‘The Third Saturday in October Part V’ Review
Stars: Antonio Woodruff, Poppy Cunningham, Kansas Bowling, Ian J. Cunningham, Tom Hagale, Taylor Smith, Bart Hyatt, Robert W. Hill | Written and Directed by Jay Burleson
The Third Saturday in October was actually conceived before the slasher boom of the 1980s but wasn’t filmed until after the success of Halloween and Friday the 13th. Its odd perspective on the genre soon made it a cult film. But, as the title card tells us, this isn’t that film. This is The Third Saturday in October Part V, the fourth sequel from 1994.
A narrator takes us through a recap of the previous instalments concerning Jakkariah “Jack” Harding (Antonio Woodruff; The Third Saturday in October, He Got Away) a serial killer who survived the electric chair and has terrified the town of Hackleburg Alabama every fall since his attacks timed to coincide with the big game between Alabama-Mobile Seahawks and the Tennessee A&M Commonwealth. But, as the narrator informs us, “This year they’re really gonna see some freaky shit”.
Now, in case it isn’t obvious, The Third Saturday in October Part V is a parody of slasher films, one of two written and directed by Jay Burleson (The Nobodies, Feast of the Vampires) and meant to be seen before the equally faux The Third Saturday in October, recreating the experience of browsing through the video store and finding the sequel before you can track down the original film.
Both a parody of slasher films and the “football as a religion” way of life the first kill is followed by Jack sitting beside his victims’ bodies watching news coverage of the upcoming game. The film’s main plot however follows PJ (Poppy Cunningham; The Death of Dick Long, Hunting with Chandler) who wants her babysitter Maggie (Kansas Bowling; Christmas Bloody Christmas, B.C. Butcher) to take her to Catfish Cabin.
But as her father (Ian J. Cunningham; For a Few Zombies More, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1) is getting his head torn off by the killer, PJ is getting the runaround from Maggie who just wants to leave her with a stack of movies and go next door to watch the game with her friends. Needless to say that party will have an unexpected guest, and we don’t mean the guy in the ref’s outfit (Tom Hagale; Deimosimine, Dormant).
Let’s take the bad news first, for a comedy The Third Saturday in October Part V isn’t very funny. There weren’t that many obvious jokes and many of them just weren’t funny. And when they actually are funny they often feel out of place. For example, a scene involving hot pizza feels more like a Three Stooges gag than something from a sendup of slasher films.
However, as a homage to those slasher films, The Third Saturday in October Part V fares a lot better. It gets a lot of the characters we expect in a film like this, the horny jock (Taylor Smith; Angels on Earth The Light of Faith), the guy in the wheelchair (Bart Hyatt; Curse of the Weredeer, Kevin Walter’s Tower Rats), the guy with a bit too much faith in his gun (Robert W. Hill; Paranormalice, Awakened), etc.
It also gets the gore right, Marcus Koch (Rot, In the Forest) and Jessie Seitz (Jakob’s Wife, Death Care) slit throats, tear off heads, cut off extremities and other acts of mayhem, all done with practical effects. If it was a VHS, The Third Saturday in October Part V would be carrying an “UNCUT AND UNRATED!” sticker on its front and back covers.
As long as you don’t expect much in the way of laughs, The Third Saturday in October Part V should be an enjoyable bit of nostalgia. It’s too bad they didn’t go for a straight retro slasher, that would have worked out a lot better.
*** 3/5
The Third Saturday in October Part V is available on VOD and Digital Platforms now, from Dark Sky Films.
______
