The underrated “Halloween III: Season of the Witch” presented an original story
for the franchise with a darker tone, as well as concluding the story with an
open ending where it is not known if Silver Shamrock achieved his goal of
sacrificing thousands of children. An alternate ending for the film clarifies
what happened.
The dark alternate ending.
“Season of the Witch” culminates with protagonist Dan Challis frantically
calling television stations to turn off a Silver Shamrock commercial. This
commercial is part of a planned mass cull of children wearing Silver Shamrock
Halloween masks, and the film ends with Challis screaming into the phone
before it goes black. Optimists may assume Challis managed to save the day,
but given the dark tone of the sequel, that's far from certain. There was,
however, another more definitive ending that “Halloween III” director Tommy
Lee Wallace considered.
The alternate ending of “Halloween III” featured no new footage to speak of.
Instead, as the film cuts to the credits, the screams of children are heard
over the titles, revealing that the sacrificial plan of warlock/mask maker
Silver Shamrock, Conal Cochran, succeeded.
Since such an ending could have caused violent reactions from audiences to
the film, Wallace opted for a slightly more hopeful note, leaving viewers
with the possibility that the commercial would close on time. However, a
version of the dark ending was used for the novelization of the feature.
