Tom Atkins Has a Perfect Response for Haters of ‘Halloween III’
What To Know
- Tom Atkins, star of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, addressed fan backlash over the absence of Michael Myers.
- Atkins shared his candid response to critics at conventions, emphasizing that Michael Myers was never meant to be part of Halloween III.
- Despite its rocky initial reception, Atkins noted that Halloween III has grown significantly in popularity over the years.
The legacy of the Halloween movies has had a massive impact on pop culture, the horror genre, and cinematic history as a whole. From introducing audiences to the masked terror of Michael Myers to defining the modern slasher blueprint, the franchise reshaped how fear was portrayed on screen and inspired countless imitators, reboots, and tributes.
But the same couldn’t be said about Halloween III: Season of the Witch, or at least when it came out. At the time of the release, fans of the franchise who wanted to see more of The Shape were disappointed to discover that not only was Mr. Myers not a part of the third outing, but there was chatter that he might not return.
Universal/Courtesy of Everett Collection
At the Flashback Weekend in Chicago, actor and Halloween III star Tom Atkins discussed the backlash he received at the time and the perfect response he had for any haters of the third chapter.
“It never occurred to me that it was a problem,” said Atkins about the lack of Michael Myers in the installment. “I hadn’t been doing that many films. I had done the fog for John [Carpenter] before this. I think this was the next one in John’s realm, right? And I was invited to do it. I didn’t have to audition for it. I was just invited by John and Tommy Lee Wallace. And I thought, ‘Well, my God, man, this is great!. This is a great job.’ And I read the script, and it was a wonderful role.”
In the film, Atkins stars as Dr. Daniel Challis, the rugged, beer-swilling, divorced doctor who stumbles onto a sinister conspiracy involving the Silver Shamrock mask company and its plan to literally melt kids’ faces with ancient Celtic witchcraft broadcast through TV commercials.
Universal/courtesy Everett Collection
“I didn’t know it was an anthology, or intended to be part of an anthology, or anything,” explained Atkins. “It never occurred to me that people would be pissed off that Michael Myers wasn’t in it.”
When the film came out, the backlash was a bit brutal, but always the professional, Atkins had the perfect response.
“And the first time I did [a convention], somebody came up to me and said, ‘I hated this movie. Where the hell was Michael Myers?,'” recalled Atkins. “And I said, ‘I don’t give a s**t about Michael Myers, because he was never intended to be in this movie. Can’t you read? He’s nowhere in the poster!'”
Universal /Courtesy Everett Collection
“It was only later that I found out that it was John’s intention to write a different Halloween movie every Halloween. And the money people said, ‘No, you could do this one, because it’s already in the shoot. But no more different stories. It will all be Michael Meyer movies now, because he makes us tons of money,'” explained Atkins about the studio’s reluctance to return to the anthology concept.
“It did not open real strong. It was not a big opening for Halloween III, but I got to tell you, Halloween III has become more and more and more popular every year since we made it,” said a grateful Atkins about the film’s legacy. “Every one of these conventions that I go to — and I go to four, five, or six a year, maybe — I see three new products for Halloween III that I had not seen before…It’s stunning to me, the popularity. We never dreamed.”
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