10 More Horror Movie Sequels That Had No Right To Be This Good

5. Halloween III: Season Of The Witch

Halloween 3 Season of the Witch
Universal Pictures

Halloween is the film which took the slasher movie to a whole other level, and Halloween II remains one of the best, most underrated sequels in horror history. Of course, these movies also introduced the world to three of the greatest characters to ever grace the genre; those being Michael Myers, Laurie Strode, and Dr. Samuel Loomis.

So, it was quite the curveball to see the third Halloween movie deciding to leave Haddonfield, the Shape, Laurie, and Loomis in the rear-view mirror. Opting to craft a sequel that removed the chess pieces that had made the property so successful was quite the call, and that surprise direction was reflected in the mixed response to the movie at the time of its 1982 release.

In place of the mainstays of those initial two films, Halloween III: Season of the Witch was intended to take the franchise in an anthology route; each subsequent new movie serving as a standalone picture not tethered to other entries in the series.

For Halloween III, the focus switched to the mysterious Silver Shamrock company and their must-have Halloween masks... that just so happen to turn people's minds to literal mush. Desperate to stop this scheme, it's Tom Atkins' Dan Challis and Stacy Nelkin's Ellie Grimbridge on a quest to put paid to Silver Shamrock's plans.

While some struggle with the concept of a Michael-less Halloween picture, Season of the Witch is a stunning slice of sci-fi horror that thankfully seems to be getting fully appreciated in more recent times.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.