Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 American science fiction horror film written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace in his feature-length directorial debut, and starring Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, and Dan O'Herlihy. The third installment in the Halloween film series, it follows a physician who, after one of his patients is murdered, becomes embroiled in a mystery involving a mask-making company, uncovering a sinister plot to use its Halloween masks to kill millions of children. It is the only entry in the Halloween series that does not feature the main antagonist, Michael Myers. Series creators John Carpenter and Debra Hill return as producers.
The film departs from the slasher genre of the previous two installments, instead featuring a "witchcraft" theme with science fiction aspects. Carpenter and Hill believed that the Halloween series could have been an anthology series of films in the same vein as The Twilight Zone that centered around Halloween night, with each film containing its own distinct characters, setting, and storyline. Director Wallace stated there were many ideas for Halloween-themed films, some of which could have potentially created any number of their own sequels and spin-offs, and that Season of the Witch was meant to be the first.
Released on October 22, 1982, Halloween III: Season of the Witch grossed $14.4 million domestically against a $4.6 million budget, but it was also the poorest performing film in the Halloween series at the time. Most critics gave the film negative reviews, though reevaluation in later years has given it a strong cult following. After the film's disappointing reception and box office performance, Michael Myers was brought back six years later in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988).
It was the last Halloween film distributed by Universal Pictures until the 2018 film Halloween 36 years later.
