If you’re a fan of horror movies, you probably have an opinion of Halloween 3: Season of the Witch. The black sheep of the Halloween film franchise was the source of a great divide among fans of John Carpenter’s suspenseful classic. Now, the movie is getting its own continuation in the form of an IndieGoGo funded fan-created sequel titled The 3rd Channel! The official synopsis of the film, along with the trailer, is below!
Jessica Kelly, 24, is a recent mechanical engineering graduate working a dead end job until a mysteriously charming businessman shows up at her work telling her about a very odd inheritance. Conflicted when her own investigation leads her back to her family's history, her life is about to change forever.
The film is directed, written, produced, and edited by Michelle Blasky, who’s previous credits include Family Property 2: More Blood and Mama Tambien. The film stars Heather Beck, Brandon Krum, Heather Harlow, Daniel Lund, and Saskia Baur. According to the film’s IMDB page, the movie will also feature Brad Schacter, who played “Little Buddy” in the original movie! The film will also feature a score by Keith McCoy.
Watch the Glowing Pumpkin…
For anyone new to Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, the movie has an interesting (but sad) history. John Carpenter was reluctant to turn his indie darling into a franchise. Debra Hill, who co-wrote Halloween 1 & 2 with him, felt the same. They agreed to participate in the production of the third movie, but on one condition. The film would have to not center around Michael Myers. Instead, the movie was based on a screenplay written by sci-fi author Nigel Kneale. Carpenter approached him due to being a fan of the author’s Quatermass series. Carpenter would also return to score the film, going with a more electronic route to match with the sci-fi elements of the new story.
Halloween 3 was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace (The Twilight Zone, 1990’s Stephen King’s IT), and starred Tom Atkins (The Fog and Escape from New York) as Dr. Dan Challis who investigates the town of Santa Mira, California, where the Silver Shamrock factory resides. Silver Shamrock is currently producing a special line of witch, pumpkin, and skull masks. From there, a large conspiracy is uncovered, and it’s up to Challis to stop it.
The movie was a flop at the box office. Critics hated the gore and overall strange elements of the story. Meanwhile, audiences were upset about the idea of a third Halloween movie without the infamous Michael Meyers. Since the premiere, with the rise of home media, the movie has not only developed its own footing but a full cult following. The movie has since also had nods made to it in the 2018 Halloween movie, along with its 2021 sequel Halloween Kills. Both movies feature cameo appearances of the infamous masks.
The 3rd Channel is set to be filmed on the same location as its predecessor, Loleta, California. The film is expected to be released in October this year, just in time for Halloween 3’s 40th anniversary!