So Michael Myers is dead. Now what? Halloween III: Season Of The Witch was supposed to be the next installment of an anthology series that would be based around the Halloween holiday. It was the first and last to deviate from the Michael Myers saga. People wanted more Michael and this film did not deliver, and thus was not all that successful.
This was not a bad film. There was more of a suspenseful, sci-fi element to the film rather than just straight horror. Had this film been released simply under the Season Of The Witch title, the reception to it would undoubtedly have been warmer, though it's also highly probable that not as many people would have gone to see it. Regardless, this is what it is and it is forever a part of the Halloween franchise.
While it wasn't bad, I'm not going to pretend that this was a great film. The plot has some holes in it. Androids, killer masks, and Stonehenge are not a natural combination of things. Bringing them together as part of a plot by a maker of Halloween novelties, well... It's best not to think about it too much, I guess, and you don't really think about it while you watch. The film draws you in early on, and you're gladly along for the ride trying to figure out what's going on up at that factory. The film is well shot and well paced enough to keep you from picking out all the flaws. It's a fun movie as far fetched as it may be.
Naturally, as the franchise continued on after this movie, the continuity nerds looked for connections to the Michael Myers films in the series. This is what I want to talk about in this article: the fan theories. There are some interesting ones, some more interesting than others. Two of them rise above the rest, so let's take a look at what our imaginations have come up with...
Officially, Halloween III is something of a meta-sequel. During the events on screen, we see that the original Halloween is playing on television. That pretty much throws any attempt to place those two films in the same universe right out the window. In a lot of horror franchises, you are required to ignore certain elements of a previous installment for the later installment to make sense. You can do that here, but it's actually not necessary. With a little stretch of the imagination, you can explain that away by thinking of that movie they're watching as one of those "based on a true story" dramatizations of the babysitter murders. Not a perfect explanation, but it'll do.
Now that we have an explanation for that, we can get on with the actual fan theories. There are really only two theories I know of that are even remotely plausible, and really, they are two variations of the same theory. Both have connections to the sixth film in the franchise: The Curse Of Michael Myers. Basically you just have to decide which sort of explanation you like more: supernatural or super-science.
Fortunately, Halloween III has both of these elements. On the supernatural side, you have the stolen Stonehenge rock with a mysterious power. On the scientific side, you have lifelike killer androids. The connection between Silver Shamrock and Michael Myers that I came up with on my own was the supernatural explanation, as I was one of the few people who actually liked the cult of Thorn plot of the sixth installment. It was only recently I heard of the more scientific version of this theory, which kind of makes sense too, in the same way that Cochran's plot makes any sense in this movie.
Both theories connect Conal Cochran and Silver Shamrock to the Thorn cult from the sixth film. There are similarities, but nothing actually suggests a direct connection. For the sake of these theories, however, it does help to assume a connection between the two. To make the connection even more interesting, there are people with the name Blankenship involved with each group in their respective films.
So when we left Michael at the end of the second film, he had no eyes left and was on fire. Seems like a pretty conclusive demise there, right? Well when his story picks up again in the fourth film, he has eyes and is in relatively good condition for someone who was on that much fire. What happened?
Silver Shamrock Novelties makes two things rather well: Halloween masks that turn your brain into bugs, and killer androids that look human. Was the Michael Myers from the later films really a Silver Shamrock android? That's what one theory would have us believe. This requires a very direct link between the branch of the cult led by Wynn in Illinois and the branch run by Cochran in California. "Hi Conal, Dr. Wynn here from the Illinois chapter. Listen, our guy died in a fire, can you send us a new one?" The problem I have with this theory is when Michael returns in part four, there is clear evidence of burns on his body. Why get skin grafts when you can just get new skin?
My theory requires you to buy completely into the curse angle from the sixth film. Michael is under the influence of a supernatural force, it requires him to kill and gives him regenerative abilities making him virtually indestructible. He's out of commission for a while after part two, needing to regenerate his eyes, skin and probably lungs, eardrums and other things. It was a big explosion with a lot of fire. In the meantime, Cochran is thinking he needs something to satisfy the sacrificial needs of their Celtic deity, so he goes with the masks, placing the TV spot during the screen adaptation of his main man's homicidal rampage as an inside joke. There have been more ridiculous ideas introduced to this franchise over the years and you know it!
Are either of these theories legit? No. The harsh truth is Michael Myers only exists in this film as a character in a movie they're watching on TV. Silver Shamrock has no connection to Thorn. Michael Myers only survived the explosion and fire because it was lucrative for the film makers to have him do so. There doesn't need to be a connection. Take the film for what it is. Pretend that there is no Halloween in the title, watch it detached from that reality. If you can do that, you'll see an enjoyable Halloween film that doesn't need to rely on Michael Myers.
UPDATE: In the new Halloween trilogy that began in 2018, there is a reference to this film with the Silver Shamrock masks. You see kids wearing all three of the designs, particularly conspicuously in Halloween Kills. As of the time I'm typing this, I have not yet watched Halloween Ends so I don't know yet if these masks have any further significance in that film. However, I did read something about how an early idea for that film would have them in a Silver Shamrock factory as the masks are being made, and also a Michael Myers mask would be shown in production. I'm not sure how true that is or where they would go with that, but it's interesting to think about.
This concludes the first Halloween trilogy. In about 11 months I'll cover the often criticized second trilogy consisting of parts four, five, and both versions of six. I have a special fondness for these installments, but man were these films troubled. It will be a study in making things up as you go.