9. Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy) - Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (1983)
An Irish toymaker living in Santa Mira, the fictional setting for Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956), Conal Cochran is preparing the ultimate Halloween prank masks containing a slither of a Stonehenge monolith that, when activated by a TV signal, turn the wearers head into a writhing pile of insects, worms and snakes. Having watched the commercialization of Samhain, Cochrans plan will turn the clock back 3000 years to a time when the Celtic gods were appeased with sacrifice and show people the true meaning of Halloween. In a world where October 31st usually signifies the release of a glut of inferior horror titles, how can you not get behind that idea? He also has a nice line in irony: not content with using TV to destroy the masses, hes also replaced most of the residents of his California town with robots without anyone noticing.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
