The Third Saturday in October review.
Technically the second film in the series…The Third Saturday in October takes us back to 1979 and the first mischievous adventure of Jack Harding. A more worthwhile experiment that The Third Saturday in October Part V.
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The Third Saturday in October
Directed by Jay Burleson
Written by Jay Burleson
Starring Darius Willis, K.J. Baker, Allison Shrum, Lew Temple, Kate Edmunds and Veanna Black
The Third Saturday in October Review
Despite being the first chapter in the series…The Third Saturday in October is intended to be watched after The Third Saturday in October Part V. You don’t have to do that. There are a few nods that have more meaning if you’ve watched the fake sequel first. For the most part, however, what we have are two stories set in the same universe meant to evoke different eras. We wrote about why Part V doesn’t work as well as it should. This version succeeds far better.
There are a few reasons that The Third Saturday in October is the better film. The most important one being that it’s done intentionally. Whereas Part V was attempting to (misguidedly) present the laziness and forgettable nature of late series sequels and mid-90s slashers…The Third Saturday in October attempts to portray something different. The beginning of a post-Halloween slasher movie franchise. A chapter with more thought and care put into it than those late-stage sequels. An era (1979 here…but really 79-84 or so works) where quickie slasher movies arrived bi-weekly to try and cash in on the slasher craze. As a representation of that specific idea…this movie works quite well.
The first narrative reason that The Third Saturday in October works better than its faux sequel is that there is an original story here. Again, the lack of one in Part V is on purpose. Watching them in their intended order creates a funny situation where we are watching the original rampage…but we’ve already seen the lazy knockoff, so it doesn’t feel original.
What is added, however, is a narrative momentum created by far superior protagonist motivation. That’s a staple of slasher series. Compare Nancy Thompson or Laurie Strode in their original movies to whatever the hell is going on in those series fifth installments. This is an aspect of the experiment that writer/director Jay Burleson got right. His commentary on Part 1s is on point as well…it’s his take on Part 5s that misses the mark. Those protagonists arrive in the form of family members of previous victims of franchise villain Jack Harding.
The Third Saturday in October begins with the execution of Harding. Two bereaved family members attend his electrocution. When they witness Harding come back to life at his midnight burial…they set out to find him and destroy him once and for all. That’s a good slasher story. Like all first chapters should have.
This origin story also features better kills and scene staging than Part V. That too is on purpose. A purpose that, again, makes more sense here than it did as a comment on sequels. If anything, sequels get stupid…not lazy. But we’re not here to relitigate The Third Saturday in October Part V again.
The bulk of the movie is, cleverly, like that of Part V. It’s the same…but better. There’s still a football game that everyone in town stops to see. A party full of our disposable characters (here given a bit more shape) for the killer to hack his way through. Most importantly, The Third Saturday in October does feel like a movie that would have been rushed out after Halloween set the box office ablaze. It’s still susceptible to modern low-budget ideas that don’t quite mesh with the 1979 setting…but it’s far less distracting here.
Jack Harding is never going to stake his claim as an iconic screen monster. In large part that’s because he, himself, is just a stand in for a generic slasher killer. Still, it’s fun to see his origin fleshed out. It’s fun to see the mask he wears in Part V show up knowing he’s going to find his way to it at some point. If you watched Part V and were underwhelmed…I recommend giving this one a try anyway. It’s better at everything. Just as it was intended to be.
Scare Value
Everything in The Third Saturday in October works better than in its predecessor…err…sequel. It feels much more of the time period it takes place in than the first…err…fifth entry. There’s a pretty good movie underneath the period setting in this one. I suppose the lack of that in The Third Saturday in October Part V was for a purpose…but we already discussed why that didn’t work out so well. Happily, this one does. A fun movie with strong momentum and better characters. You know…like most first chapters in horror. Which, of course, was the point.
3/5
The Third Saturday in October Links
Rent/Buy on VOD from VUDU and Amazon
