What if a lost horror franchise made during the peak of the slasher genre was unearthed today, but only two of the films could be restored? Filmmaker Jay Burleson imagined just that with THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER: PART V and THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER: PART I both released today May 5th on VOD + Digital Platforms from Dark Sky Films.
A double feature of terror, THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER Part V sees unstoppable killer Jakkariah Harding once again stalking and butchering the football-loving residents of a small Alabama town, this time finding a treasure trove of victims after he chances upon a football watch party. And then get ready to see how the horror began in THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER Part I, which tells the story of Harding’s death row escape and ensuing slaughter as two survivors of his initial attack hunt him down.
Aiming to recreate the by-gone video store days when horror fans might have had to watch a franchise out of order, the filmmakers intended for viewers to start with Part V and then go back to Part 1. So Part V is technically the second entry in the slasher series– there are no Parts II, III, or IV- but you can check this angelfire fansite for short outlines describing the other unmade parts of the franchise, including part VI which might get made depending on the success of Parts V and I release.
THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER PART V, Run Time: 89 minutes
SYNOPSIS: It’s Part V. Unstoppable killer Jakkariah “Jack” Harding is back in town after seven years, as he stalks and kills at random before chancing upon a football watch party. The game is, of course, between longstanding rivals the Alabama-Mobile Seahawks and Tennessee A&M Commonwealth. Chaos ensues, in increasingly ridiculous fashion, with inventive murders and multiple love triangles. Hearts are broken and appendages are torn.
THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER: PART V is Directed & Written by Jay Burleson (The Nobodies), Produced by Frank Crafts & Ian J. Cunningham, and stars Kansas Bowling (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Christmas Bloody Christmas), Poppy Cunningham (The Death of Dick Long), Taylor Smith (Angels on Earth the Light of Faith), Bart Hyatt (The Nobodies), Autumnn Jaide (Deathless), Tom Hagale (Dormant), Parker Love Bowling (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
BLOODY DISGUSTING REVIEW: The Third Saturday in October Part V – Infectious Slasher Homage Recreates the Video Store EraThe Third Saturday in October Part V - Official Movie Trailer (2023):
Part V Exclusive Clip "You and the Hearse You Rode In On":
Part V Exclusive Clip "Can We PLEASE Go to Catfish Cabin":
THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER PART I, Run Time: 97 minutes
SYNOPSIS: A lost slasher film from the golden age of the slasher genre. October 1979. Ricky Dean is a man on a mission. Years ago, he lost a child at the hands of a psychopathic killer named Jakkariah Harding. When Harding escapes Death Row, Ricky Dean throws himself into the line of fire to stop him from killing again as Harding preys upon a group of friends gathered to watch a college football game.
THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER PART I is Directed & Written by Jay Burleson (The Nobodies), Produced by Frank Crafts, Lauren Musgrove & Ian J. Cunningham, and stars Darius Willis (Benched, The Dead Center), K.J. Baker (The Starling Girl), Allison Shrum (Ozark), Lew Temple (The Devil’s Rejects, Unstoppable), Antonio Woodruff (He Got Away), Casey Aud (Love Incidental), Kate Edmonds (Root Letter), Veanna Black (Echoes, Single Drunk Female)
BLOODY DISGUSTING REVIEW: The Third Saturday in October Part I – Slasher Homage Experiments With NostalgiaThe Third Saturday in October Part I - Official Movie Trailer (2023):
Part I Exclusive Clip "Warned About a Hearse":
Part I Exclusive Clip "The Bronco Burger":
The Filmmakers’ “History” of The Third Saturday in October Franchise:
The long lost slasher franchise THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER is back!
Red Corpses LLC and Sleep Creature LLC are proud to announce they have partnered with Dark Sky Films to restore and release two entries in the long running slasher saga.
The series began in 1979 as a quick cash-in on John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN. Series producer Frank Crafts, an Alabama native, believed he had a great idea for a horror film with Southern roots – what if HALLOWEEN were set in the South, and instead of a traditional holiday, it centered around a Southern institution: college football. Thus, THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER was born, a small-town slasher film revolving around a group of friends watching an annual football match between the Alabama-Mobile Seahawks and the Tennessee A&M Commonwealth. Unfortunately for them, an unstoppable killer named Jakkariah Harding shows up to murder them one by one.
The original film garnered little national attention but birthed multiple low-rent sequels throughout the 1980s before the franchise flamed out when the trashy fourth installment ran the series completely off the rails. Borrowing a page from the HALLOWEEN playbook, Crafts doubled down and attempted to resurrect the saga with an unrelated spin-off in 1990, but the series returned to the Jakkariah Harding storyline in 1994, utilizing a comedic approach to hopefully win back its audience. The series officially ended in 2000 with PART VI: THE LAST THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER, but the series ultimately fell victim to what producer Ian Cunningham refers to as “The Third Saturday Curse”, as the films slowly vanished off the face of the earth after a series of unfortunate events, including internal feuding, bankruptcy, a warehouse fire, and cheap VHS manufacturing leading to unplayable tapes.
With the assistance of Dark Sky Films, the creators of the saga have unearthed two of their lost films: the original offering from 1979, and the 1994 sequel THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER PART V.
Website, Fansite and Social Media links:https://www.thethirdsaturdayinoctober.com/
https://www.angelfire.com/al3/HaddonFieldHorrors/
https://www.instagram.com/tsiofilms/
https://twitter.com/tsiofilms
https://www.facebook.com/tsiofilms
Without Your Head video podcast interview with "The Third Saturday In October" Writer and Director Jay Burleson and Kansas Bowling star of "The Third Saturday In October Part V":
Stills:
DVD front cover:
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