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FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL
10 tales, 11 filmmakers, tons of mayhem and fun, Tales of Halloween is set one Halloween night in a suburb where all kinds of scary, funny, spooky things go down. In this anthology, the near-perfection radio host talking us from story to story, played by Adrienne Barbeau in a part so close to her role in The Fog, one could think it was the very same character which is most likely very intentional. The 10 short stories contained here vary widely from urban legend come to life to revenge story to alien invasion to neighborhood battles and everything in between. The Decalogue of stories all connect at one point or another through characters passing into other stories or by location choices.
All the shorts here are well made and fun, so picking favorites is like deciding between candy and chocolate on Halloween night. One wants a little of everything. However, just like with goodies in a trick or treat bag, some of the stories do stand out:
Out of the 10 stories, the most effective story to this viewer may have been the creepy “Sweet Tooth” by Dave Parker, director of the little seen ColdWater, which following The Hills Run Red went with a creepier over bloody approach which is still present in “Sweet Tooth” even though there is also plenty of the red stuff involved here. A young boy comes home with his baby sitter and her boyfriend after trick or treating and they tell him the story of an entity that requires candy donations to stay away. The legend of this character could easily be fleshed out and brought into another movie or get its own feature film.
One of the most fun story to watch unfold is This Means War (pictured) by Andrew Kasch and splatterpunk master John Skipp. In this story, neighbors are duking it out over Halloween décor and disagreements building up over years of neighborly tiffs. The argument quickly escalates to a fight between the two men and soon the whole neighborhood seems to be watching them go at it. The fight is dirty and entertaining ending… well, not going to tell you.
The last short that stands out of the crowd is set in the woods as opposed to the suburb itself and involves a stop-motion animation alien which is just so adorable. Friday the 31st is written and directed by Mike Mendez who is familiar with over the top horror comedies having made The Convent, Big Ass Spider, and Lavalantula. In this short, a tiny alien lands on Earth and takes over the body of a hot girl who was in a fight to the death with a Jason-type killer near a cabin in the woods. This is one of the funnier, most in your face offerings in Tales of Halloween. Props to often-used killer actor Nick Principe for the slightly goofy killer surprised by the strength of his smaller opponent. This one will bring a smile to your face if you like any good old 80’s horror movies.
The other shorts films are also very worth a watch, for their stories but also for all the cameos by horror great peppered throughout. Horror fans are spoiled here and should be on the lookout for John Landis, Mick Garris, Lin Shaye, all the Tales of Halloween directors, and many more. Another good “get” for this anthology is the theme by Lalo Schifrin which is epic and very reminiscent of 70’s and 80’s horror.
Tales of Halloween is one of those anthologies that will become a favorite for many, the way Trick R Treat has over the years. It makes for an excellent party movie as there is something for everybody and the stories are short and fun.