Anti-consumerism November: Halloween III

Now, for a long time, this was considered by many to be the worst in the Halloween series. But if you're going to evaluate this installment fairly, you kind of have to remove it from the series entirely. This movie's charm lies in it's anti-consumerism subtext, the simplistic beauty of the baddie’s master plan, the confusing complexity of his motives, and the fact that it stars Tom Atkins.

The bad guy's plan is to sell halloween masks to million of kids and to use a television special as a switch that activates said masks, sacrificing the wearer in pretty gruesome ways. Why do they need to make a mass sacrifice? Mmmm, something to do with witch craft, Celtic traditions, and stone henge. But never fear, Tom Atkins is there to save the day.

Atkins plays a doctor, and that is a fact I always forget. There's really isn't a reason for him to be a doctor, except that he's in the hospital while the first victim divulges some key dialogue. After that, Atkins could just as well have been investigating that patient's death as a homicide detective. But that weird detail adds to the “charm” of this off-the-wall character. (And actually, he's only investigating the man's death because he thinks the man's daughter is hot, so it doesn't really matter what his profession is...)

But all these quirks don't change that this is a movie we love. It's not an amazing movie or ground breaking by any means, it's just a good example of an underdog movie grabbing your attention and telling a fun story.

Tim Kelly's interview with Tom Atkins at Theaters MOA.