10 Things You Learn Rewatching Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (1982)
9. The Music Is Superb
After Alan Howarth essentially remade John Carpenter's score from the original film for Halloween II, the third film gave the duo a chance to truly work together on something entirely unique.
With the story branching away from everything that had come before it, Carpenter and Howarth were free to do the same with their music. As Howarth described it;
"The music style of John Carpenter and myself has further evolved in this film soundtrack by working exclusively with synthesizers to produce our music."
Gone was the iconic piano theme, and in was a new sputtering techno-driven theme, anchored by beeping tonalities. The soundtrack saw Carpenter and Howarth going all-in on insane sound effects and gnarly synth pads like never before, and it pays off in spades.
Letting the music itself be driven by technology also plays excellently into the film's overall concept, which Debra Hill described as exploring 'witchcraft in the digital age'.
And it's impossible to talk about the music of Halloween III without giving special mention to the Silver Shamrock jingle. In hijacking the melody from London Bridge Is Falling Down, Carpenter and Howarth managed to make the jingle just as grating, yet infectious as every great advertising jingle should be.
Considering this is the first and last time that the original Halloween score is abandoned in the franchise's history, this is something to cherish.