The Third Saturday in October, Part V is a 2022 horror-comedy written and directed by Jay Burleson. Purported to have been released in 1994 as the fifth installment of series of horror films dating back to the 1970s, the film is a pastiche of low-budget slasher films. The plot concerns Jakkariah "Jack" Harding, an unstoppable, undead killer who only comes out of hiding on the third Saturday in October to wreak havoc on small communities in Alabama, when the residents are distracted by a Serious Business annual college football game.
It stars Poppy Cunningham and Kansas Bowling as precocious nine-year-old PJ and her babysitter Maggie, who must survive the night.
The first installment of the fictional series, supposedly released in 1979, was De Fictionalized as the prequel The Third Saturday In October Part I and released in 2023.
Tropes
- Call-Forward: The Previously on… montage at the beginning includes a few snippets from the prequel, The Third Saturday In October Part I, which was being filmed while this film was still in postproduction.
- Cliffhanger: The ending: The injured Maggie is trapped in a hospital elevator with Jack just as he's reviving himself. She grips a carving knife given to her by PJ, and we cut to credits.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Lester's physical therapist Neil is a weird guy. In spite of being somewhere in his 50s, he attends the party of a bunch of 20-year-olds. He makes a number of decisive declarations on strange subjects, like he never wears long pants and never eats pizza because it can get too hot. He also gets too into his referee costume and makes penalty calls on his whistle at inappropriate moments.
- Creator Cameo: PJ's father Arthur is played by Ian J. Cunningham, one of the film's producers as well as the real-life father of PJ's actress, Poppy Cunningham.
- Creator Provincialism: The film takes place in Alabama, and it was shot in Alabama by Alabamans.
- Damsel out of Distress: Maggie's job is to protect PJ, but PJ comes to Maggie's aid about as much as vice versa.
- The Dead Can Dance: Jack Harding tends to dance in exaltation after kills.
- Death by Irony: After spending the film picking on Lester for being handicapped and trying to sleep with two girls on the same night, Peter gets hobbled and forced to crawl into Lester's wheelchair, then gets fatally stabbed in the crotch.
- Department of Redundancy Department: A tagline for the film is "He's back! Again! Just like the last time!"
- Elective Mute: Jack never speaks, though he does giggle wordlessly.
- Establishing Character Moment: Maggie is affectionate to PJ but also smokes in front of her, something PJ herself tells her she ought not do. She's more like a somewhat irresponsible big sister than a babysitter.
- Expy: The fictional Alabama-Mobile Seahawks and Tennessee A&M Commonwealth football teams stand in for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and University of Tennessee Volunteers football teams, who make up the real life "Third Saturday in October
" rivalry. - Fanservice: The Decoy Protagonist woman strips down to her bra and panties. We also see some nudity in the Previously on… section, which is Fanservice lifted from the prequel.
- Final Girl: Maggie, though it's teased as to whether she'll survive or have to give her life to protect PJ.
- Jerk Jock: Peter is an asshole.
- Kick the Dog: Peter establishes what an asshole he is by mocking his handicapped friend Lester, slapping him in the face, and leaving him downstairs while he and George go upstairs to get high.
- Implacable Man: Much like Michael Myers, Jack Harding can be momentarily stunned, but will get back up from any injury.
- Malevolent Masked Men: Jack Harding wears a white skull-face mask.
- Motif: Both motifs get carried into the prequel.
- Cats. We see a number of cats in various scenes throughout the film. PJ has a whole conversation with a hung picture of Glamourpuss, a cat. The coach of the local football team introduces his cat and delivers a public service announcement to spay and neuter your pets. PJ also spends much of the film begging to be taken to Catfish Cabin.
- Dancing. Jack Harding dances after several kills. Maggie dances with PJ before they take off from PJ's parents' house. Peter dances by himself and then with both Angela and Holcomb. PJ dances with Lester. One of the Catfish Cabin waiters dances while closing up.
- The '90s: The film takes place in 1994 and was supposedly filmed around that time. There is no internet to be seen, video cassette rentals are de jour, and the television is an old CRT. A few characters are seen in flannel, and Maggie wears a Dinosaur Jr. t-shirt.
- Off with His Head!: PJ's father Arthur is killed by having his head yanked off while still wearing a football helmet.
- Off Screen Moment Of Awesome: Jack is lurking around, so PJ arms herself with some scissors as she goes to bed in case Jack comes around. When Maggie arrives to rescue her, PJ has already stabbed and incapacitated Jack.
- Pastiche: Of long-running slasher franchises inspired by Halloween.
- Plucky Girl: The outgoing and good-natured PJ, who will dance with outcasts to cheer them up and toss kitchen knives to the Final Girl to help take down Jack.
- Retroactive Legacy: The film is presented as the fifth installment of a nonexistent slasher film series.
- Running Gag: People keep coming up to the bedroom of the house, only to be attacked by Jack, while Peter remains tied to the bed, helplessly watching.
- Serious Business: Everyone in Mobile, Alabama, watches the big game between the Alabama-Mobile Seahawks and the Tennessee A&M Commonwealth.
- Sex Signals Death: Peter tries to have sex with both Angela and Holcomb in one night. They are both willing until they realize he's two-timing them. They all die. By contrast, Maggie wants to take her budding romance with George slow and won't even kiss him because he just broke up with her friend.
- Shout-Out:
- Maggie wears a Dinosaur Jr. t-shirt throughout the film.
- PJ rents Hoosiers and Class of Nuke 'Em High. She watches a few scenes of the latter.
- Stupid Good: After Jack is finally defeated, we cut to Jack and Maggie being wheeled down a hospital hallway side-by-side, with the resident doctor insisting that he try to save the unstoppable killing machine as PJ ineffectually protests.
- Stylistic Suck:
- The film plays up its low budget and limited resources to portray a low-budget 1990s-era horror flick film.
- The film has an Angelfire website portraying itself as a fan site of the series. It's designed using atrociously 1990s-era website aesthetics, including giant green text over screencaps from the movies.
- Too Stupid To Live: People keep coming up to the bedroom and getting distracted by the scene they find there, allowing Jack to add them to the body pile.
