sonally speaking, as an Irishman
I’m quite proud we can boast a
horror villain as charismatic as
O’Herlihy.)
friend Carpenter, capturing the
creepy atmosphere of the small
town, complete with its nightly
curfew and CCTV cameras. The dialogue, much of it improvised by
The story owes a debt to the
paranoid Sci-Fi movies of the ‘50s, Atkins and Nelkin, is snappy and
witty without pulling the film down
films like Invasion of the Bodyto any puerile depths. Carpenter
Snatchers and Invaders From
Mars. O’Herlihy plays a Willy Won- and Alan Howarth re-team for another great electronic score that
ka type mask factory owner who
reflects brilliantly the escalating
runs a small California town, the
inhabitants of which are replaced paranoia of the story. Sadly, this
would be Carpenter’s final piece
by robot versions of themselves
of creative input to the series. (The
if they step out of line. Atkins
royalty checks would be enough
is great as the alcoholic doctor
whose patient dies following a trip for Carpenter from here on.)
Though belittled at the time of
to O’Herlihy’s factory. The dead
man’s daughter, Nelkin, persuades its release, Halloween 3 can now
be considered one of the highhim to tag along to the town to
investigate, leading to one of cin- lights of ‘80s horror, and with its
theme of loss of identity, arguema’s more unlikely romances.
ably more relevant today.
Wallace does a great job imitating the visual style of his long time
4 ½ stars out of 5
NewJerseyStage.com
2015 - ISSUE 10
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