Halloween 3: Season of the Witch is a movie that Halloween fans either love or hate. The bizarre science-fiction thriller that left audiences and critics scratching their heads has been considered for years as the black sheep of the franchise. But now, director Tommy Lee Wallace wants to set the record straight in the form of a production book about the long, stressful process behind the infamous movie’s production! The book’s current title is Halloween III: Where the Hell is Michael Myers? The Definitive History of Horror’s Most Misunderstood Film.
In mid-May of this year, Tommy Lee Wallace made a special guest appearance on the horror podcast The Thing With Two Heads. After Wallace makes his debut about an hour and twenty minutes in, hosts Sean Clark and Christopher Nelson ask Wallace how he’s doing. After a joke on his internet having issues, Wallace announces that he’s working on a book about the production of Halloween 3: Season of the Witch. Wallace credits host Sean Clark with opening his eyes to the cult following of Halloween 3, reminiscing on the first meeting between the two sometime in 2004, when Clark visited the director’s house for an interview for Halloween: 25 Years of Terror.
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“You (Clark) came to my house with a camera crew and did an interview. (And) I’d never met you before, but you asked good questions. When we got around to the subject of Halloween 3… the general tenor of the questions from most people was ‘Well what went wrong with Halloween 3?’. The way you approached it was quite different, and was complementary… Sean was a fan of the movie and he kind of observed that he thought the thing had been misunderstood, that the title was unfortunate and misleading. He said, basically, ‘Listen, there are a lot of people that like it, you ought to come to one of these festivals, these cons’. I’d been resistant before because I didn’t have an accurate picture of what that meant. I thought maybe this was just a bunch of bikers or something, I just didn’t get it. But Shaun talked me into going… It just blew me away. The number of fans that came up, all of a sudden it was a renaissance for me and the beginning of a great deal of redemption around Halloween 3. So, cut to the present and I’ve been asked to do a book of the making of Halloween 3 and all the things that have lead up to it and a little bit of history of what got me there.”
Related: Halloween Ends is Not Necessarily the End of Michael Myers, Says Jason Blum
Terror From the Very Start
Compass International Pictures
Tommy Lee Wallace has a long history with the Halloween franchise, all the way from the beginning. His first industry credit was with John Carpenter on his own first, 1974’s Dark Star. He would continue to work with Carpenter on his next film, Assault on Precinct 13 as both sound effects editor and art director. When it came to Halloween, Wallace worked as production designer and co-editor. Wallace is also credited with creating the horrifying mask that The Shape wears in the iconic slasher movie.
Halloween 3 would end up being Wallace’s directorial debut, but poor responses from critics and audiences took a toll on his self-esteem. Wallace would continue to direct and write, gaining credits in movies such as Amityville II: Possession, Fright Night Part 2, and the 1990 Stephen King’s It miniseries.
It’s a blessing that Wallace has been able to see the resurgence of Halloween 3. What was once considered a disappointment to horror lovers is now considered a favorite among many. For fans of Halloween, this book is sure to be a sought after collectable perfect for any horror display when it comes out later this year, just in time for the film’s 40th anniversary in October!
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