Coming off the heels of watching Trick 'r Treat (which as The Horror Homie Rickster Rick pointed out there is an enormous difference between seeing Trick 'r Treat OR seeing Trick or Treat. Trick or Treat is pretty bad) we decided to jump right in to another Halloween anthology film. Could we get lucky with two good ones in a row? Let's keep our bones crossed! So Tales of Halloween is an enigma all to itself. This is a low budget, independent film that at first glance there are not any names that jump out and grab me in the writer/director/producer departments. Each story (there's ten of them) and each one is written and directed by a different person.
As far as the acting is concerned this is where things get interesting. Adrienne Barbeau basically plays the same DJ that she played in The Fog. Even though we never learn her name she still uses the same smooth voice that reeks of liquid sex. Sorry I had a moment there. Also appearing is Greg Grunberg (you might recognize him as the pilot of Oceanic flight 815 from LOST), Barry Bostwick (Brad from Rocky Horror), Adrianne Curry (a reality star that married the guy who played Peter Brady), Tiffany Shepis (a B-movie horror scream queen icon), and Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator),Pollyanna McIntosh (The Walking Dead), and the list goes on and on. Also appearing in cameo parts are writer/producer/directors Mick Garris, Stuart Gordon, Joe Dante, and John Landis. So I can't find the common thread that would join all of these folks together. Not that I'm complaining because the movie is very well done.
The movie is around 90 minutes so with ten short intertwined stories, none of which are longer than 10 minutes so even if there is one you don't like (there were none I disliked at all here but of course some were better than others) it will be over in a few minutes so just hang in there. As all of the stories happen in the same small town on Halloween night, it's fun to see some of the characters show up in other stories. Each film is a sprint as the creators of each segment give their best with what little time they have. Some of it could be deeper if given a chance but there is no chance to get blown away by the character or story development. Just take it for what it is and you should have a fun enough time with it like we did. This movie is perfect to pop in the DVD player during a Halloween party where you don't need to be in the room for a long time to get a good scare of a good horror laugh. The Horror Honey Denise and I are close on this one in fact the ratings are comparable to Trick 'r Treat. I give Tales of Halloween 3 and a half Creepy Vignettes out of 4 just a shade less than Trick 'r Treat and Denise gave it 3.
I liked it, too. Will be rewatching soon. I gave it 3 out of 5, myself! :)
ReplyDelete