Just in time for Halloween 2016 comes one of the best horror indie anthologies of the last six years. “Tales of Halloween” is a sick, demented, and fun ode to the thrill of Halloween and its mythology and brings together up and comers and veterans of the horror film world to spin their own twisted yarns concerning the holiday many horror buffs hold so dearly to them. Epic Pictures grants fans a wonderful box set edition that holds all sorts of goodies for them. The best prize of all is “Tales of Halloween,” a movie that pays tribute to everything fun and horrifying about the holiday with ten short tales starring folks like Lin Shaye, and Adrienne Barbeau who unofficially reprises her role of Stevie Wayne as the film’s Halloween DJ who narrates every story. The neat touch to the movie is that every story unfolds within the vicinity of a normal suburban neighborhood on Halloween night.
Tag Archives: Satanic
Ash vs. Evil Dead: The Complete First Season [Blu-Ray]
You have to love Bruce Campbell’s attitude toward “Ash vs. Evil Dead.” He’s like that angry dad who you keep asking for bike for your birthday and he keeps telling you that he has no money, and to shut your trap, or he’s locking you in the basement with the other bad kids. Then on your birthday, he shows up with a brand new bike and says “Well I got it because… you know… you’re a good kid, and you wouldn’t shut up about it. Now go get me a pack of smokes.” Bruce is that kind of man who loves his fans despite the gruff exterior and rewarded us with “Ash vs. Evil Dead” because we wouldn’t shut up about it. And because, you know, you can’t have Ash without Campbell. Just in time for Halloween, “Ash vs. Evil Dead” gets everything right about the “Evil Dead” movie series.
Southbound (2016)
I am loving the resurgence of the horror anthology and how horror filmmakers are playing with the format. “Southbound” is very much a new horror anthology that holds no title cards or segues, but instead features five stories that intersect in some way or another. It’s almost like “Pulp Fiction,” but just not as brilliant. in fact, in the end, it’s really a mixed bag of horror tales that are held up by a genuine sense of terror and unease that seeps through the film from beginning to the end. Even when I wasn’t completely invested in a tale, I appreciated the unnerving aesthetic set amid the endless and desolate back roads of America.
Ash vs. Evil Dead, Season 1, Episode 1: El Jefe
Here were are many years later, and Ash is finally finding a life for himself that he’s happy with. Granted he lives in a trailer, picks up sleazy women at bars, and works at a store where he’s despised by his boss Mr. Roper, but it’s a life he’s comfortable with at least. After hiding out for many years from the deadites, they’ve finally found him and are hell bent on destroying him and the world. And it all happened because of Ash and a pot fueled bender with a gorgeous woman one night that caused him to irresponsibly read from the Necronomicon in an effort to impress her. All roads begin to converge as Ash begins getting horrifying signs from Deadites, causing him to pick up and move his trailer once again.
Tales From The Crypt Presents: Demon Knight (1995) – Collector’s Edition [Blu-ray]
Ernest Dickerson’s horror comedy is the start of what should have been a wonderful horror movie series with the “Tales from the Crypt” branding. Despite lacking an ironic twist in the finale, “Demon Knight” is right down the avenue of classic EC Comics. It’s filled with inadvertent heroes, garners a very unlikely villain, and has a very unique sense of humor about itself. Dickerson manages to channel “Demoni” while also pitting very morally gray characters against a force of pure evil. “Demon Knight” is a raucous and brutally entertaining horror movie that pits good against evil, and stacks the deck in the favor of evil.
Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) [Blu-ray]
Like most people, I was introduced to “Manos” through the spectators of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” in what is perhaps their funniest episode. Sadly, while the episode itself is a riot, “Manos” doesn’t hold up well to watching for the pure fun of it. That’s because “Manos” is primarily a really awful movie with nothing worth salvaging. There are absolutely no pros that can be taken from watching “Manos,” and it’s mainly appreciated for being so awful and nothing more. It’s shocking how a film that’s barely seventy minutes feels like an utter eternity to sit through. Many films are given “Worst” tags by everyone, but “Manos” genuinely deserves its label as one of the worst movies ever made.
Tales of Halloween (2015)
I’m enjoying the rush of Halloween themed movies coming to theaters thanks to talented and ambitious filmmakers. If there’s any holiday deserving of a sub-genre it’s Halloween. “Tales of Halloween” is a near perfect anthology horror film that embraces the holiday and uses it as fuel to tell some weird, wild, creepy tales all set around a small town celebrating the wicked holiday. Much like “Terror Tract” and “Trick r Treat,” the anthology is set around a small suburb where inexplicably terrifying and nasty things happen on the holiday. Like “Trick r Treat,” most of the stories connect with each other and garner references to the former tale. It assures that audiences will have to watch the film over and over to catch every Easter Egg thrown to us.