Halloween III (1982) - Cut and Run / The Score & Santa Mira
I don’t know if it was specific to tonight’s viewing of “Halloween
III” but I got serious “Escape from New York” (1982) vibes while watching it.
Especially noticeable is when Ellie lets her guard down enough to provoke
response from Cochran, realizing she was a problem to be dealt with. She spots
her father’s car, located in a garage at the factory (why would Cochran not
have destroyed it? Sigh, there I go again, nagged by plot contrivances…), and
this brings about a response, along with automatons in suits preventing her
from getting a good look at the vehicle. Before the bum threatening to use
Molotov cocktails to set fire to the Silver Shamrock factory (it once was a
different factory and he had a job there) encountered Challis looking for some
sips of his booze getting his head pulled off (complete with a slurp as the
good from the neck and blood sprayed like a water fountain) by the automatons,
Challis moving about the town of Santa Mira in Cali at night is quite eerie.
Even when Challis and Ellie first arrive, the “company town” is like another
reminder to me of “Pod People”, all hush-hush, distanced, not forthcoming with
any greeting, very much to themselves. Only the outsiders, the ones meeting
with Cochran, have any personality to them. When Snake Plisskin moves about in “Escape
from New York” there are lurkers and creepers all over the place, in the
shadows scurrying about or quite background. I think, too, the Carpenter /
Howarth score really summons “Escape from New York” in how Santa Mira feels
very isolated and alien to everywhere else.
It rests exclusive to the outside world despite the factory producing masks that have populated the country quite successfully. And when Cochran needs to remove anyone, it isn’t difficult, with Ellie taken without Challis having any chance of helping her. I think the “Escape from New York” vibes are at their zenith with me as Challis tries to hide and run from the henchmen and Cochran, recalling Harry at the beginning of the film…the irony is lost on anyone that Challis has replaced Harry in terms of trying to voice the seriousness of those damned masks, winding up at the same car lot, begging television outlets to remove the Big Giveaway, with no such luck. As the cars patrol the streets and search for Challis, the music really sets that “Escape from New York” tone, conjuring the thought of Snake avoiding any of the threats seemingly all around him, the nights quite dangerous, “Halloween III” similarly invoking that dread of what might eventually catch up when there are fewer places to hide. I think one of my personal favorite aspects of “Halloween III” is Santa Mira, how the nooks and crannies of the town are shot by Cundy, no cracks between buildings or homes seem too unoccupied, no backyard or narrow alley undetectable, no phone booths offering Challis a call out, as Cochran and his henchmen have the location quite scouted, quarantined, and under lock and key. Challis would only be alive as long as Cochran seemed to allow it. And the score of the film seems to really provoke that sense of “uh oh” and Challis certainly has a reason to panic. The town really has closed in on Challis. I think the score makes you feel that.
*I think if you wanted to compare the score and Atkins running from the automatons, "The Fog" (1980) might also come to mind. With each turn and duck, the screws tighten until only one place is left for Challis to go, not necessarily the church as his Castle would in the aforementioned film but Silver Shamrock. There are a lot of compositions that really echo Carpenter and Howarth music scores. It really adds much more to "Halloween III", giving it a real punch it might not have otherwise.
It rests exclusive to the outside world despite the factory producing masks that have populated the country quite successfully. And when Cochran needs to remove anyone, it isn’t difficult, with Ellie taken without Challis having any chance of helping her. I think the “Escape from New York” vibes are at their zenith with me as Challis tries to hide and run from the henchmen and Cochran, recalling Harry at the beginning of the film…the irony is lost on anyone that Challis has replaced Harry in terms of trying to voice the seriousness of those damned masks, winding up at the same car lot, begging television outlets to remove the Big Giveaway, with no such luck. As the cars patrol the streets and search for Challis, the music really sets that “Escape from New York” tone, conjuring the thought of Snake avoiding any of the threats seemingly all around him, the nights quite dangerous, “Halloween III” similarly invoking that dread of what might eventually catch up when there are fewer places to hide. I think one of my personal favorite aspects of “Halloween III” is Santa Mira, how the nooks and crannies of the town are shot by Cundy, no cracks between buildings or homes seem too unoccupied, no backyard or narrow alley undetectable, no phone booths offering Challis a call out, as Cochran and his henchmen have the location quite scouted, quarantined, and under lock and key. Challis would only be alive as long as Cochran seemed to allow it. And the score of the film seems to really provoke that sense of “uh oh” and Challis certainly has a reason to panic. The town really has closed in on Challis. I think the score makes you feel that.
*I think if you wanted to compare the score and Atkins running from the automatons, "The Fog" (1980) might also come to mind. With each turn and duck, the screws tighten until only one place is left for Challis to go, not necessarily the church as his Castle would in the aforementioned film but Silver Shamrock. There are a lot of compositions that really echo Carpenter and Howarth music scores. It really adds much more to "Halloween III", giving it a real punch it might not have otherwise.
Comments
Post a Comment