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Halloween 3 - “Where the Hell is Michael Myers?”: A definitive history of horror’s most misunderstood film
THE LITTLE SEQUEL THAT WASN’T
OK so first off, the movie was never, ever going to be a true sequel, yet the title was Halloween III from the start. Makes no sense, yet there it is, a baked-in paradox. See, H3 didn’t get made because the backers wanted something different, it got made because they wanted John and Debra, wanted them badly enough to accept the fact that our two were all done with babysitters, Michael Myers, the mask, and the knife, and if they were to be involved, it would hafta be something completely different on the subject of Halloween. That’s the whole story, and therein lies the contradiction. Looking back, it seems clear to me that had fans of Halloween I & 2 been fully aware of this simple fact, they might’ve gone along with the new direction, might’ve even enjoyed what they saw, and we might’ve made it through OK. Who knows? Without the backlash — “Where the hell’s Michael Myers?” — and given H3’s late-blooming but evergreen popularity, we might still be cranking out new movies on the “spooky season” year after year, even after all this time.
But that’s not what happened...
OK so first off, the movie was never, ever going to be a true sequel, yet the title was Halloween III from the start. Makes no sense, yet there it is, a baked-in paradox. See, H3 didn’t get made because the backers wanted something different, it got made because they wanted John and Debra, wanted them badly enough to accept the fact that our two were all done with babysitters, Michael Myers, the mask, and the knife, and if they were to be involved, it would hafta be something completely different on the subject of Halloween. That’s the whole story, and therein lies the contradiction. Looking back, it seems clear to me that had fans of Halloween I & 2 been fully aware of this simple fact, they might’ve gone along with the new direction, might’ve even enjoyed what they saw, and we might’ve made it through OK. Who knows? Without the backlash — “Where the hell’s Michael Myers?” — and given H3’s late-blooming but evergreen popularity, we might still be cranking out new movies on the “spooky season” year after year, even after all this time.
But that’s not what happened...
305 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 30, 2026
A fun and enjoyable little memoir that briefly follows Tommy Lee Wallace’s journey to getting to the director’s chair of Halloween III: Season of the Witch and his remembrances of the making of the oft maligned entry in the series.
February 18, 2023
In Depth For Diehards
Reads like an autobiography, start well before the movie came to be. Halfway through, we are treated to a great insight from the man who helmed the most reddemed horror movie in history.
Reads like an autobiography, start well before the movie came to be. Halfway through, we are treated to a great insight from the man who helmed the most reddemed horror movie in history.
May 1, 2023
My review of this book comes from a different point of view. I read the book before seeing the film. The book was excellent for mentioning specific location shots to pay attention to, nuances in the names of the characters and the thoughts that went into details of the story, without telling me the ending. No spoilers here.
Forty years after it was filmed, I watched the DVD last night, and was still frightened. It's a creepy film, which if you are making a horror film is a good word to use in a review.
I jumped at the ending, that I was not expecting, both indicators that the film works well.
As a graphic artist I enjoyed the opening credits where the jack o lantern was being carved with horizontal lines of a TV monitor and how the circular configuration of the computers at the Silver Shamrock factory mirrored the circular arrangement and pattern of the stones at Stonehenge.
Forty years after it was filmed, I watched the DVD last night, and was still frightened. It's a creepy film, which if you are making a horror film is a good word to use in a review.
I jumped at the ending, that I was not expecting, both indicators that the film works well.
As a graphic artist I enjoyed the opening credits where the jack o lantern was being carved with horizontal lines of a TV monitor and how the circular configuration of the computers at the Silver Shamrock factory mirrored the circular arrangement and pattern of the stones at Stonehenge.
January 23, 2025
The behind the lens story of the making of the Michael Meyers leas Halloween 3: Season of the Wich. The book is written by the writer director Tommy Lee Wallace. The studio wanted a follow-up to the immensely popular Halloween films, but the creators behind the franchise were not interested in rehashing what they had already done.
They wanted to tell an original story set during Halloween with new characters and a new setting. Fans of the franchise were disappointed that the Shape was not the centerpiece in this third installment in the series. There was a backlash at the time from the Fandom.
Forty years later, this film has become a cult favorite. I love this film and re-watch it every Halloween. If you're a fan of horror and this franchise in particular, then I highly recommend this book.
They wanted to tell an original story set during Halloween with new characters and a new setting. Fans of the franchise were disappointed that the Shape was not the centerpiece in this third installment in the series. There was a backlash at the time from the Fandom.
Forty years later, this film has become a cult favorite. I love this film and re-watch it every Halloween. If you're a fan of horror and this franchise in particular, then I highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews