Halloween: Season of the Witch (Exclusive Series) (Peacock)

Initial release date: October 22, 1982

Studios: Universal Pictures/Dino De Laurentis Corporation

Tagline: The night no one comes home

Plot: Hospital ER doc Dr. Daniel Challis and Ellie Grimbridge, the daughter of a murder victim, uncover a terrible plot by small town mask maker Conal Cochran, a madman who's planning a Halloween mass murder utilizing an ancient Celtic ritual. The ritual involves a boulder stolen from Stonehenge, the use of Silver Shamrock masks and a triggering device contained in a TV commercial ... all designed to kill millions ...

Cast

Tom Atkins - Daniel Challis

Stacey Nelkin - Ellie Grimbridge

Dan O'Herlihy - Conal Cochran

Michael Currie - Rafferty

Ralph Strait - Buddy Kupfer

Jadeen Barber - Betty Kupfer

Brad Schacter - Little Buddy

Garn Stephens - Marge

Nancy Keys - Linda Challis

Jonathan Terry - Starker

Al Berry - Harry Grimbridge

Writer/director: Tommy Lee Wallace (Fright Night 2; Amityville II)

Rated R (98 min)

After Michael Myers initially perished at the end of 1981's 'Halloween II,' John Carpenter wanted the franchise to continue the series as an anthology. Thus, 'Season of the Witch' ended up being the first and , so far, only installment not to feature Myers.

And, honestly, with all the backlash the third movie had, it really wasn't that bad.

'Season of the Witch' is a chilling and suspenseful entry that is an underrated guilty pleasure. The plot is rather interesting since it has to do with old Celtic Halloween rituals.

The movie can really feel very creepy at times and the Conal Cochran character is a compelling villain.

The only thing that does get annoying is the Silver Shamrock jingle that is heard many times throughout the movie. The ending is also suspenseful and leaves the story open for interpretation on whether the lead character succeeded in stopping the events of the movie or not.

You can stream 'Halloween: Season of the Witch' right on Peacock.

Here are some interesting tidbits for 'Halloween: Season of the Witch':

• John Carpenter didn't plan on having Michael Myers in another Halloween movie, only the first. He wanted a different Halloween released story each time, but after the first movie was a success, producers forced him to use Myers again. He did, but killed off Myers and Loomis to be done with them. Then he produced 'Season of the Witch' to get back to his original plan, but at that point, people were expecting Myers again, so it failed. Carpenter then sold the rights years later, because he wasn't interested in doing more Myers. The new owners then brought Myers and Loomis back in 1988 with little explanation on how they survived.

• The movie's novelization was published in 1982 by sci-fi writer Dennis Etchison under the pseudonym Jack Martin. Despite the movie's critical failure, the book became a best-seller and was reissued two years after the movie's release, in 1984.

• The voice of the operator that Challis keeps getting when he tries to call out of Santa Mira is Jamie Lee Curtis.

• The song "London Bridge is Falling Down" was chosen as the Silver Shamrock jingle because this was in the public domain.

• The small town of Santa Mira, CA was also the setting for 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers.'

• The tagline "The night no one comes home" is a play on the original movie's tagline 'The night HE came home."

• After Daniel shouts "STOP IT!" on the phone at the very end, the screen cuts to black and then the end credits. Originally, the ending theme wasn't going to be played during the credits. Instead, it was supposed to be the screams of children. Wallace decided not to add this, so the ending could be ambiguous and add a possibility that they were saved.

• 'Halloween: Season of the Witch' received generally negative reviews. It opened in 1.287 theaters in the US on October 22, 1982, and earned $6.3 million in its opening weekend.

• Like its predecessor, the film was distributed through Universal by Italian producer Dino De Laurentis. It grossed a total of $14 million in the US, but was the worst performing 'Halloween' movie at the time.

• Several other horror films that premiered in 1982 performed far better, including 'Poltergeist,' 'Friday the 13th Part III' and 'Creepshow.'

• 'Halloween III' is the only entry in the series that doesn't feature the series antagonist Michael Myers.

• It departs from the slasher genre, which the rest of the installments were a part of, and instead features a "witchcraft" theme with sci-fi aspects.

• Despite the initial reception, re-evaluation in later years has given this movie new legions of fans and has established its own reputation as a stand alone cult film.

https://youtu.be/kk8QJdD5ExE