![]() “There are a lot of problems with Halloween III,” Roger Ebert wrote in his 1.5-star review for the Chicago Sun-Times. But that success was a far cry from that of its predecessors and was thumped by other horror releases from the same year. It even managed to place in the top two over its first two weekends in theaters. It racked up over $14 million on a relatively modest budget of $2.5 million. Season of the Witch wasn’t a failure at the box office by any means. Carpenter cohort Tommy Lee Wallace was to begin this shift with Halloween III: Season of the Witch.Ĭritics and fans had different ideas. #Halloween 3 season of the witch seriesEssentially, the franchise would have morphed into an anthology series with the holiday serving as the only connection between the films. The plan was to release a new Halloween-themed film every October. Instead of continuing to build on the first two films’ beloved villain, Michael Myers, Carpenter wanted to expand the franchise around the titular holiday. The duo agreed, but only if they could take things in a different direction. While not as successful as the original, Halloween II did well enough that Universal called on Carpenter and Hill for a third entry. Carpenter and Hill co-wrote and produced Halloween II in 1981 - this time with Rick Rosenthal in the director’s chair - and a franchise was born. Per the Hollywood code, if something is successful, you must do it again. Made on a shoe-string budget, the film about an escaped mental patient who returns home and starts wiping out babysitters was a box office hit and helped usher in the slasher boom. In 1978, director John Carpenter and producer Debra Hill forever changed the face of horror with Halloween. How did critics feel about it at the time, and do we see it differently now? In this entry, Chris Coffel explores the original critical reception of Halloween III: Season of the Witch. They Said What?! is a biweekly column in which we explore the highs and lows of film criticism through history. ![]()
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