Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1983) - REVIEW

It really depends on who you talk to this is either the best of the Halloween series of the absolute worst.  This one is definitely the unique one of the franchise.  Mainly because it lacks anything to do with the previous movies and having said that there is NO Michael Myers or Laurie Strode for that matter.  Up till this movie When you thought of Halloween you thought of Jamie Lee Curtis.  It seems part II would be her last Halloween film, well at least until H20 was conceived.

We start with Harry Grimbridge (Al Berry) being chased by some cars and he is running for his life.  He runs into the local gas station and collapses.  The attendant takes him to the emergency room were Dr Challis (Tom Atkins) takes a look at him.  Harry is still gripping on a Halloween mask of a pumpkin head and says "they are going to kill us all".  A short time later while Harry is resting an unknown man in a suit enters the hospital and proceeds to kill Harry and then just walking out the front door and setting fire to his car and himself.  Dr Challis is very shaken up with this being all too weird.  After talking to Harry's daughter Ellie (Stacey Nelkin) the two of them decide to head to the town of Santa Mira where they make the masks he was clutching onto.  Santa Mira is a small almost deserted town except for the big mask factory called Silver Shamrock.  The longer they stay in Santa Mira the more they are in danger.  Will they make it out alive?

The first time I ever heard of this movie was watching Monster Vision on the USA Network with Joe Bob Briggs.  I had never seen this movie at this point and was excited because I was already a huge fan of Michael Myers.  Right before the movie started Joe Bob mentioned that this sequel had nothing to do with the original two and there was no Michael or Jamie Lee.  I was immediately disinterested and went to bed instead of staying up to watch this.  It was not till about ten years later when I finally watched this film because it was at a local grocery store for 79 cents.  I ended up loving the film and the rest is history.

One of the things I really like about the film is how original the story is.  If only they would have named this movie something different so that it wasn't overshadowed by the Halloween franchise it really would have been better off.  As it is now and as I said above the views of this film is a mixed bag.  You either like it our you hate it. In my case I loved it.  I even love more that Scream Factory brought it to Blu Ray last year full of special features.  If you are a fan of the film you owe it to yourself to pick up the Blu Ray not only are the special features excellent but the film itself looks gorgeous.  I would give this movie 8 out of 10 stars.  Stay twisted everyone!

Acort International Acquires Apocalypse Kiss For Worldwide Distribution

Acort International, one of the top distributors of independent films in the global marketplace, has recently acquired the science fiction thriller “Apocalypse Kiss” for world-wide distribution. Distribution plans are currently in consideration which will include a North American DVD on the indie-horror label Midnight Releasing and cable/satellite/internet VOD run as well as being showcased at this year’s 2013 American Film Market.

About The Film:
The latest and greatest from Deer Crossing director Christian Jude Grillo stars D.C. Douglas, Tom Detrik, Carmela Hayslett and Tammy Jean. The film also features Lloyd Kaufman, Tom Atkins and Michael Berryman. Apocalypse Kiss is the third feature film from Writer/Director Christian Jude Grillo. This neo Sci-Fi exploitation film is a mixing pot of Grillo's influences from films like Hardware, Alien, and Star Wars. In Apocalypse Kiss Grillo adds his signature dark satire and “Can't look away” style of exploitation with scenes of left field characters indulging in perverse sub-culture scenarios. Apocalypse Kiss features retro style model making techniques with the latest CGI FX, giving Apocalypse Kiss cult-ish flavor that is unique from today's Hollywood films.

Full Synopsis:
In this futuristic science fiction thriller, government security agent Jerry Hipple has been unsuccessfully tracking the city's most infamous criminal-- The Red Harvest Killer. When two nomadic lovers, Katia and Gladys enter the city the death count rises and are being credited as Red Harvest killings. Obsessive compulsive Adrian, the actual Red Harvest Killer becomes furious that the sexy serial killing duo are grabbing media attention under his alias. Not only does Adrian attempt to reclaim his rightful reputation but he also decides to cleverly aid his detective counterpart through the case. All the while, killers and victims alike are unaware the world is about to reach an abrupt catastrophic ending.



About Acort International:
As a full service independent distributor, Las Vegas, Nevada and Scottsdale, Arizona-based Acort International distributes feature films to the international marketplace. Acort International and their associates release 50-60 films a year into a variety of domestic and international outlets including theatrical, DVD, VOD, broadcast, internet and mobile. For more information please visit AcortInternational.com and MidnightReleasing.com.

Poster Revealed for Horror Convention Documentary: Fantasm

Director Kyle Kuchta is excited to reveal the official theatrical poster for his forthcoming horror convention documentary, Fantasm. The film explores the bonds formed by the close-knit community of fans who attend horror conventions. A high-resolution version of the poster is attached for your use.

In addition to a variety of devoted genre fans, Fantasm features insight from several popular horror actors and filmmakers, including Tom Atkins (Escape from New York), Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Amanda Wyss (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger), Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2) and more.

After being shot at six different conventions throughout the country, Fantasm is currently in post-production. "The film is being submitted to festivals and conventions," Kuchta elaborates. "We're really excited to be releasing it in the fall when the convention season and the horror community are thriving full-force."

For more information on Fantasm, visit the documentary on Facebook and Twitter.