After the success of the original television series, Paramount was in charge of producing this film that does a lot of honor to the series and is without a doubt one of the best films that have been made based on a television series. This Tales From The Darkside feature offers quite a bit as an anthology horror film, since the series didn't focus much on it. The original series had horror stories, but there were also stories that were oriented towards suspense, black humor, fantasy and science fiction. The film, on the other hand, offers stories that are oriented towards the horror genre with a bit of humor in some scenes.
The film also features some recognized figures of the genre who participated in the series. The direction was commissioned by John Harrison (composer of Day Of The Dead and Creepshow) and this film is his great film debut as a director. George A. Romero (creator of the series and Night Of The Living Dead) was involved in the script of the second segment that adapts a story by the famous Stephen King. The first segment was based on a story by Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of the Sherlock Holmes literary saga) and involved the still young Christian Slater, Julianne Moore and Steve Buscemi, who had already participated in the series. The third segment was created by Michael McDowell, who already has recognition for having worked with Tim Burton on Beetlejuice and also on the series on which this film is based. The special effects featured the trio of artists Gregory Nicotero, Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman. Other actors from the original series who were involved were Deborah Harris and William Hickey. Clearly, it is a film that has a lot of what you would expect from a horror film that follows the formula of those films from the 80s and 90s that are now much loved by moviegoers.
Speaking of the segments, the intermission story used to introduce the film and the other stories is clearly inspired by Hansel & Gretel and it is understood that the idea was to present the stories like any other that a father would tell his children before sleep, but they would still be scary stories. We must remember that even though Hansel & Gretel is classified as a children's story, it is actually a scary story.
The first story in this anthology is a classic story about a mummy who comes back to life to cause disaster. Since the days of Universal's classic monsters, the idea of a mummy as a terrifying monster has been floated. That is something that over time has deteriorated and been reduced to a kind of children's horror story. This film takes that concept and manages to offer a mummy that is threatening enough that very well fulfills that vision of the resurrected mummy as a monster that unleashes terror. Although it is not fully explained why Bellingham revives the mummy, it can be understood that his companions have framed him for something he did not do and that is why Bellingham uses the mummy as an instrument of revenge.
The second story has the strangeness and absurdity that can be found in some Stephen King stories, but this is a story that is taken quite seriously despite having some moments that seem humorous. Although it is never explained where the black cat came from, Drogan's story where he mentions that he has used cats for his experiments could imply that the cat that torments him is a supernatural entity or manifestation that has appeared to punish Drogan for the death of the cats from his experiments. That makes a lot of sense and even more so given the fact that Drogan owns a company that makes drugs that can cause addiction. In that regard, the cat's actions are justified and hitman Halston is clearly someone with a dark history.
The third story has a quite unexpected twist and unlike the previous stories, the victims are individuals who have never done anything wrong. What this story presents is something worthy of a Gothic tale. The protagonist is the failed artist Preston who is quite broke, but the encounter he has with the gargoyle changes his life and he begins to improve. The way this story concludes is unexpected and tragic at the same time. If you think about it for a moment, the gargoyle never had any intentions of hurting Preston. It seemed like she just wanted to help him and the promise Preston had made to the gargoyle seemed more like a pact. Gargoyles are sometimes considered demons and it could be interpreted that the gargoyle in this film is a demon that used Preston's promise as a kind of pact in which if Preston didn't say anything about his friend's murder, his life would go. To be abundant. It is the typical pact between a mortal and a demon who in exchange obtains what he most desires. As seen in this story, Preston gets everything he could ever want, but only if the pact he made through his promise remains intact. The only thing that isn't justified is why the gargoyle attacked Preston's friend first. Perhaps because he had witnessed the existence of him and the gargoyle, he only wanted to present himself to Preston and no one else. You could say that the gargoyle didn't want anyone other than Preston to know of his existence. After all, this may be the best story ever made related to gargoyles, leaving aside the animated series Gargoyles that was produced by Disney.
In conclusion, Tales From The Darkside: The Movie is a promising horror story film ideal for midnight viewing and is recommended for fans of scary stories and lovers of pre-2000 horror films. My final rating for this film is a 9/10.
The film also features some recognized figures of the genre who participated in the series. The direction was commissioned by John Harrison (composer of Day Of The Dead and Creepshow) and this film is his great film debut as a director. George A. Romero (creator of the series and Night Of The Living Dead) was involved in the script of the second segment that adapts a story by the famous Stephen King. The first segment was based on a story by Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of the Sherlock Holmes literary saga) and involved the still young Christian Slater, Julianne Moore and Steve Buscemi, who had already participated in the series. The third segment was created by Michael McDowell, who already has recognition for having worked with Tim Burton on Beetlejuice and also on the series on which this film is based. The special effects featured the trio of artists Gregory Nicotero, Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman. Other actors from the original series who were involved were Deborah Harris and William Hickey. Clearly, it is a film that has a lot of what you would expect from a horror film that follows the formula of those films from the 80s and 90s that are now much loved by moviegoers.
Speaking of the segments, the intermission story used to introduce the film and the other stories is clearly inspired by Hansel & Gretel and it is understood that the idea was to present the stories like any other that a father would tell his children before sleep, but they would still be scary stories. We must remember that even though Hansel & Gretel is classified as a children's story, it is actually a scary story.
The first story in this anthology is a classic story about a mummy who comes back to life to cause disaster. Since the days of Universal's classic monsters, the idea of a mummy as a terrifying monster has been floated. That is something that over time has deteriorated and been reduced to a kind of children's horror story. This film takes that concept and manages to offer a mummy that is threatening enough that very well fulfills that vision of the resurrected mummy as a monster that unleashes terror. Although it is not fully explained why Bellingham revives the mummy, it can be understood that his companions have framed him for something he did not do and that is why Bellingham uses the mummy as an instrument of revenge.
The second story has the strangeness and absurdity that can be found in some Stephen King stories, but this is a story that is taken quite seriously despite having some moments that seem humorous. Although it is never explained where the black cat came from, Drogan's story where he mentions that he has used cats for his experiments could imply that the cat that torments him is a supernatural entity or manifestation that has appeared to punish Drogan for the death of the cats from his experiments. That makes a lot of sense and even more so given the fact that Drogan owns a company that makes drugs that can cause addiction. In that regard, the cat's actions are justified and hitman Halston is clearly someone with a dark history.
The third story has a quite unexpected twist and unlike the previous stories, the victims are individuals who have never done anything wrong. What this story presents is something worthy of a Gothic tale. The protagonist is the failed artist Preston who is quite broke, but the encounter he has with the gargoyle changes his life and he begins to improve. The way this story concludes is unexpected and tragic at the same time. If you think about it for a moment, the gargoyle never had any intentions of hurting Preston. It seemed like she just wanted to help him and the promise Preston had made to the gargoyle seemed more like a pact. Gargoyles are sometimes considered demons and it could be interpreted that the gargoyle in this film is a demon that used Preston's promise as a kind of pact in which if Preston didn't say anything about his friend's murder, his life would go. To be abundant. It is the typical pact between a mortal and a demon who in exchange obtains what he most desires. As seen in this story, Preston gets everything he could ever want, but only if the pact he made through his promise remains intact. The only thing that isn't justified is why the gargoyle attacked Preston's friend first. Perhaps because he had witnessed the existence of him and the gargoyle, he only wanted to present himself to Preston and no one else. You could say that the gargoyle didn't want anyone other than Preston to know of his existence. After all, this may be the best story ever made related to gargoyles, leaving aside the animated series Gargoyles that was produced by Disney.
In conclusion, Tales From The Darkside: The Movie is a promising horror story film ideal for midnight viewing and is recommended for fans of scary stories and lovers of pre-2000 horror films. My final rating for this film is a 9/10.