael Myers (Wilbur) thought dead and burned alive cheats the grave and heads back to "Haddonfield", this time to seek and kill his young niece Jamie. Dr. Loomis (also thought dead) tracks him down… again…god this guy must have a weak social life. Will Myers get to his niece? Will Loomis save the day? Will teens die horrible deaths? Um…yea they will! Michael is back!

The Lowdown:
It’s nice to see The Shape back on his two feet. The Myers-less "Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch" left a bad taste in many Halloween fans mouths…so this entry was welcomed with open arms. Is it any damn good? It’s actually pretty decent. Lets discard the fact that at the end of part 2…our poor psycho had his eyes shot out by Laurie and that Loomis was blown up to smithereens, this is the horror genre and when money talks, bullshit walks. Myers has no problems driving a truck, sees perfectly well and Loomis has a few burn scars and hobbles when he walks.

This movie is basically a muscled up version of the original with Michael taking it to the next level. He blows up a gas station, wipes out an entire police station and kills the town's electricity (yes the whole town), all that so he can murder his niece without any hassle. One thing I particularly appreciated is that this time Michael is after a little girl. It gives the movie a meaner edge and makes it scarier. Add to that intense chase scenes, some nifty kills, genuine suspense, an edge of your seat rooftop stalk scene and a powerhouse ending and you get a solid sequel. It's far from the "subtle" horror film "Halloween" was but it sure is good pumpkin fun.

GORE:
It’s alright…Michael seems to be pissed off in this one. He impales a chick with a shotgun, stuffs his thumb in some dudes forehead, crushes a few skulls and rips one poor schmuck’s head off.

The Good Stuff:
Miss Kinmont gives us a half baked tit shot but graces us with a g-string butt shot.

The Music:
A reworking of "Carpenter’s" classic score, it will send shivers down your pants when it kicks in.


Bottom Line:
This entry propelled Michael to the commercial level of Freddy and Jason. It made money. The movie is tight, has good murders and a kicked my butt ending. The Shape is back and in good form. Too bad Part 5 cheats itself out of following the road part 4 opened up with it’s cap off…but that's a whole other story.

Trivia:
After viewing a rough edit the director realized that the movie was too soft so they brought in effect dude John Buechler (directed Friday The 13th 7) for one day of extra "blood" filming. The thumb in the forehead, the redneck's head getting twisted…all his.