Double Feature time: Return of the Jedi/Halloween III: Season of the Witch

It seemed only fair to have a double feature entry featuring the last entry of the original Star Wars trilogy since I did entries with the previous two films.

I was estatic when I learned Jedi was entered into the National Film Registry a couple of years ago, as the original Star Wars & The Empire Strikes Back were already in that illustrious lineup. Like it's two predecessors, Jedi's release came within a year of that of an entry in the Halloween series. But whereas Jedi would go onto join its 2 predecessors as one of the biggest moneymaking films ever, Halloween III was a flop when it was released mainly due to the absence of its serial killer, Micheal Myers. When all the subsequent entries in the series had Michael, this film deserves credit for trying something different, unlike many of the slasher film series that were dominant in the 80s. Happily, the film has gotten a bit more appreciation over the years, although I doubt that this stop the next Halloween film (whenever that's released) from having Michael in it.

Double Feature time: The Empire Strikes Back/Halloween II

With the recent passing of the legendary James Earl Jones, I thought I'd take a look at a film where he has one of his most famous lines-and how it is similar to a slasher sequel which came out the following year.

Like their respective originals, the respective second entries in the Star Wars and Halloween series premiered in a year of each other. Both of these also introduced elements to their storylines which would influence their respective franchises for years to come. These aspects are, in another coincidence, family oriented. Who can forget the way James Earl Jones told Luke "I am your father!!!" Likewise, Halloween II would reveal that Michael Myers is Laurie's brother. Of these two, it was Halloween's that would end up having a more detrimental effect on its series, as it takes away from the mystery of Michael's character. Jamie Lee Curtis eventualy agreed as the plot twist was erased when she returned for the original's 40th anniversay film with Halloween (2018).

Halloween Kills (2021)

The latest entry in the Halloween saga.

Perhaps no film series has retconned itself as much as the Halloween series. Heck, three of the entries in the series are simply titled Halloween: the 1978 original from John Carpenter that started it all, the 2007 redo by Rob Zombie, and the 2018 version which was made to coincide with the original’s 40th anniversary. Along with the series’s killer Michael Myers, the most prominent figures in the series are Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode and Donald Pleasance’s Dr. Sam Loomis. Both of them appeared in the first two films of the series, while neither appeared in the anthology entry Halloween III: Season of the Witch. When the original film turned 10, the series was reborn with Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Pleasance returned as Loomis, but Curtis was, by this point, making her mark in blockbusters like A Fish Called Wanda and True Lies. This is why the fourth film and the following two sequels focus on Laurie’s daughter Jamie, played by Danielle Harris in parts 4 and 5 (The Revenge of Michael Myers), and by J.C. Brandy in part 6 (The Curse of Michael Myers). Alas, that sixth entry proved less than popular with horror fans (and is even more of a letdown when you consider it was Pleasance’s final film), and the series seemed to be at an end. That is, of course, until the first film turned 20, and Curtis agreed to return to play Laurie in Halloween H20. That film, which was dedicated to Pleasance, was the first retcon of the series: it ignored all but the first two entries (à la Superman Returns) and erased Laurie’s daughter, replacing her with a son named John played by Josh Hartnett. The success of H20 was followed by the less-than-stellar Halloween: Resurrection in 2002. Rob Zombie’s reboot came five years later, and cleverly cast Danielle Harris as Laurie’s best friend Annie. I must confess, the only Zombie film I’ve enjoyed is his first House of 1,000 Corpses. Basically, all of his others simply go through the horror movie motions without being fun to watch as well. This applies to his 2007 entry in the Halloween series, which actually has more in common with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre than Halloween. But it was successful enough to allow him to direct a follow up, 2009’s Halloween II, which proceeded to get its ass kicked by Final Destination 4 in 3-D at the box office. Still, I wasn’t really surprised when the original turned 40 and another Halloween came out. This one saw Curtis return and with Carpenter as a producer, and it went even further than H20 by erasing 1981’s Halloween II from its narrative as well. Which means that the Star Wars-esque aspect of Laurie’s relationship with Michael that became a defining trait of the series (for good and for bad) was now gone. Here, Laurie has a daughter again, but this one is named Karen, played by Judy Greer. Laurie is also a grandmother as well to Allyson, played by Andi Matichak. This entry became the highest grossing in the series and naturally led to the current entry, Halloween Kills, which saw its release delayed for a year due to the pandemic. Like the original Halloween II, this movie picks up at the end of the previous entry. The three Strode women are being taken to a hospital after they trap Michael in Laurie’s burning home.

At the same time, Cameron, who broke up with Allyson in the last film by cheating on her, comes across the body of Deputy Hawkins, who was wounded and left for dead in the previous film. We then see a flashback of how Michael was captured after the ending of the original film. Hawkins was one of the cops who cornered Michael in his old house, but before Michael is surrounded by Dr. Loomis and the police, Hawkins fatally shoots his partner while Michael has him at knife point. After the title sequence, we’re back in the present at a local bar, where we learn that a few alumni of the original film—Loomis’s colleague Marion Chambers, Cameron’s father Lonnie, and the kids Laurie used to babysit, Lindsey (Kyle Richards) and Tommy (Anthony Michael-Hall)—are toasting Laurie. Firemen arrive at Laurie’s home and surprise, surprise, soon find Michael in the burning building. He proceeds to rip them all to pieces with their firefighting gear before making his way over to Laurie’s neighbors, where he kills them and obtains a knife.

Michael’s escape quickly makes the news, and one of the bar’s patrons is spooked when she believes Michael is in her car. Tommy, Lindsey, and Marion lead everyone else to the parking lot, only for the car to drive off and quickly crash. The driver is nowhere to be found, but this prompts Tommy to form a mob to hunt him down, while Lonnie goes to get Cameron.

At the hospital, Karen and Allyson learn that Michael is still alive. This leads to Allyson going to Cameron and his dad to hunt down Michael, which is championed by Sheriff Brackett, who still wishes he had killed Michael for murdering his daughter Annie in the original. We then learn that Michael’s home is now owned by a couple who go by Big John (Scott MacArthur) and Little John (Michael McDonald). They manage to scare off a trio of annoying kids before Michael forcefully takes his home back from them. As Laurie and Hawkins recover, Lindsey and Marion, along with Vanessa and Marcus, the couple who lost their car, find those kids at a playground. The kids say they aren’t scared, but quickly dart off when they realize that Michael has killed their friend. Michael quickly dispatches Marion, Vanessa, and Marcus, although Lindsey manages to hide. Allyson, Tommy, Cameron, and Lonnie find the bodies and recover Lindsey. While she recovers at the hospital, Tommy’s mob arrives and becomes more angered and panicky. So much so that they mistake Lance, another inmate from Michael’s sanitarium, who also managed to escape in the previous film, for Michael. Laurie and Karen deduce that this isn’t Michael, but that doesn’t stop Tommy and most everyone else in the hospital from chasing poor Lance through the corridors.

Laurie is injured in the ruckus, but Karen manages to protect Lance from the mob by locking him in a hallway. Alas, all this leads to is Lance throwing himself out of a window while the mob smashes through the doors. Karen agrees to hunt down Michael with Tommy, and they deduce that he’ll return to his home after he kills, just as he did in 1978. But Allyson, Lonnie, and Cameron arrive there first, with Lonnie telling them to stay put while berating himself for involving them in this hunt. A few moments later, gunshots are heard, which prompt Allyson and Cameron to follow his dad inside. They soon find the bodies of Cameron, Big John, and Little John. Michael quickly pops up and breaks Allyson’s leg as she falls down the staircase, and breaks Cameron’s neck. Allyson dares Michael to kill her before her mom rescues her by shoving a pitchfork into Michael’s back. Karen snatches his mask and leads Michael into an ambush headed by Tommy and Brackett. After retrieving his mask, Michael gets his ass kicked by the mob, culminating with Karen thrusting Michael’s own knife into his back.

But as she returns to comfort Allyson, Michael revives and picks off the mob, including Tommy and Brackett. The film ends with Laurie pondering how Michael represents evil while Karen wanders into Michael’s old bedroom—only to be stabbed to death by him. Like the previous entry, this film certainly has some nice nods that fans will appreciate. I especially liked the Halloween masks that resembled the ones in the aforementioned Season of the Witch. Kudos also should go to the makeup job on Tom Jones Jr., to make him look like Pleasance in the flashbacks, which is as nice a tribute to him as Rouge One was to Peter Cushing’s Tarkin.

But the film is weakened by its focus on the lynch mob, with its constant chanting of “Evil dies tonight.” The sequence with the mob hunting down Lance doesn’t really add anything. I also didn’t like how Karen was dispatched at the last minute. It would’ve been much more moving if she sacrificed herself for her mom and/or her daughter. Still, there’s a nice atmosphere to the movie, and I appreciate that it explains just how Michael was taken back into custody after the end of the original film, whereas the previous movie just left that unexplained. The scenes between the three Strode women are also nicely done. Overall, the film is much like its immediate predecessor. It’s pretty routine with some nice moments. It’s those moments that will make me want to see the next film, Halloween Ends, which is due out next year.

Halloween (1978)

It's Halloween, so what better way to prepare than to look at a classic movie that has the same name?

It’s Halloween time again, so let’s take a look at the classic 1978 movie which shares the same name as the holiday. This movie, like the previous year’s Star Wars, was not only successful, but had a huge impact on popular culture. Even people who aren’t fans of the horror genre recognize the film’s title and have a general idea of what it’s about.

Again, like the aforementioned George Lucas film, Halloween‘s success soon brought a slew of imitators, as well as sequels. But what are the reasons this movie continues to endure in the nearly four decades since its release? What makes it continue to stand head and shoulders over the many films which tried to duplicate it? Here now are five reasons why John Carpenter’s film have become a terror classic.

1. The simplicity of the story

The plot of Halloween is that a young boy named Michael Myers murders his sister one Halloween night and gets institutionalized as a result. Exactly 15 years later, Michael escapes from the institute he’s been held in. His doctor, Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), correctly deduces that Michael is returning to his old haunts in Haddonfield, Illinois so as to continue his reign of terror and frantically goes after him. As Michael makes himself at home again, he targets a shy girl named Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) as well as her two BFF’s Annie Brackett (Nancy Loomis) and Lynda Van Der Klok (P.J. Soles).

As you can see, the plot isn’t overly complicated with red herrings galore (a la the Saw movies). What we have is a simple setup of a maniac focusing his horrific energy on people who are innocent victims of circumstance. In light of recent events, this aspect of the film must sadly be considered relevant. The Halloween sequels would later give an explanation for why Michael sets Laurie in his sights (to the chagrin of some fans), but that doesn’t diminish the impact of this aspect of the film.

Regardless, Carpenter, along with the film’s cast and crew of course, take this simple premise and put a lot of heart and skill into it.

2. The homages

What attracted Carpenter to making Halloween was his chance to make a movie like the horror flicks he loved when he was younger. He would be the first to say that one film Halloween owes a debt to is Psycho. Indeed, Pleasence’s character is named for the one played by John Gavin in that movie. Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews), the boy Laurie is babysitting in the film, is named after the character played by Wendell Corey in another Hitchcock film, Rear Window. Carpenter would also call Halloween his “Argento film,” referring to shots in the film that were inspired by similar ones in Dario Argento movies such as Deep Red and Suspiria.

But the homages in the film aren’t limited to the horror and suspense genres. Annie’s father, sheriff Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers), was named for the legendary science fiction author of the same name. Brackett also penned such classic movies as The Big Sleep and Rio Bravo. Her final film as a screenwriter was The Empire Strikes Back. She died after only penning the first draft of that script, but happily, Lucas gave her a co-screenwriting credit on the film with Lawrence Kasdan.

While this may have been unintentional, I’ve always thought Halloween possessed another homage that was a bit of foreshadowing. At one point, Lindsay (Kyle Richards), whom Laurie and Annie are babysitting, is watching the classic film The Thing From Another World. As most everyone knows by now, Carpenter would remake that very film as The Thing just four years after Halloween (a remake which many, including myself, view as superior to the original).

Of course, the list of homages in Halloween would be incomplete without mentioning the fact that Curtis herself is the daughter of Janet Leigh, whose many great films include her role as the shower victim in Psycho. And speaking of Curtis…

3. The victims/potential victims

As he was the biggest name in the cast, Donald Pleasence naturally had above-the-title billing for Halloween. While Curtis became a star thanks to this film, Pleasence’s contribution was invaluable. He was already an established character actor by 1978 for, among other things, terrorizing James Bond in You Only Live Twice and even appearing in Lucas’s first film THX-1138. But his role as the Van Helsing-esque Loomis rightly became his most famous and one which he would reprise in four of the Halloween sequels. The last of these, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, became his final movie, as he died shortly after completing it.

Many of Halloween‘s imitators never took the time to make the characters we’re supposed to root for very appealing. This was obviously due to the desires of those filmmakers to just get down to business regarding the bloodshed on screen. Usually in these films, it was easy to figure out who would die and who would live to see the ending credits.

Halloween itself became criticized for giving birth to the cliche of the virginal one being the final survivor, as Laurie is not as socially active as Annie and Lynda. But I’ve always felt that was an unfair criticism, because putting aside the fact that Laurie expresses her desire to be as social as her friends, all three of the girls have nice bonding moments in the movie. Hence, Annie and Lynda both become sympathetic characters because of the love they have for Laurie (I’ve heard some say that Soles played a similar role two years earlier in Carrie, but anyone who’s seen both films knows that a big difference is that her character in that film, Norma, is a mean bitch who helps push Carrie to the brink at the film’s climax, whereas Lynda is more of a sweetheart). In their first scene together, Laurie mopes that she has nothing to do the following day, when a school dance is taking place. Lynda, who’s a cheerleader, comments, “It’s your own fault,” but her tone says that Laurie herself could easily change that. Likewise, Annie later politely scolds Laurie for not planning to go to the dance and even attempts to give her an unwanted hand when Laurie gives her the name of a boy she’d like to go with.

As a result, both Annie and Lynda’s death scenes are actually quite sad, which definitely cannot be said for many other deaths in slasher films. They also make us hope Laurie doesn’t meet the same fate, making her shyness/virginity irrelevant.

4. The music

Like Psycho, Jaws, and other classic horror movies, Halloween has a classic musical score, which was composed by Carpenter himself. In addition to the title theme, Halloween also has a nice theme for Laurie, which is reminiscent of the “Tubular Bells” motif from The Exorcist. The track that plays when Laurie attempts to escape from Michael’s grasp is especially nerve-wracking.

5. The ending

At the climax of the film, Laurie believes she’s killed Michael and promptly tells Lindsay and Tommy to go to a neighbor’s house to call the police. After they leave, Michael slowly revives and attempts to kill Laurie again. But Loomis sees the children running frantically out of the house and runs inside to save Laurie by shooting Michael multiple times. Michael falls out of the house’s second story window onto the ground below. After Loomis confirms Laurie’s thoughts that Michael is the boogeyman, he goes out to see Michael’s body, only to find it gone. We hear Michael breathing while seeing the places he’s been previously before the ending credits roll.

Like The Silence of the Lambs thirteen years later, this film has an ending in which the monster of the film is still at large, leaving the viewer shaking and going WTF? However, Loomis repeatedly tells people throughout the film that Michael himself is “purely and simply evil.” So maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that unloading a revolver into him won’t do the trick. Like the Headless Horseman in Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the numerous movie psychos Michael inspired, maybe there’s just no way to kill a merciless force of nature like this.

Halloween would not only get sequels, but a bona fide remake in 2007, which got a sequel of its own two years later. There have even been recent reports of a new Halloween flick coming up with Curtis reprising her role (she played Laurie again in Halloween II, Halloween H20, and Halloween: Resurrection).

The Michael Myers mask, not surprisingly, has become a popular one to wear when going trick-or-treating. Interestingly, one person we have to thank for that mask is William Shatner. Halloween‘s production designer Tommy Lee Wallace (who would later write and direct the Michael Myers-less Halloween III: Season of the Witch) took a Captain Kirk mask, turned it inside out, widened the eyes, and painted the mask white. Happily for horror fans, the result was something nightmares are made of.

Curtis kept acting in the horror genre for a while, appearing in classics like The Fog (which was also directed by Carpenter and co-starred Nancy Loomis, Charles Cyphers, and even Janet Leigh) and Prom Night. By the end of the ’80s, however, she managed to leave an equally memorable mark in the comedy genre thanks to her work in films like Trading Places and A Fish Called Wanda.

Again like Star Wars, the studios weren’t exactly expecting this film to make much of an impact when it was being made. But the end result ended up being a bigger success and game changer than anyone imagined.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

"You don't really know much about Halloween. You've thought no further than the strange custom of having your children wear masks and go out begging for candy."
-Conal Cochran.


As I once noted, 1982 was an amazing year for science fiction and fantasy films. It was also a pretty good year for horror films. In addition to Poltergeist and The Thing, two of the most successful horror franchises of the decade came out with their respective third entries. The more successful of these, Friday the 13th Part 3D, had not only 3D, but, as Friday fans will tell you, this is the one in which Jason acquired his famous hockey mask.
The other, less successful film was Halloween III. This is because the Friday film, like almost all sequels, simply covered the same ground as its predecessors. Halloween III, on the other hand, actually did something quite bold. It did not have its serial killer, Michael Myers, at all. The story was completely unrelated to the Halloween entries that have come before or since.
Halloween's director John Carpenter and producer Debra Hill, after Halloween II became successful, decided to leave Michael Myers behind and attempted to make the series an anthology of sorts by having each entry be a different story pertaining to the Eve of All Saints.
This film, which was co-written by Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale(who was not credited), begins with Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) cutting his visit to his ex-wife (Nancy Loomis) and their two children short when a frantic man is brought to his hospital, holding a Halloween mask of a jack o'lantern. Challis treats the man, one Harry Grimbridge (Al Berry), before a man mercilessly kills him, and then kills himself.
Challis later compares notes on the incident with Grimbridge's daughter Ellie (Stacey Nelkin). They go to her father's store and learn that his last stop was at the factory which creates the masks, such as the one Harry was holding, in Santa Mira. This factory, called Silver Shamrock Novelties and headed by Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy), is basically the reason the town is thriving and, for Halloween, the company is enjoying success with the glow-in-the-dark masks, of which there are two other versions: a witch and a skull.
The lovers' (yes, they take the time to become that) inquiries into the factory lead to Ellie being captured. Dan is likewise captured when he attempts to save her, but he learns that Cochran's men, some of whom resemble the one who killed Harry, are really androids.
Cochran then reveals his plans to kill all children on Halloween night with his masks, which he plans to have them wear when a giveaway he has planned airs on TV.
He gives Dan a demonstration of this in the film's most shocking scene when Cochran kills his salesman Buddy Kupfur (Ralph Strait), his wife Betty (Jadeen Barbor) and their (ham-handedly named) son Little Buddy (Brad Schacter).
Dan finds Ellie and destroys Cochran and his factory. But his attempts to alert authorities to the impending mass slaughter are initially deterred when Ellie turns out to be an android. After he defeats her, Dan goes to a gas station and desperately tells the networks to cancel the broadcast.
This movie is certainly not perfect. For instance, I find it hard to believe that so many kids would buy the same damn masks for Halloween. I also wonder why Ellie didn't wait until after Dan destroyed Cochran and his factory before trying to stop him.
But this movie deserves credit for trying something different in a way that no film series ever has. Indeed, the only reference to the original Halloween is seeing TV spots for it during this film.
Director Tommy Lee Wallace stated that the film may have been more successful if it didn't have Halloween III in its title. I can certainly understand that because there are some tense moments in the movie, especially the moment when Cochran kills Buddy and his family. It's also bizarre that Cochran wants to go to all this trouble just to bring back the original spirit of Halloween. I mean, Charlie Brown disliked how Christmas was commercialized, but you didn't see him try to wipe out children everywhere on December 25.
I also liked the nods to the classic movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers(1956). Like that film, this one takes place in a town called Santa Mira. Wallace stated that the final scene, with Dan desperately screaming that the commercial be stopped, is another nod to Snatchers.
Alas, the failure of this movie led to a return to the status quo for the Halloween series for its next entry Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers(1988). The good news is that that movie, which rightly turned its stars Danielle Harris and Ellie Cornell (both of whom I've had the pleasure of meeting if you refer to the pictures below) into beloved horror icons, was quite entertaining, and its success ensured that there would be more Halloween sequels (I must confess, though, I didn't care for Rob Zombie's Halloween flicks, even though Danielle was in them).
Hence, if any film could be considered a noble failure, it's Halloween III.

More Underrated Movie Lines

Here now is another entry with movie lines from well-known films which I don't hear quoted as often as I think they should be.

1. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935):

Along with The Godfather Part II (1974) and Aliens (1986), this is one sequel which I agree with the consensus as being arguably better than its predecessor. Interestingly, I don't hear as many lines being quoted from this film as I do from Frankenstein (1931). One such line is when Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) shows Frankenstein (Colin Clive) his homunculi (miniature people). Upon introducing the one which resembles a devil, Pretorius asks:
"He bears a strong resemblance to me, don't you think? Or do I flatter myself?"
I must also point out how the character does not freak out when he finally encounters the Monster (Boris Karloff). Naturally, we know that it is due to his plans to create a mate for him, but the fact that, due perhaps to his own unusual persona, Pretorius instantly treats the Monster with more respect than other people makes his demise at the film's end somewhat sad.

2. Goldfinger (1964):

Yes, Skyfall (2012) was entertaining, but this film, the third James Bond movie, remains the high-water mark of the Bond series, both artistically and culturally.
The most famous line is Goldfinger (Gert Frobe) telling Bond (Sean Connery) he expects him to die as 007 is pinned down by an approaching laser beam and asks Goldfinger if he expects him to talk.
But Bond talks him out of killing him and is eventually taken to Goldfinger's horse ranch in Kentucky. Upon arriving, Goldfinger greets him and refers to a passing horse asking Bond:
"Lovely animal, isn't she?"
To which Bond replies:
"Certainly better bred than the owner."
Needless to say, Sir Sean's ability to deliver nice lines with such aplomb was something both Daniel Craig's and Timothy Dalton's Bonds could have really used.

3. Star Wars (1977):

Like The Princess Bride, this movie has many lines which had been ingrained into pop culture. So, like the aforementioned Rob Reiner film, maybe it was inevitable that one line got lost in the shuffle.
For me, that line comes after our heroes escape the Death Star and fight off some TIE Fighters. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) then tells Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher):
"Not a bad bit of rescuing, huh? You know, sometimes I amaze even myself."
The Princess replies with:
"That doesn't sound too hard."
I'd say that many subsequent movie romances end up falling flat on their face because nice, unforced dialogue such as this has become more the exception than the norm.

4. Halloween II (1981):

No, this film does not hold a candle to Halloween (1978), but as one of my colleagues noted in her review of the film, it does deserve some credit for its nice camerawork and, perhaps even more importantly, reuniting almost all of the same people who worked on the first film (on both sides of the camera).
While the film should be faulted for both its Star Wars-esque revelation of the relationship between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and for giving us the darkest and most understaffed hospital in movie history, it is still entertaining thanks mainly to Donald Pleasance who, in the midst of this nonsense, gives us a wonderful reprisal of Dr. Sam Loomis, who relentlessly hunts Michael down in order to stop his reign of terror.
The film begins where its predecessor ends when Loomis saves Laurie's life by shooting Michael off the balcony of the two-story house where she was babysitting. When Loomis realizes Michael's body is gone, he goes outside to investigate. A neighbor then comes out asking what the commotion is about. When Loomis tells him to call the police, the neighbor says he's been trick-or-treated to death already. To which Loomis replies:
"You don't know what death is!"
It's a pity a stronger film wasn't built around this great line.

5. Total Recall (1990):

This film is unique in Arnold Schwarzenegger's filmography for me because, while he still has action moments, he displays more vulnerability than he had previously. The Philip K. Dick short story the film is adapted from (titled "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale") certainly doesn't have a protagonist resembling Arnold. But the actor brought the necessary pathos required for the role of a man who is searching for his own identity. Hence, this film, while it certainly has action, proved to me that Arnold could be more than just a one-liner action star.
While Arnold's line "Consider that a divorce" became famous, there is a line from the villainous Vilos Cohaagen (Ronny Cox) when he confronts Quaid (Schwarzenegger) at the film's climax which I found hilarious.
"In 30 seconds, you'll be dead, and I'll blow this place up and be home in time for corn flakes!"
Maybe it's the way Cox delivers the line, but I just didn't expect the guy who played Dick Jones in Robocop (1987) to say a line that would crack me up.