Directed by: Tom Savini, Buddy Giovinazzo, David Gregory, Douglas Buck, Jeremy Kasten
Starring: Udo Kier, Guilford Adams, Suzan Anbeh, Lindsay Goranson, André Hennick
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Distributed by: Image Entertainment
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Running Time: 114 minutes
Film: 2 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars
I am a huge fan of horror anthology but sometimes like in the recent “George Romero’s Deadtime Stories”, the stories just don’t have enough quality and production value put into them. I loved the opening story with Udo Kier called “Theatre Guignol” and directed by Jeremy Kasten, I wish it was expanded more. In the other six tales, there is maybe two that totally kept my interest out of the them all. They should have just stuck to the three and kept the running time at 90 minutes instead of almost two hours. Props to Tom Savini for directing my favorite of the bunch, titled “Wet Dreams”. He knows horror and definitely stood out among the rest in this anthology. Let’s just say this is no “Creepshow”.
The film follow a young woman who wonders into an abandoned theatre, only to realize that it is now empty. There is a show going on and it is lead by a marionette-like man (Udo Kier) who introduces her to six tales of the bizarre. The first, “Mother of Toads”, follows a couple traveling in the French Pyrenees and crosses paths with a witch. “I Love You” shows the wrath of a partner who has been pushed to the limits. “Wet Dreams” is my favorite and lurks in the dreams of an unfaithful husband and the bur between fantasy and reality. “The Accident” should the horrors of the real world through the mind of a child. “Vision Stains” and my least favorite features a woman who is addicted to other people’s memories through the fluid of their eyeballs. Lastly and my second least favorite, “Sweets” focuses on a bizarre sweet fetish between a couple that gets out of control.
Even though the film is a bit hard to watch, the special features are not bad. There is directors commentary available, which works well in this case since the films are short. There is a behind the scenes featurette, which is worth checking out. There is also interviews with each director, which is a little short but working checking out. Lastly, there is the trailer included.