"Had to stop reading twice cause it got me so scared."
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990), is an anthology horror film based on the popular Tales from the Darkside television series. Like the series, this film's stories are partially based off the works of famous authors, and even stars Deborah Harry, Christian Slater and William Hickey who all previously had appeared in episodes of the series.
This film is strongly connected to the Creepshow series of films. When the first Creepshow (1982) was a moderate success this led to the possibility of turning Creepshow into a series. The producers of the original film, Laurel Entertainment, decided to move ahead without Warner Brothers who owned aspects of Creepshow, and thus was born the popular series Tales from the Darkside. When the series was ended their was still demand so they began working on a film version and even included a story written by George A. Romero (and based off a Stephen King short story) that was written for Creepshow 2 (1987), but was cut for budgetary reasons. There happens to be an unofficial sequel to Creepshow 2 but Tom Savini has been quoted as saying that Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is "the real Creepshow 3."
The acting in this movie is really great, every story has a handful of some of the greatest actors working in the late 80s and this alone makes the film a lot stronger than the others I'm reviewing this season. When you're watching "Lot 249," you'll be blow away by all of the great actors in it.
I really like the stories chosen for this film. Much like Creepshow 2, the selection of three stories over five really helps give time for the film to develop the characters and give the viewer a chance to breathe in the world. My favorite story of the bunch is easily "Lot 249" adapted from a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle. This is easily one of the best mummy depictions I've ever seen on screen. This film also has a unique thing I'd never seen before and that is the story "Cat From Hell" is told as a framed story but it's also within the greater framed story of the film. Which if you think about it too long it may hurt your head, but regardless it's quite successful. Just pointing out my observation of how unique that is.
Sadly I didn't enjoy the third story, "Lover's Vow," as much as I did the others, which is really unfortunate because it's the final story of the film. It's really not a bad story at all, but it's a lot slower and really doesn't have a lot of "horror" in it. It takes forever to build to it's twist, then has the kind of twist that's not super satisfying in the end which just kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
I also have one gripe about the framing story. I wish the framing story connected better with the actual stories, if you think about these stories as if the young boy was telling them you will quickly realize that there's no way a ten-year-old boy would comprehend the complex themes and social connections of the characters within the stories, maybe this is just me being too picky but this is the kind of stuff that really takes me out of the movie.
Despite the stories not fitting the framing story as I mentioned, I must say that this film has one of the best framing stories that I have come across yet in an anthology horror film. A suburban witch has a young paper boy locked up and he is telling her stories to try to distract her. I love how simple this idea is, it's essentially an update of the Hansel & Gretel story, nothing fancy at all and yet it's dark as hell. It adds another layer to this movie that really makes this film stand out from the rest!
This film reminds me of Creepshow 2, the way it has a lot less makeup and special effects than many films I've reviewed this season, but when Darkside does use them they are absolutely amazing!! My absolute favorite effect is the second to last kill in the second story "Cat from Hell." It's so gruesome and unnecessary but it adds a level of morbid to the story that really makes the story fit the others in the film. This film could be a prime example of why practical effects trump CG almost every time.
And lastly I love the direction in this film. I don't know how it's possible that this film has better direction than the Creepshow films, but it totally does. This was director John Harrison's first film he directed and he apparently really knew what he was doing. The film's direction is really creepy, and really adds the "scare" to each story. I love the way he uses light and color, particularly in the story "Cat from Hell" but also throughout.
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1987), in many ways it surpasses the other Creepshow films, and is a great anthology horror film in its own right.
4/5 Stars.
Happy watching!
This review is part of my 2014 run of 13 Nights of Macabre Movies! Tune in tomorrow as I review a much different take on the horror anthology with Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror (2006).
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