Halloween III: Season of the Witch appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The image held up mostly well after 37 years, but some iffy issues occurred.
For the most part, sharpness looked fine. A few slightly soft shots appeared, but the movie usually seemed accurate and well-defined.
No issues with jaggies or shimmering materialized, but light edge haloes crept in at times. A couple of small specks popped up along the way, and some digital noise reduction occasionally made skin tones a bit mushy and overly glossy.
In terms of colors, the film opted for a natural palette, with a blue impression for nighttime exteriors. Overall, the hues showed pretty decent pep and clarity.
Blacks were fairly dark and tight, and low-light shots offered nice smoothness. Despite a few drawbacks, this became a mostly appealing image.
As for the film’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack, it also seemed fine for its age. Speech remained intelligible and usually felt reasonably natural, with little edginess on display.
Music was pretty full and rich, whereas effects seemed positive. Those elements showed reasonable punch, though some louder bits displayed minor distortion. Overall, this was a perfectly adequate mix for its age.
We find a bunch of extras in this “Collector’s Edition”, and we start with two audio commentaries. The first features writer/director Tommy Lee Wallace, as sits with moderators Rob G and Sean Clark to provide a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, influences, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, editing, photography and connected areas.
On the positive side, the commentary touches on a good array of subjects. On the negative side, it seems surprisingly dry.
Oh, the track perks to life at times, mainly when the participants crack on what a horndog Dr. Challis is, and we do learn a fair amount about the production. Nonetheless, the commentary feels lackluster and doesn’t become an especially engrossing listen.
For the second commentary, we hear from actor Tom Atkins. Along with moderator Justin Beahm, he brings his own running, screen-specific chat that covers story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, and other impressions of the shoot.
Overall, this becomes a decent overview. We get occasional insights about Atkins’ experiences but not much I’d call truly memorable.
Called Stand Alone, we get a 33-minute, nine-second documentary. It provides info from Wallace, Atkins, director of photography Dean Cundey, executive producer Irwin Yablans, stunt coordinator Dick Warlock, costume designer Jane Ruhm, composer Alan Howarth, commercial creator Sam Nicholson, and actors Stacey Nelkin and Brad Schachter.
“Stand” examines the path toward this spinoff sequel, Wallace’s impact on the production, story/characters, cast and crew, sets and locations, costumes, effects, music, and the movie’s release/reception/legacy.
Inevitably, some of this material repeats from the commentary. Still, “Stand” gets a boost from alternate perspectives, and it manages to become a pretty good overview of the production.
Under Horror’s Hallowed Grounds, we find a 19-minute, 44-second show. Hosted by Sean Clark, it takes us to various Witch locations. As usual, Clark makes this a fun exploration of the shooting spots, one abetted by the presence of Tommy Lee Wallace at a few places.
In addition to two trailers and three TV spots, the disc finishes with a Still Gallery. It offers 41 images that mix movie elements, publicity shots and ads. It ends up as a good compilation.
When you finish with Halloween III: Season of the Witch, you’ll sing the Silver Shamrock jingle for weeks. Unfortunately, you’ll remember nothing else about this wholly mediocre horror/thriller. The Blu-ray brings erratic visuals along with age-appropriate audio and a nice array of bonus materials. Not much about this movie succeeds.
