Starring: Ed Begley Jr., E.J. Andre, Ann Doran, Christina Hart, Patrick Macnee, Anjanetta Comer, Elisha Cook Jr., Horst Buchholz, Joan Hackett, Lee Montgomery, John Dehner
Tagline: Three tales of mystery, imagination and suspense.
Plot: Three imaginative tales involving a vintage car that transports its
driver back to 1926; the mistress of an old mansion terrified by
vampires and a mother tormented by the spirit of her dead son.
My rating: 6/10
Will I watch it again? No.
This three-tale, made-for-TV horror anthology is a weaker entry in the genre and it's not because it's a TV movie. Just look at producer/director Dan Curtis' earlier telefilm, TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975) and you'll see that it can be done well. The first tale, SECOND CHANCE, is the weakest by far. It's more akin to a TWILIGHT ZONE episode that deals with time travel back to the 'good ole days' and the unknown consequence. There's not a horror element in it but more of a mystery I suppose. There's A LOT of narration by the main protagonist, Frank (played by Ed Begley Jr.) which lessens any enjoyment I might've gotten from it. It's OK at best. The second story, NO SUCH THING AS A VAMPIRE, is more of what you sign on for when watching something like this. It's especially good, especially considering the story that preceded it. It also helps to have a nice cast headed by Patrick Macnee and a score that evokes that of a classic Hammer Horror movie. The final story of the three, BOBBY, finds Mother (Hackett) being tormented by her son Bobby (Montgomery) who she just conjured up from the dead. During their little cat and mouse game you discover some backstory that doesn't bode well for Mommy. This one's pretty good, too. I can see the last story freaking out young enough children in its day but certainly don't go into this expecting to be spooked yourself.
Starring: Clarence Williams III, Joe Torry, De'aundre Bonds, Samuel Monroe Jr., Wings Hauser, Tom Wright, Anthony Griffith, David Alan Grier, Duane Whitaker, Corbin Bernsen, Rosiland Cash
Tagline: Where nightmares and reality meet on the street
Plot: A funeral director tells four strange tales of horror with an African
American focus to three drug dealers he traps in his place of business.
My rating: 8/10
Will I watch it again? Yes.
Of all of the horror anthologies I've seen that were made in the past forty years, this is one of the best. I loved it!
There are four main stories with a fifth one being the framing wraparound tale which is called...
Welcome to My Mortuary sees three gangbangers approach a mortuary (in a house) around Halloween for a drug deal. Once inside, Mr. Simms (hilariously played by Williams III). Before he gives them the drugs he starts spinning tales of horror (as you would). This sets the four main stories in motion with a little bit of stuff inbetween with the guys reacting to Simms' yarns.
Rogue Cop Revelation has a couple of horrible, white, drug-dealing, crooked cops pulling over a black man for no reason but to send him a message for speaking out against said crooked cops. They fuck him up hard and it's painful to watch. Anyway, his dead body gets his revenge. The only thing fun about this one is seeing these assholes get their comeuppance and boy do they get it.
Boys Do Get Bruised is a depressing tale of a small boy often coming to school bruised up. He tells his teacher a monster does it and shows him the picture he drew of the giant, scary green creature. Naturally, being a kid and talking all fantastical, the teacher finally is concerned enough to visit the boy's single mother at her home to get to the bottom of this. She's rude about it and seems to be hiding something. She's got a touch of a violent streak but it's not until her boyfriend comes over for dinner that you find out he's the monster and the child has manifested his abuse as coming from an actual monster. This story is fucking great all the way through with a fantastic finish. There's some great storytelling going on here.
KKK Comeuppance - Corbin Bernsen stars as Duke Metger, a former KKK leader who is running for office and is one racist mother fucker. He lives in a Southern mansion where slaves were slaughtered in the 19th Century. One racist thing after another and the ancestors of the dead (in the form of a doll) fuck Metger's shit up real good. Bernen throws himself into the role and brings out the relentless asshole of the character. It's a fun one.
Then there's Hard Core Convert where a gang member who, after a shootout with another gang when the police show up, finds him self severely wounded and taken to a hospital. Some time later he's recooperated and Dr. Cushing (Rosalind Cash) tells him he will be released from prison hospital if he accepts to go into a behavior modification program, which he accepts. Then it gets into A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971) territory where the big takeaway is he's spent his life killing black people and that needs to stop. That's the gist. He sees horrifying actual vintage photographs of the KKK, lynchings and murders of black men, often times with smiling whites (including children) surrounding them, proud of their deed. The images flash so quickly that you get the message, but after the movie, I went back to this part and slowed it down so I could see more clearly what was shown and it's some severely fucked up shit.
But wait, the movie's not over yet. We've still got the mortuary story to wrap up and that one was fun as hell. The looks on their faces when they find out what's really going on are priceless.
These are, unfortunately, real life situations that far too many people regularly face which makes this even scarier than your typical monster movie anthologies. Writer, director Cundieff did a marvelous job of going beyond what typically satisfies a horror anthology and brought to the screen something that is real world horrifying while still fulfilling the scary movie stuff we usually get, and each story satisfies each side of the fence equally well. It digs deep and remains a fun, scary movie. It's sad that all of these stories are just as relevant today, if not more so, as they were when the picture was made 25 years ago.
I see that it took Cundieff and Scott 23 years to make a sequel in 2018 and another just last month! The more you know. I'm going to have to check those out. And I almost forgot, Christopher Young's score is great!
Starring: Woody Allen, John Carradine, Lou Jacobi, Louise Lasser, Anthony Quale, Tony Randall, Lynn Redgrave, Burt Reynolds, Gene Wilder, Jack Barry, Regis Philbin
Tagline: You haven't seen anything until you've seen everything
Plot: Seven segments related to one another only in that they all purport to
be based on sections of the book by David Reuben. The segments range
from "Do Aphrodisiacs Work?" in which a court jester gives an
aphrodisiac to the Queen and is, in the end, beheaded to "What Happens
During Ejaculation?" in which we watch "control central" during a
successful seduction.
My rating: 7.5/10
Will I watch it again? Yes.
I love that this is an anthology. The possibilities are endless. If you don't like one story then wait a few minutes and another will stop by. Naturally some of these stories are funnier than others but they've all got something to like and laugh at. For me the highlights would be Gene Wilder's brilliant (as usual) performance as a doctor who falls in love with a sheep, seeing Burt Reynolds, Tony Randall and Woody Allen having fun preparing to do their duty and ejaculate and then there's the brilliantly absurd giant boob on the loose. That prop is just amazing. They usual travel in pairs you know...
Good luck finding any information about this video more than what's listed above. The DVD looks like a VHS transfer and the credits were so fuzzy I couldn't make out who was in the cast on some of these. This is a collection of six short films by New Zealand filmmakers. In that way you could consider this an anthology but there isn't anything tying them together so you just watching the films with their credits rolling after each one. Some are horror-ish while others have elements of fantasy, comedy, drama and so on. It's worth watch because some of the stories have interesting ideas and are well executed. But with the good you also get some that might not be to your liking. Like a lot of anthologies, it's a mixed bag. As I said, the picture quality was pretty bad. These films look more like they were made a decade earlier so maybe they were just released in 2002? I wouldn't mind seeing it again but only if a really nice copy showed up. Otherwise, I'll just be movin' on.
Starring: Karen Black, Robert Burton, John Karlen, George Gaynes, Jim Storm, Gregory Harrison, Kathryn Reynolds, Tracy Curtis, Orin Cannon, Walker Edmiston
Tagline: An electrifying experience - you won't believe your eyes!
Plot: Three horror anthology stories of tormented women. In the first story,
Julie Eldridge is a sexually-repressed college teacher who is
blackmailed by one of her students for a past indiscretion in which she
played an unwilling part. But the student is unaware that Julie plots to
turn the tables on him the first chance she gets. In the second story,
Millicent Larimore is a plain-looking, almost reclusive woman who lives
with her amoral twin sister Therese whom delights in tormenting her.
However, only their doctor who visits from time to time knows the real
thing behind the scene. In the final story, Amelia in a solo horror
story monologue is a mother-dominated woman who buys an African Zuni
fetish doll for her latest boyfriend in which the doll comes to life and
terrorizes her in her own apartment.
My rating: 7/10
Will I watch it again? Yes.
If there's only one thing that you might know about this, even without having seen it, it's this little fella...
That's just your friendly neighborhood Zuni fetish doll. This TV movie was directed by Dan "DARK SHADOWS (1966)" Curtis and co-written by the great Richard Matheson who is best known for his wonderful work on THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959) and many wonderful sci-fi/horror pictures of the 60s and beyond.
Julie - The story that opens the picture is good but it's the ending that makes it. No spoilers here. It's an admirable opener.
Millicent and Therese - This one is rather slow but it's got a nice ending. I don't know what they could've done to spice things up to make it more interesting but think of this one as the calm before the storm because the third and final story is a doozie.
Amelia - this is what folks remember most about this telefilm. The doll is freaky as shit, not to mention pretty damn terrifying. They made great use of camera angles, low to the flow handheld cameras, sounds and editing. It's got a nice ending, too.
I imagine that if you saw this when it originally aired, the Zuni doll was what everyone was talking about the next day. Overall, it's a good anthology. The weakest of the stories is in the middle and I can see skipping that one when I watch it again someday. Karen Black does a great job in all three tales. She's a lot of fun. Curtis resurrected the idea for the sequel TV movie twenty years later. I don't think I've seen it but it's got Geoffrey Lewis in it so that might be enough for me to check it out.
Tagline: After you've tried everything else... try Sex with a Smile.
Plot: Five short comic sketches, all unrelated to each other, except that they are all expressions of Italian sexual humor.
My rating: 5.5/10
Will I watch it again? No.
This Italian sex comedy anthology has its hits and misses (more of the latter). It's no fun not being amused with a comedy and I found myself in that position frequently BUT there are some highlights that make this just tip the scales to recommend it...barely.
Story 1 - One for the Money - I didn't laugh once but goddamn the punchline is fucking hilarious and that's the truth.
Story 2 - Bodyguard - Marty Feldman is a physical comedy genius. I love this guy's work. He's hilarious in this one but you only get to see him and not hear him because he was dubbed by someone else who does a decent job of trying to sound like him. I found this one to be the most entertaining tale of the lot.
Story 3 - Catch It While It's Hot - This one is not funny but, like the first story, it's got a good, surprising punchline.
Story 4 - Dream Girl - I almost didn't recognize Tomas Milian under that getup. This one wasn't funny, either.
Story 5 - A Dog's Day - And finally the film wraps up with another unfunny story.
I'd be interested to find out if this picture made money or even knowing if it was a popular film at the time because I rarely found most of this picture amusing. I laughed during Marty's segment but that was only because of what he brought to the picture. There is some nudity (mostly in the first story) which helps. All of the women are beautiful and sexy (by design in a film like this). They're the stronger sex in this movie and the men are weak and at the mercy of their carnal desires. The humor is base and slapstick-y. This movie was not made for the pinkies out, monocle crowd. Readers of the New Yorker should sit this one out. There's not much to recommend on this one but what's there that I liked, I really like.
Starring: James Earl Jones, Brad Dourif, Will Hare, Marc McClure, Michelle Joyner, William Atherton, Lisa Eichhorn, Wendy J. Cooke, Scott Paulin, Jennifer Barlow
Plot: A cynical bounty hunter and a clerk traveling through the prairie rest
by the campfire telling four stories of terror to each other.
My rating: 7.5/10
Will I watch it again? Yes.
Wow, what a surprise this turned out to be! Jones and Dourif are the two storytellers and boy are they fun together! They work well off each other and I can't remember the last time I saw Jones having so much fun. The stories are all pretty good. I say pretty good because a couple of them are VERY short and feel like they could've/should've been expanded (the first and last were like that). I enjoyed the diversity of the stories, too. The one with the family arriving to their plot of land to build on had value of being reality-based horror but also of showing hope for bad people. The others had supernatural elements to them. It's rare that I like all of the stories from a horror anthology, especially one like this film that has more than the usual. I thoroughly enjoyed this picture and the ending was hilarious. The IMDb trivia says that Coe planned on a sequel that never happened. This is his only film. I'd like to know more about this cat. He made one fine movie. And what do you know...Janusz Kaminski, the cinematographer on this picture (his second film) has been Steven Spielberg's DP since SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)!!! The only print I could find is a horrible VHS copy. I'll definitely get this if it ever comes out on DVD and this picture deserves a proper release with commentary and all the extras they can muster.
Plot: A young boy is possessed by the spirit of an Indian medicine man and begins to terrorize the local population.
My rating: 4/10
Will I watch it again? No.
Geez. This movie is sloooooow. It's essentially a horror anthology but the kicker is each of the three stories involves the three main characters, Grandma (Nelson in her film debut), her grandson Mark (Boston) and Dr. Sills (Crafts). Once we breakaway to the first story after the set-up it's all about Grandma and Grampa from a few years earlier when they're driving their RV across the California desert. Their RV has a mind of its own, swerves all over the lonely highway and eventually offroad when it just stops. Minutes later small to large rocks and boulders roll across the landscape toward them like tumbleweeds. Gramps gets the rig started and they're chased by big rocks! It's a wonderful idea and Flocker is sometimes effective at showing us but the scenes go on too long which takes the wind out of any horror or suspense he's going for. It really lasts much too long. The next two stories involve the kid and the doctor, both of which suffer from even worse pacing than the tumblerocks. How's the payoff? I had zero shits left by the end. It was OK and you could tell there were some kernels of good ideas but they're lost in the bad pacing and execution.
Starring: Gunnar Hansen, Robin Roberts, Tres Holton, Courtney Ballard, Lora Podell, H. Ray York, Johnny Tamblyn, Jeff Jordan, David Avin, Kevin Draine, Michael R. Smith, William Cooke
Plot: A grizzled derelict tells a quartet of horror tales to a trio of young campers.
My rating: 4/10
Will I watch it again? No..
With horror anthologies, there's usually at least one good story in the bunch. That's all this one has. One out of four. The killer Santa Claus segment was my favorite because it was short (the shortest of all of them) and it got to the point quickly. It didn't overstay its welcome. It's the third in the lineup. The first two were OK but they lingered too long. Then there's the fourth and final tale, the pirate one. The fist three tales took up a combined 50 minutes. This last one was 35 and it felt like 90. There's a scene with the pirate captain and a former slave where A LOT of exposition is meted out. 8 minutes of exposition! Harold Odom, who plays the slave, does a pretty good job with what he's been handed to deliver but it's over the top in that cinematic way. But then you have Laurence E. Campbell that's taking it even further with the stereotypical pirate-y 'yarrrrrrr' dialogue and his accent is way too phony. It's already a loooooong story that could've been told in nearly half the time. Still, the zombie effects were good. This whole experience wasn't helped by the fact that the print I saw was a crappy fullscreen one. I don't know what kind of budget these guys were working from but it looks like a decent-ish effort from some first time feature filmmakers (which explains some of the film's shortcomings). It's better than I would've done and I know...I've never made a movie so I'm jealous from the start. They and some of the cast would return a few years later with another horror anthology, FREAKSHOW (1995). I'm not getting in line to see that one but I may give it a shot someday.
Plot: Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into
his house and find collection of VHS tapes. Viewing the horrific
contents of each cassette, they realize there may be dark motives behind
the student's disappearance.
My rating: 6/10
Will I watch it again? No.
I REALLY liked V/H/S (2012). It was different and, what's more, the stories were well crafted and damn entertaining. The wraparound story was weak but I'm not watching a horror anthology for the wraparound business. The wraparound on this first sequel isn't as weak as the first film but it's got issues. Again, I'm not watching this for that. The best story was "A Ride in the Park" and it was the best by a good stretch. I liked where it kept going, hitting one interesting beat after another. The other stories were OK but there's little stuff with each one that bothered me enough to stop caring before it was over. Some of these issues were present in the first film but the stories were told so well that I could overlook them. Now these things are back in the sequel and they're totally unnecessary and bothersome. I'll watch the third one, hoping they try and stick to some semblance of realism (I'm getting sick and damn tired of seeing the images tweaking out like micro power outages or surges - it's getting fucking old and annoying as fuck). I realize it's a difficult thing to pull off, using this found footage gimmick with the horror anthology. At least there was one story that was worth watching it for. There's usually at least one.
Writers: R. Chetwynd-Hayes, Raymond Christodoulou, Robin Clarke
Composer: Dougals Gamley
Starring: Ian Bannen, Ian Carmichael, Peter Cushing, Diana Dors, Margaret Leighton, Donald Pleasence, Nyree Dawn Porter, David Warner, Angela Pleasence, Ian Ogilvy, Lesley-Anne Down, Jack Watson, Wendy Allnutt, Rosalind Ayres, Tommy Godfrey, Ben Howard, John O'Farrell, Marcel Steiner
Tagline: Terror to delight worshippers of the Macabre.
Plot: Anthology film from Amicus adapted from four short stories by R.
Chetwynd-Hayes strung together about an antique dealer who owns a shop
called Temptations Ltd. and the fate that befalls his customers who try
to cheat him. Stories include "The Gate Crasher" with David Warner who
frees an evil entity from an antique mirror, "An Act of Kindness"
featuring Donald Pleasence, "The Elemental", and "The Door".
My rating: 7/10
Will I watch it again? Yes.
This is somewhat different than a lot of the other horror anthologies of the 60s and 70s in that it feels more mature and without much gore. Peter Cushing is a welcome sight as The Proprietor, the man who links the stories together via his antique shop. It's a well-shot film with some really good performances and a few familiar faces. It just didn't strike me as solid as it tried to be but I think I just need to watch it again some dark night.
THE GATE CRASHER
This story takes its dear sweet time but it's got a great payoff. I loves me some David Warner and he's great. Equally great is the gruesome makeup on the man in the mirror. This segment feels long at around 23 minutes and that's the only thing that hurts it.
AN ACT OF KINDNESS
This one's got Ian Bannen, Donald Pleasence and Angela Pleasence (his daughter). I dig the London (?) street shooting. Like the first segment, this one seems to go on too long but it is enjoyable with some very good performances and the ending is fun.
THE ELEMENTAL
This one was odd but with a couple of laugh out loud moments (like when Madame Orloff (Leighton) is contorting Reginald's (Carmichael) face and a grisly end for someone.
THE DOOR
I dug this one and I just have to have that door. How badass is that thing? Awesome! This segment has more of your traditional Gothic-type of British horror you'd expect.
I can't say enough about Peter Cushing. This guy was a master actor. Just watch how he handles that last few minutes with the burglar and especially when he address us, the viewer. Wow. It's the pacing that might keep you from really liking this but each story has its own rewards.
Plot: A trio of atmospheric horror tales about: A woman terrorized in her
apartment by phone calls from an escaped prisoner from her past; a
Russian count in the early 1800s who stumbles upon a family in the
countryside trying to destroy a particularly vicious line of vampires;
and a 1900-era nurse who makes a fateful decision while preparing the
corpse of one of her patients - an elderly medium who died during a
seance.
My rating: 7/10
Will I watch it again? Yes.
If there's one thing you can generally say about Bava's pictures is that they look fantastic. As a former cinematographer, he had a great eye. I have a feeling that this horror anthology from Italy is going to be better the second time. I'm almost ashamed that I've only just seen it for the first. The first two tales are nice but really slow moving. The third one is a real beaut. They clearly saved the best for last, plus it's the one that features Karloff in the story and not just as the host who introduces them. He plays a real bastard, too, making him loads of fun to watch. The music is wonderful, giving each segment its own style and identity. That's the Les Baxter score (I dig a lot of this guy's work). I'd be keen to see the non-US version that has Nicolosi's score.
Plot: The ABC's OF DEATH is an ambitious anthology film featuring segments
directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in
contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books,
the motion picture is comprised of 26 individual chapters, each helmed
by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors
were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story
involving death. Provocative, shocking, funny and ultimately
confrontational; THE ABC's OF DEATH is the definitive snapshot of the
diversity of modern horror. Drafthouse Films, Magnet Pictures and
Timpson Films are proud to present this alphabetical arsenal of
destruction orchestrated by what Fangoria calls "a stunning roll call of
some of the most exciting names in horror across the world."
My rating: 7/10
Will I watch it again? Probably not.
This is one of those films that, for a lot of folks, the concept is higher than the finished product. I LOVE the concept. Horror anthologies are usually hit and miss with at least one good story. This one is such that in 129 minutes you get 26 short films so if you don't like one, just wait a few short minutes and another will come along. One of the fun things about it is they don't give you the title of each film until it ends so I had fun trying to guess the title as I'm watching it. There are 26 films and naturally they can't all be good. They're not but they're rarely boring or out and out bad. There's a mix of serious and funny (Adam Wingard's "Q Is for Quack" was hilarious) and live action and animation (Lee Hardcastle's "T Is for Toilet" used claymation with great results). One of my favorites was Marcel Sarmiento's "D Is for Dogfight". Outstanding. Even Srdjan "A SERBIAN FILM (2010)" Spasojevic has an entry, "R Is for Removed". It seems as though there is a sequel scheduled to come out in 2014. I'll be there.
Starring: Drew Barrymore, James Woods, Alan King, Kenneth McMillan, Robert Hays, Candy Clark, James Naughton, James Rebhorn, Charles S. Dutton,Tony Munafo, Court Miller, Russell Horton, Patricia Benson, Mary D'Arcy
Tagline: Through the eye of the cat, a twisted tail of macabre suspense from the author of CARRIE, The SHINING and THE DEAD ZONE.
Plot: Three horror-thriller tales revolve around a mysterious stray cat which
is attempting to find a little girl in trouble. In "Quitters, Inc.": the
cat is picked up by a shady New York "doctor" who uses experimental
techniques to get people to quit smoking. His latest client is a man
named Morrison, who learns he'll suffer some terrible consequences if he
tries to cheat. In "The Ledge": the cat is picked up by Cressner, a
shady Atlantic City millionaire who forces tennis pro Norris (his wife's
lover), to walk a narrow ledge around his high-rise penthouse
apartment. In "The General": the cat arrives in Wilmington, North
Carolina, where it is found by Amanda, the young girl it has been sent
to protect. What she needs protection from is a tiny, evil troll who
lives behind the skirting board in her bedroom.
My rating: 7/10
Will I watch it again? Yes.
It's neat sometimes seeing something you haven't seen since the theater nearly thirty years ago. I liked it then and I like it still. My favorite story is still the first one, "Quitters, Inc." It's a great way to start out the picture but it also ruins it for the other two tales. The second, "The Ledge", is good but it's not as good as the first one. The same thing applies to the third and final tale, The General". That one has the creepy advantage of having a troll try to kill Amanda (Barrymore). That was cool and the payoff with the cat was cool, too. The film makers knew when to quit. It's about an hour and a half and that feels about right. So while the stories are pretty good, the first one packs the punch leaving you wanting more during the next hour. Oh, and I LOVE the King references in the opening sequence. Great stuff.
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence, Joe Swanberg, Chad Vilella, Ti West, Adam Wingard
Writers: Brad Miska, Simon Barrett, David Bruckner, Nicholas Tecosky, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Simon Barrett, Radio Silence, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez, Chad Villella
Composer: (no score)
Starring: Simon Barrett, David Bruckner, Nicholas Tecosky, Ti West, a TON of people
Plot: A POV, found footage horror film from the perspective of America's top
genre filmmakers. A group of misfits are hired by an unknown third party
to burglarize a desolate house in the countryside and acquire a rare
tape. Upon searching the house, the guys are confronted with a dead
body, a hub of old televisions and an endless supply of cryptic footage,
each video stranger than the last.
My rating: 8/10
Will I watch it again? Yes.
Whatever you do, get past the first 10-15 minutes (that are rather annoying) and don't pass judgement until you watch the first tape/story they encounter where the guy has the camera glasses with the freaky chick. I'm simplifying the shit out of the opening but that first story past it is fantastic. The second, third and so on are great. I was thoroughly impressed. So much so that I watched it again a few days later to make sure it wasn't a fluke. If you're turned off by found footage then you can skip this one, obviously, but if you're not a fan but are willing to give a good movie a chance, don't hesitate. The stories and execution work very well and are most effective as horror tales. I got a little creeped out and I don't get that way often. Did it scare the shit out of me? No, but then I don't frighten easily. I wish I did. Anyway, if you do jump a lot during horror flicks then you definitely need to see this because you'll lose your shit. I'm looking forward to seeing the sequel.
Starring: Peter Cushing, Britt Ekland, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Barry Morse, Barbara Parkins, Robert Powell, Charlotte Rampling, Sylvia Syms, Richard Todd, James Villiers, Geoffrey Bayldon, Ann Firbank
Plot: A young psychiatrist interviews four inmates in a mental asylum to
satisfy a requirement for employment. He hears stories about 1) the
revenge of a murdered wife, 2) a tailor who makes a suit with some
highly unusual qualities, 3) a woman who questions her sanity when it
appears that her brother is conspiring against her, and 4) a man who
builds tiny toy robots with lifelike human heads.
My rating: 7.5/10
Will I watch it again? Yes.
The trailer promises at the end that this will be the most exciting picture you'll ever see. Maybe if you see only one film before you snuff it but it's far from that. That doesn't mean, however, that it's not good. It is and very much so. The premise for this horror anthology from Amicus is simple. A young psychiatrist, Dr. Martin (Powell) arrives at the asylum to see about taking on a position there. Before he's approved he must interview some of the patients. Each one is there for some wicked reason and Dr. Martin hears them out through to their grisly conclusion. The stories are fun and I enjoyed all of them. What's even better (look at that wonderful cast, Man!) is the wrap-around story is fantastic. The ending is great and it doesn't pull any punches. It moves seamlessly from story four until the credits roll. As if you needed yet another reason to watch this picture, it's written by Robert "PSYCHO" Bloch! Great fun, this one.
Tagline: When The Curtain Goes Up, The Terror Begins!
Plot: Three more bone-chilling tales that include a vengeful wooden Indian, a monstrous blob in a lake, and a hitchhiker who wants revenge
and will not die.
Woof. I haven't seen this in over 25 years. I remember liking it OK, with the second story about the goo in the lake being the best of the three. There are only three stories this time and they seem like they were probably better served in the comic where they should have stayed. The first one, Old Chief Wood'nhead goes on too long. George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour are nice to watch but there's not much Indian revenge action once it finally happens. The second story, The Raft, is the best by far. It's genuinely creepy and well-executed. Then there's The Hitchhiker. Lois Chiles stars (and, ooh, we get to see her Moonrakers!!!) but there's not enough else to recommend this one. It felt too long and lacked suspense or scares. Les Reed's score was ill-fitting. This picture was crying out for a better score. Overall, CREEPSHOW 2 is just a bore with a couple of bright spots in an otherwise dim picture.
Plot: An anthology of five tales of terror, each originally produced for
video. The titles are "Something's Fishy," "Coffee Break," "Who's
There," "Jonah's Dream," and "Think Twice."
My rating: 5.5/10
Will I watch it again? Nope.
I tried something interesting the other night. I've got thousands of movies and sometimes it's a chore to decide on what to watch so I set some parameters at www.random.org to generate a random integer and whatever the number, I was going to watch it. This one turned up and it didn't turn out too badly after all. ESCAPES looks like it was shot on a VHS camera which makes it look cheap (not that some of the actors didn't contribute - OH!). Vincent Price shows up to give us the guidance we need to get through this horror anthology. He's always fun but he's mostly resigned to sitting at a large table throwing some dialogue our way. The first story about a fisherman getting the tables turned was kind of neat and thankfully very short (it's a one-joke sketch). The second was a lot more fun thanks to Jim Mitchum. He goes from acting like shit to gettin' shit done in seconds. He was a hoot and is the big reason to watch this 69 minute movie to begin with. The other stories are OK but pale next to the Mitchum bit. Price comes back to give us the big twist, making the wraparound story a story on its own. It's an interesting low budget 80s curiosity that fans of horror anthologies would probably like on some level.
Tagline: Beyond the reality you know is a reality you may not want to face.
Plot: In the tradition of The Twilight Zone, this bizarre, thought-provoking
trilogy addresses the destiny of the world's minorities: Part I: A
conservative black politician must choose between his
people's survival and appeasing his white colleagues when space aliens
propose to share their profound knowledge in exchange for all black
people on earth. Part II: The Virgin Mary's appearance in an inner-city
housing project forces a Hispanic priest to face the hidden cultural
origins of Western religion. Part III: On the dawn of the "Black
Revolution," an black couple discovers who the "real" enemy
is.
My rating: 8/10
Will I watch it again? I could, skipping the middle segment.
It ended up being a night of anthologies at the Scorethefilm house and I remembered someone recently recommended this obscure flick. This anthology is unlike I've ever seen. It's fantastical but more grounded in reality and dealing with deeper, important issues. George Clinton is our host and he's outta sight!
THE SPACE TRADERS - Holy shit! The more I see of Robert Guillome the more I can't believe this guy isn't one of America's top working actors working in A-list projects. He's amazing. This story is very well handled to the point I was emotionally wrapped up in it. There's a scene where the black newscaster is reporting the results of the nationwide vote whether or not to let the aliens take every black U.S. citizen in exchange for fixing all of our major problems. His delivery made my chest sink. It was expertly handled until the last shot. Wow.
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT - I don't believe in superstition, gods, etc so this next tale didn't do doodly squat for me. For the most part I was bored. I guess being Catholic helps elevate this segment to something more than what I saw. It's not that I'm not capable of caring or getting involved in a religious story, it's just this one didn't hold my attention.
TANG - DAMN! Between this story and the first, SLOP is one hell of a show! There are only two actors in this final story (Paula Jai Parker & Chi McBride) and they act their asses off. The tension builds until the final shot - literally. In a way it gives you multiple scenarios on how it plays out depending on who you're rooting for or how you'd like to see it go down. What a great story.
I highly recommend seeking this one out. I have no idea if it's out on DVD, on Netflix instant, or anywhere. The search will be worth the wait. Shitlocks, I love the movies.
Plot: "Metzengerstein": the bored and corrupt medieval countess Frederica spends her futile life in orgies and cruelties. When she moves with her friends to one of her castles nearby the lands of her poor cousin Baron Wilhelm, she desires him but is not corresponded. When one of her minions burns the stable, Wilhelm dies trying to rescues his stallion and Federica is haunted by her lost cousin. "William Wilson": the sadistic and cruel soldier of the Austrian army William Wilson confesses to a priest the cruelties he committed along his sinful life and the participation of his double also called William Wilson in specific moments of his dreadful life. "Toby Dammit": the cynical alcoholic and decadent English actor Toby Dammit travels to Rome to make a Catholic Western, but only interested in receiving the Ferrari promised by the production.
My rating: 4/10
Will I watch it again? No, but in an arthouse-y kind of way...you know, with my pinky out.
This sure sounded like a good idea at the time. It's an arthouse horror anthology of three Edgar Allen Poe stories directed by 3 top Euoropean directors. Wrong.
Metzengerstein - directed by Roger "BARBARELLA (1968)" Vadim. They start things off with the dullest of the three tales. It's slow and pretentious. Ugh. I fought sleep all through this one. 2/10.
William Wilson - directed by Louis "ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS (1958)" Malle. This one's tons more interesting than the last one but it still drags and the big reveal isn't all that surprising or interesting. 5/10
Toby Dammit - directed by Federico "LA DOLCE VITA (1960)" Felini. This is the best of the bunch partly because of Stamp's performance, the quirkiness of Felini's direction and the playfulness of Nino Rota's score. 6.5/10
For three stories totaling 121 minutes, two of which are slow and tiring, it's simply too much to endure. I would say skip to the last tale and consider yourself fortunate. Otherwise, it's one to skip altogether. I'm not happy I saw any of them. The big bonus is Vincent Price's narration for a few seconds during the end credits. Poe has never been so sleep-inducing.
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