{"id":24701,"date":"2017-03-17T07:08:18","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T11:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=24701"},"modified":"2017-03-17T07:09:38","modified_gmt":"2017-03-17T11:09:38","slug":"deadtime-stories-1986-collectors-edition-blu-raydvd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/17\/deadtime-stories-1986-collectors-edition-blu-raydvd\/","title":{"rendered":"Deadtime Stories (1986): Collector\u2019s Edition [Blu-Ray\/DVD]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Pee-yew! You have to appreciate Shout! Factory for restoring what is easily one of the worst anthology movies of the eighties. I admit to being a completely newcomer in regards to \u201cDeadtime Stories,\u201d and upon finishing it, I was not surprised it was such a rarity for so many years. \u201cDeadtime Stories\u201d watches like someone really loved \u201cCreepshow\u201d and decided to make their own version with only a quarter of the budget. Then mid-way when the studio realized how awful the movie was, they decided to turn it in to a comedy at the last minute so horror fans can convince themselves the whole disaster is intentional and a tongue in cheek jab at the anthology crazy of the decade.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDeadtime Stories\u201d watches like a lame version of \u201cPrincess Bride,\u201d where a young boy is convinced there is a monster in his room. In order to get him to sleep, his moronic uncle Mike decides to tell him three scary stories. This involves three witches trying to revive a long dead monster with the help of assistant Scott Valentine from \u201cFamily Ties,\u201d a woman hunting mimbo who is trying to get in to a grandmother\u2019s house and retrieve his meds before he turns in to a werewolf at midnight (It didn\u2019t make sense to me, either), and three psychopaths named the \u201cBaers\u201d that cross paths with another super powered, blonde, female, serial killer named \u201cGoldi Lox.\u201d Every single story is a dud and watches like they were written in haste without being properly developed. The narratives feel only half complete, there are no real twists or memorable moments, and the writer doesn\u2019t even seem to care about coherency to the film.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost like the studios told the writer \u201cI don\u2019t care if it makes sense, just pad out the script to get us a feature length run time for the film\u2019s release.\u201d How else can you explain the obscenely long animated opening sequence? Among some of the other most baffling moments include a very long moment of Little Red Riding Hood stand in Rachel hallucinating being molested by her boyfriend in front of her mirror, only to realize her dog is licking her behind. There\u2019s also Uncle Mike being called back in to his nephew\u2019s room and scolding him for making him miss a nude bathing suit competition on Cablevision. \u201cDeadtime Stories\u201d is just a nonsensical bore that has every chance to be funny and scary, but is neither. This is the definition of an eighties cheapie, made to cash in on a craze but lacking any kind of vision. For a much better take on a horror anthology steeped in grimm fairy tales, watch \u201cTale from the Darkside: The Movie,\u201d instead.<\/p>\n

The new edition from Scream Factory comes with a DVD copy, along with an audio commentary from director Jeffrey Delman. There\u2019s \u201cI Like the Grotesque,\u201d a fifteen minute conversation with co-writer and director Jef Delman, who discusses his process for the anthology that came from making one movie, his local production, effects, and how it came to home video. \u201cA Band Of Gypsies: The Making of Deadtime Stories\u201d is a fifteen minute talk with co-stars Melissa Leo, Cathryn de prume, and Scott Valentine, and how they\u2019re all still close friends.<\/p>\n

They speak well of Jef Delman, despite the movie, and how he ruined working with other directors for them. Leo speaks highly of making the movie and how much fun she had with it. \u201cThe Black Forest\u201d is a thirty minute version of the Black Forest segment and how much of it was truncated for the anthology. There are two deleted segments from the Red Riding Hood and Goldi Lox segments with an introduction from Jef Delman. Finally, there are SD theatrical trailers for \u201cDeadtime Stories.\u201d<\/p>\n