Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) User Reviews

Very entertaining Horror Anthology

[jluis1984 · 7/10 · 12 December 2005]

In director John Harrison's adaptation from the 80s TV series, four horror stories are told (one of them as a wraparound story) with different results, although the movie leaves the audience with a feeling of pure worthy entertainment.

The wraparound story stars ex-Blondie singer Deborah Harry as Betty, the typical next door woman, the only difference is that she hides her cannibalistic habits a a secret. Matthew Lawrence is Timmy, a kid who was kidnapped by Betty in order to be her dinner tonight. Timmy begins to tell her stories from the "Tales from the Darkside" book in order to gain time while he plans his escape. The stories Timmy tells are the other three stories in the movie.

First one, "Lot 249", stars Steve Buscemi as Bellingham, a misfit in a yuppie university. Bullied by Andy (Christian Slater), Lee (Robert Sedgwick) and Susan (Julianne Moore), he works as assistant in the Museum. When he receives Lot 249, troubles will begin as he revives an ancient mummy to do his will.

Second one stars William Hickey and David Johansen in a tale of a devilish cat that seems to haunt Hickey's character. Johansen plays a professional assassin hired to kill the feline.

In last one, writer Michael McDowell develops a love story loosely based on a Japanese tale. James Remar stars as Preston, a failed artist who is having the worst day of his life, as he watches his best friend being brutally killed by a mysterious beast who makes him promise that he won't tell anyone about it; everything looks worse until he meets Carola (Rae Dawn Chong), and his life changes for good. What would happen if he reveal the secret of the monster?

The four stories have very good performances, particularly those of Buscemi and Hickey. The downside is that while the three main stories present a very adult horror style with very gory scenes, brief nudity and foul language, the wraparound story looks tame and more similar to kid's horror like "Goosebumps". That doesn't mean that it's a bad tale, is just that it seems out of place in the film, but still the movie is good enough to keep the attention of the viewer.

Very good movie that it's almost forgotten today. The very good acting and the good SFX (although outdated for today's standards) create a very rewarding movie that surely will give entertainment. 7/10

aka Creepshow 3

[Gislef · 7/10 · 22 December 1998]

Okay, not officially, but basically this Romero/King joint effort is a successor to their Creepshow movies as much as a movie-length version of the TV series Tales from the Darkside. Maybe they avoided calling it Creepshow 3 due to the poor take from the second movie? Regardless, while the framing device is merely adequate, all three of the stories are chilling enough. The first two stories are in the fine old EC Comics/Creepshow tradition of bad people getting their comeuppance in memorable style. The third is a rather touching romance, all things considered. The best segment is probably the first, with performances from Christian Slater doing his best Jack Nicolson impression, and cult-fave Steve Buscemi as a murderous grad student. But it's all pretty enjoyable if you like that kind of thing.

No Cat's Eye, but Still Good

[view_and_review · 6/10 · 24 June 2014]

Much like Cat's Eye was a series of three short stories, Tales from the Darkside is done similarly. In this Stephen King work a boy tries to avoid being cooked and eaten by a witch by occupying her with fanciful stories.

There were three total stories featuring some well known actors. Some were already established, like Rae Dawn Chong and William Hickey. Others I don't believe were as well known at the time, such as Christian Slater, Steve Buscemi, and Jullianne Moore.

I thought the three stories were solidly done. I can't remember the order but the order of preference for me was: 1.) Mummy story, 1A.) Gargoyle story 3.) and a distant third was the cat story.

None of the stories were very spooky or scary, in fact you could say they were somewhat comical (especially the mummy story), but they all had an intriguing premise. The three stories all wrapped into the initial story made for a good movie.

"All the Better to Eat You With My Dear"

[BaronBl00d · 30 June 2001]

Tales From the Darkside: the Movie was a very entertaining film. It has four stories in it. The first is a wrap-around story about a woman going to cook a ten year old boy for dinner, yet the child reads stories to her to try and delay his death. In a way, this is related to tales of the Arabian Nights. The three other stories are the ones told by the young boy. All of them are actually very interesting, have elements of fright, are generally well-acted, and have some kind of message. One deals with an ancient mummy out to avenge a smart yet socially outcast student at a college. Another story deals with a malevolent cat out to duel with a hitman paid $100,000 to kill a cat. Gruesome but great story with some real good acting, especially by William Hickey. Love that voice! The final story deals with a relationship between a gargoyle and an artist. An intriguing tale and has Rae Dawn Chong in it(a nice asset). All the stories are well-made and well-written, the wrap-around story being the weakest due to its resolution. Nonetheless, Tales From the Darkside is a fun horror film in the vein of Tales From the Crypt and Creepshow.

Three Tales before Dinner

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 16 January 2004]

******SPOILERS****** Betty, Debbie Harry, a local witch has the newspaper delivery boy Timmy, Matthew Lawrence, locked up in her house and after giving him all the cookies that he can eat to fatten him up for her and her fellow witches, who are coming over later that evening, to have him as the main course for dinner.

Giving Timmy a book "Tales From The Darkside" to read as Betty makes the preparations for him to be cooked Timmy tells her if he can read her some stories from the book so it would take his mind off of whats going to happen to him. Betty agrees to listen to Timmy reading the stories from "Tales From The Darkside" because it's also her favorite book and would make the mundane task of getting everything ready for the meal go a lot faster.

Timmy starts with the story about a group of collage students entitled "Lot 249". Edward, Steve Buscemi, gets a parcel, Lot 249, delivered to his collage dorm room that has a 3,000 year old mummy in it. Edward's fellow students once tried to get him expelled from school by planting a rumor that he stole an Aztec artifact and he knows who they are Susan, Julianne Moore, and her boyfriend Lee, Robert Sedgwick, and Edward is planing to use the mummy to get more then even with them for what they did to him.

Finding a secret scroll hidden inside the mummy Edward interprets and recites whats on that scroll to bring the mummy back to life who ends up killing both students. Susan's brother Andy, Christian Slater, finds out about Edward's actions and after he knocks out and ties up Edward to a chair he dismembers the mummy with an electric carving knife. But instead of killing Edward for what he did to his sister and his best friend Andy runs Edward out of the campus. Andy feeling that he took care of Edward and his mummy for good didn't realize that the mummy wasn't the only thing that Edward brought back to life.

The next story "Cat From Hell" that Timmy reads is about a rich old man Drogan, William Hickey, who hires a top Mafia hit-man Halston, David Johansen. Drogan gives him $50,000.00 up front and will give him another $50,000.00 after he can prove that he killed a black cat that has been terrorizing the old man and that killed his two sisters and butler and is now targeting him for elimination. Halston at first thinks that Drogan is nuts but soon sees that this seemingly harmless kitty cat is an indestructible and ferocious monster that's far more dangerous then any of the scores of gangsters that he "hit" during his long and successful criminal career.

The cat came to avenge what Drogan's Pharmaceutical empire did to develop a very expensive and successful drug called Tri-Dorma-Phenobarbin-Compound G. The drug is for people with heart trouble like Drogan as well as a legal stimulant like the drugs sold on the street by the mob for whom Halston works for. Drogan took the lives of 5,000 cat's over four years to perfect that drug. This mysterious cat was somehow sent to make Drogan and his family pay for what they did in regard to all those cat's that were experimented and killed to make Drogan and Co. very rich because of it. In the end the little kitty not only took care of hit-man Halston but the scared and guilt-ridden employer Drogan as well in a really gut wrenching and stomach churning final.

The last story that Timmy reads "Lover's Vow" is about a struggling artiest Preston, James Remar, who one night in a dark alley sees his friend Gage, Mark Margolis, savagely killed by some demon. The demon makes Preston promise never to tell about what happened and anything that he saw that night for the rest of his life of else.

Later that evening Preston meets a strange and mysterious woman Carola, Rea Dawn Chong, who he falls in love with and marries. Later Preston's artistic luck begins to change with his art work starts to get noticed by the public with him becoming a rich and very successful artiest.

On the tenth anniversary of him meeting Carola Preston feels that he has to tell her this secret that he kept from her all these years and that by him not telling her that he thinks that he was somehow not being truthful with her. It turns out by him doing that Preston finds out that sometimes the truth is not the wises and healthiest thing to tell; even to someone that you love and feel should know about it.

With that Timmy both out of time and stories and everything ready for him to become the main course for dinner for Betty and her witches friends there's suddenly and unsuspectingly a slip in the plot and what's for dinner that evening turns out not to be what Betty was preparing.

Very good anthology of the TV show "Tales From The Darkside" that turns out to be much better the you would have expected on the big screen.

solid first story

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 11 December 2016]

In a seemingly normal upper middle class suburban home, Betty (Debbie Harry) is revealed to be a witch holding Timmy (Matthew Lawrence) prisoner. She's preparing to cook him for her dinner party. He tells her three stories from "Tales from the Darkside" to hold off the inevitable. In the first tale, Andy (Christian Slater) is a friend to the underhanded arrogant rich college guy Lee. Lee is using Andy's sister Susan (Julianne Moore) to do his work and steal a scholarship from Edward Bellingham (Steve Buscemi). Edward has purchased Lot 249 which is a mummy he's looking to resell. A hidden parchment helps him take revenge. The first part is solid. The horror could be done scarier and more gruesome. It does have Slater going against Buscemi. It's solid work.

The second story is less compelling. It's a story told by Timmy about an old guy who tells stories. The best thing about the second story is William Hickey but that's about it. A cat is not scary (at least not here) and it's flat. It tries to be funny and fails. The third tale is a great short story. As a cinematic endeavor, it suffers from a flat middle. James Remar plays an artist who is forced to keep quiet about his encounter with a gargoyle. The gargoyle animatronics is not the best. It looks fake which keeps it from being scary. The surprise twist is great but the story needs more tension in the middle. In total, the movie is an up and down affair.

A Trilogy of Comedy Horror

[Rainey-Dawn · 7/10 · 30 October 2014]

This film is not to bad - it's pretty good entertainment for fans of horror. It will liven up any 'dead' evening with a few laughs and thrills.

"Lot 249" is a fun Mummy story - pretty creepy but quite fun to watch. "Cat from Hell" is really good. I love cats and have three of my own but I don't think I want a cat like this one. "Lover's Vow" - Gargoyles. I love Gargoyles - and you don't see them as living horror creatures in films very often so this story gives the film a bonus point for me.

If you like short story horror films (anthologies) like "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie" then you might enjoy similar type of film anthologies such as "Creepshow", "Twilight Zone: The Movie", "Cat's Eye" or even "Gallery of Horror".

7/10

The fact that this movie was originally supposed to be another Creepshow sequel helps me understand.

[Aaron1375 · 5/10 · 30 March 2009]

Understand what you ask? Why this movie to me just does not have the feel of the television series it is named from and does seem to have more of a Creepshow feel to it. None of the three stories seems like it would ever have played on the television show with the introduction story of the little boy being held by the crazy woman probably being the most like it came from the show. The first story seems straight out of the HBO series "Tales from the Crypt" with the second one having more of the "Creepshow feel and the final one almost having more of a Twilight Zone quality to it. The first story has one guy killing people with the help of a mummy, not really much to it, but it does have the most stars in it as you will recognize quite a few of the people featured in it. The second one is my favorite, but not really going to garner to much mention as a hit-man is requested by a rather eccentric old man to exterminate a rather strange target. The target in question is that of a cat. The final story is about a man who witnesses a strange killing and is told to keep it a secret, his life seems to be going well, but he is still haunted by what he saw that evening. This story is really to tame with the exception of the beginning and the end. Then of course the story of the boy and his captor is wrapped up. It has a few ups and is far from awful, it just is not that good either as the show had much better stories.

"Lover's Vow" deserved a full-length movie

[fardream · 10/10 · 15 October 2005]

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is a delightful collection of three horror stories. While the first two in the film are good, the third and last story in the collection, Lover's Vow, is nothing less than superb. Lover's Vow would have, quite appropriately, been made into a full-length film. It would have been wonderful to have seen this as one installment in a series of Tales from the Darkside films.

Lover's Vow is a love story borne out of the womb of darkness itself. Carola (Rae Dawn Chong) is beautiful and seductive, and her overwhelming maternal energy and beauty nicely compliments the persona exuded by Preston (James Remar), with his obvious yearning for security and stability.

The build-up to the quite tragic ending is lovely. Penniless New York artist Preston is confronted with a living horror. He witnesses the death of a friend at the hands of a gargoyle. The gargoyle spares Preston's life in exchange for keeping his knowledge of its existence a secret. He can tell no one what he saw and heard. On the way home, he meets beautiful Carola, and he beckons her to come with him, fearing that the creature may be lingering about.

But, unknown to Preston, he has just taken the monster with him. This fact is in no way made apparent to the viewer; Preston exudes his compassion and blankets a seemingly innocent woman. Immediately attracted to one other, they consummate their blossoming passion in a truly wonderful love scene. A bluish light engulfing them, coupled with lovely music, they kiss and caress. Knowing how tragically the story ends, the scene becomes all the more beautiful.

Toward the end, Carola and Preston are engaged in discussion about their future. Preston suggests a myriad of possibilities; he, ultimately, just wants the one woman that he loves to be happy. "There is nothing you can give me that I don't already have..." she says. His answer: "Yes, there is." He then divulges his secret to her, while handing her a handmade statue of the gargoyle he'd seen. Carola slowly grasps it and begins to pace away. Clutching the statue and weeping, she turns and says, in anger and pain, "You promised you'd never tell!"

Carola's humanity is lost; the broken vow becomes the key to death's door, for both him and their love. In a macabre scene, Carola begins to transmogrify into a gargoyle; their children do like wise.

Preston beckons her to change back, and, mid-stride between humanity and nonhuman monstrosity, Carola states: "I can't." Hearing the heart-wrenching sounds of his children in pain from the change, he asks her to halt this horrifying procession. The gargoyle states: "It's too late, you betrayed your vow." The gargoyle embraces Preston, and when she does so, he says: "Carola, I loved you," his voice seeming to hiss the word "love." Uttering that she had loved him, too, she kills him. Resting his body gently on the floor, she weeps in pain.

With her children in tow, Carola flies into the night. She becomes a frozen statue atop an old building, clutching her children, to wait for the moment when the cycle of love and death must reiterate itself.

I cannot stress enough what a wonderful job the filmmakers did with this particular story. If you are a horror fan and would like to see some fine horror stories not laden with cheap, low-budget CGI (I'd rather see low-budget puppetry), then at least rent it if only to watch Lover's Vow. Horror and romance are entwined in a very delicate story about simple humanity, the yearning for love, and love's sometimes all-consuming pain.

One of the best horror anthology.

[Fella_shibby · 7/10 · 29 March 2018]

I first saw this on a vhs in the 90s. Found it to b scary n gory then. Revisited it recently on a dvd for nostalgic fun. It is a horror anthology film. The first segment deals with a mummy brought back to life. The best part about this segment was the star cast, Julianne Moore, Slater n Buscemi. Some off screen gore, inserting steel shirt hanger inside a nose n popping out the brain. The second segment is about a cat. This segment is scary with good effects. The last segment is about a man (James Remar) who witnesses a killing by a Gargoyle n promises the Gargoyle that in exchange for his life, he will never tell anyone about it. Some really good effects, especially the transformation scene.

Fun Saturday night scare-fest

[tenthousandtattoos · 5/10 · 14 August 2007]

What is it with George Romero and weird little animals crawling out of people...I mean, we got cockroaches in Creepshow, a monkey in Monkey Shines (remember the dream sequence??) and now we got a cat in TFTD! I really liked the Cat from Hell story...I found the old man creepy and the hit-man very amusing...his tough guy monologues had me giggling uncontrollably at times, and the cat was a deliciously evil yet nonchalant little character, although I must say I was scratching my head a bit when it crawls INSIDE the guy through his MOUTH...bizarre.

The whole movie is a bit on the silly side, but fun nonetheless. In "Lot 249" it was great to see Christian Slater, Julianne Moore and Steve Buscemi before they were big stars. It was even better to see Julianne Moore stuffed with flowers by a mummy performing his own macabre "poetic justice" on people who ticked off the geek who brought him to life with an ancient scroll! Great stuff!

"Cat from Hell"...go the kitty! That hit-man was a loser and the old croney in the wheel chair was a cat-killer! Ha! Serves you right, you b*stards!

"Lover's Vow"...hey, it's Ajax from "The Warriors" and Rae Dawn Chong (who not only has a cool name but starred opposite Arnie in "Commando" a few years before this) playing the lovers...what an original and deliciously horrific little tale this one is...I won't spoil it, except to say...never realised how cute Rae actually is...anyway...

The "wraparound" story is pretty cool, despite Debbie Harry's abysmal acting abilities...she had an okay voice, what possessed her to start acting...? Anyway...she does alright I spose, looking a little like Michelle Pfieffer, but Timmy steals the show in this one.

All in all, as far as horror anthologies go, Creepshow is heaps better, but this is a fun Saturday night scare-fest, and would be good to watch with Creepshow or Creepshow 2.

One Of The Better Horror Movies Of The 90's!

[Brian-272 · 8/10 · 25 March 2000]

If your a fan of Tales From The Crypt or Creepshow then Tales From The Darkside: The Movie is a must see! All three stories are highly enjoyable the last story Lovers Vow is great a honor to the now late Michael McDowell. Lot 249 also features great performances from Christian Slater,Steve Buscemi,and Julianne Moore. The second story Cat from Hell is enjoyable and is one of William Hickey's last roles.A great horror movie to watch over and over one of the best ever made.

Enjoyable Horror Anthology

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 14 December 2013]

Horror anthology movie spun-off from the Tales from the Darkside TV series. It features three stories plus a bookend piece. The first story is "Lot 249" about a nerd (Steve Buscemi) who is cheated out of a scholarship by an evil girl and her boyfriend (Julianne Moore, Robert Sedgwick ). He seeks revenge by using an ancient scroll to send a mummy after them. Christian Slater plays Moore's brother and is an inconsistently written character. Buscemi is enjoyable though and it's nice to see an old-school mummy.

The second story is "Cat from Hell" about an elderly millionaire (Wiliam Hickey) who hires a hit-man (Buster Poindexter) to kill a cat. This is the weakest story of the bunch. Hickey and Poindexter are fine but it's kind of obnoxiously dark and I didn't really care what happened to anybody, including the cat. The third story is "Lover's Vow," about an artist (James Remar) whose life is spared by a gargoyle as long as he never reveals he saw the monster. He falls in love with a woman (Rae Dawn Chong) and after many years together the temptation to share his secret becomes too great. This story pretty much rips off the "Woman of the Snow" story from the superior horror anthology film Kwaidan (1964) but is still well done and probably the best story in the movie.

The bookend linking story is a take-off on Hansel & Gretel, with a witch (Debbie Harry) preparing to cook a little boy (Matthew Lawrence). To stall for time, the boy tells her stories from his favorite book, which leads into the three other tales. This is an amusing and enjoyable part of the film, though nothing exceptional. Overall, it's a surprisingly enjoyable film, helped in large part by a good cast. The stories aren't particularly strong, but somehow it manages to keep you entertained. The acting, directing, and special effects are pretty good and make up for the writing as much as they can.

Not scary at all but I sort of like it

[preppy-3 · 5/10 · 14 May 2014]

Movie has Debbie Harry as a suburban cannibal who has a young kid under lock and key (played by 10 year old Matthew Laurence) preparing to kill and eat him. He starts reading tales out of a book named "Tales of the Darkside" (of course) to stop her from eating him.

First up is "Lot 249" in which a student revives a mummy to kill his enemies. The story by Bram Stoker is a quick eerie read. The segment here is slow, silly and chock-full of terrible acting and fake gore. What's surprising is we have three great actors--Christian Slater, Steve Buscemi and Julianne Moore (!!!) giving their all time worst performances.

"Cat from Hell" (from a Stephen King Story) is a real stupid tale of an old man (William Hickey) hiring a professional killer (David Johanssen) to kill a cat that is after him. It's boring and stupid but does have a real gory cool ending.

"Lover's Vow" has an artist (a pumped up James Remar) who has a strange encounter with a real cool demon. Then it switches tracks and turns into a love story (with Rae Dawn Chong thrown in). It leads to a frustrating and predictable ending.

The movie looks cheaply made and is never really scary. It plays like three episodes of the TV series stitched together with R rated swearing, gore and violence thrown in. Still I like it in a strange sort of way. The cast alone makes it worth seeing and it's only 90 minutes long. Horror fans should take a look.

Pretty good.

[willywants · 26 July 2004]

This is really three shorter movies, bound together by a fourth tale in which the other three stories are read. The first segment features an animated mummy stalking selected student victims; the second tale tells the story of a "cat from hell" who cannot be killed and leaves a trail of victims behind it; the third story is about a man who witnesses a bizarre killing and promises never to tell what he saw and the "in-between" bit is the story of a woman preparing to cook her newspaper boy for supper. Not the best king adaption, but hey, it ain't bad either. A good cast and some nice special effects. The Gargoyle was nasty! Plenty of gore here, but used in just enough moderation to be effective. A couple of tense moments, some god scares (Especially in the story about involving an elusive, seemingly immortal cat.) and pretty good music. Pretty good movie, just nothing really spectacular or life-changing. My rating for "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie"--6/10.

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

[daniel-sheppard-587-584421 · 7/10 · 9 July 2013]

Tom Savini once famously stated that he considered Tales from the Darkside: The Movie to be the official second sequel to the Creepshow franchise. This view reflects that of the majority of fans, even to this day. The reception of the first Creepshow film categorised it as being a box office success which resulted in Laurel Entertainment, the production company behind the first two Creepshow films, toying with the concept of creating a Creepshow horror anthology television series. Following a period of negotiations and changes due to complications with the holder of the rights, a decision was agreed to change the series title from Creepshow to Tales from the Darkside. The series was well received by its audience and three years following the commercial release of Creepshow 2, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie was released in 1990, sharing many of Creepshow's production team, making it the successor of Creepshow and its first sequel.

The film in question follows three individual stories; Lot 249, Cat from Hell, and Lover's Vow. These three segments are all orientated around a wraparound story which focuses on a little boy being held captive by a middle aged woman who intends on roasting and serving him at a dinner party. In order to prolong the wait for him being put in the oven, young Timmy reads short horror stories to Betty, the woman who has imprisoned him. This is where the individual stories are incorporated into the film.

The first segment, Lot 249, focuses on an ancient mummy being resurrected from the dead and participating in a killing spree. Initially, this story is rather slow but once the resurrection takes place, some considerably grisly killings occur that you can't help but cringe at. This is followed by an interesting series of events which ultimately leads to a rather bleak ending, in a typical horror anthology fashion. Lot 249 has a strong cast in the form of Christian Slater, Julianne Moore and Steve Buscemi in which the slow opening can be forgiven through their performances. The atmosphere present throughout this piece is significantly unnerving which makes the conclusion come across as being even more chilling.

The second segment, Cat from Hell, focuses on the assassination of an evil cat with a mysteriously murderous past. This story was written by Stephen King and adapted for screen by George A Romero, the two minds behind the original concept for Creepshow. This story was initially going to be featured in Creepshow 2 but due to issues with financing and the budget of the film, it was scrapped. Although this piece has a slow, nonlinear structure, an interesting eerie atmosphere is featured throughout and has a similar feel to film noir, only a killer cat is featured as opposed to a femme fatale with a pistol. In comparison to the cast of Lot 249, Cat from Hell mainly focuses on the characters portrayed by David Johansen and William Hickey. Halston, played by Johansen, has an irritating factor to his character which makes him somewhat unlikeable and therefore, partially ruins this segment. Like with Halston, William Hickey's character, Drogan, also has an irritating factor to his character which also makes him somewhat unlikeable. Combining these two characters together into one episode results in the whole piece not being as strong as potential would allow. However, the reoccurring bleak endings throughout the film make this particular story worth watching.

The third and final segment, Lover's Vow, is by far the most powerful story featured in the film. The storyline focuses on a man falling in love with a woman who isn't what she seems. The beginning and the end of the segment presents itself as being of the horror genre but throughout the middle of this piece, it's a romantic drama. The codes and conventions of the romance genre make this piece somewhat addictive to watch as you feel compelled to follow the relationship of the characters of Preston and Carola. However, this makes the conclusion of the segment all the more heart-breaking. Whilst Tales from the Darkside: The Movie doesn't always take itself seriously, Lover's Vow is definitely the darkest piece as explores the deepest of human emotion. Not only this, but the ending is genuinely creepy and is enough to send shivers down your spine.

Overall, I feel that Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is a highly underrated horror film that's due more credit than it receives. Although it isn't as mainstream as the original Creepshow films, it could be argued that Tales from the Darkside is a stronger film in terms of narrative and acting in comparison to the second Creepshow film.

Don't you just love a happy ending?

[EdwardtheBlackPrince · 6/10 · 26 October 2021]

Tales from the Darkside is based off of the television show of the same name is an anthology film consisting of four stories. We open up with a woman traveling home from the grocery shopping and when we arrive at her house we find that she has a little boy trapped in a cell. It turns out the woman is a witch who plans on eating him, in order to delay her the tells the witch three stories fromThe tales from the Darkside novel.

Lot 249: adapted from the short of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of the same name. We open up at a university following a graduation student by the name of Edward(Steve Buscemi) who orders a mysterious crate delivered to his dorm turns out it inside the crate as a mummy and he plans to use to enact vengeance on the people who wronged him. Like with a lot of anthologies the first segment isn't necessarily the best it's more of an all right segment that more introduces you and he said he wanted to film what's the machine he does get kind of a weird look. Julianne Moore is in this is kind which is also in this as one of the victim which is kinda weird. It's nothing great,but the things that the mummy does are actually creative. Than expect from a mummy he doesn't just go around choking people so we get points for that.

Cat from Hell: The second segment George Romero adapts Stephen King short story "The Cat from Hell. A hired gunman is called to an old estate to speak with the client. The client turns out to be an old wealthy pharmaceutical CEO in a wheelchair, who hires him to wouldn't believe it kill a cat for him. The old man thinks it's evil and responsible for his family's death. This is probably best part of the movie and most memorable primarily because of how ridiculous the premise seems. Evil cats are no stranger the horror films like the Black cat or Cat people, but it's so funny how serious it take itself. You can't help but laugh and be invested at this man hunt hunt down this cat and fights it. It's undeniably it has the best shots in it from the cat point of view to the lighting, and really fun remarkable special effect.

Lover's Vow: The Final segment has us follow a failure of a artist. Who after getting dropped by his agent leaves the bar drunk and is attacked by a gargoyle. The gargoyle promises that if he doesn't tell anybody about it or ever seeing it, then it will let him live. That honestly all that can be said about it without possibly spoiling it. This is my opinion the worst and poorly to end on. You can honestly see where it's going but the build up to it it is a drag with very little actually happening between. The only satisfying thing about this tale is the effects on the gargoyle In some way feel wasted.

Overall when it comes to anthologies is this as good as good as Creepshow, tales from the hood or trick r treat? No it not the stories are rather average some of the acting is a bit too hokey, but the effects used on the Mummy, the cat and the gargoyle are pretty good. It's a fun film to sit down and enjoy for a couple laughs.

Fine for what it is, but not that spectacular

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 6/10 · 12 May 2015]

Preparing for a dinner party, a witch starts to cook a young boy for the party, and when is told what will happen to him, decides to stall for time by telling her three stories while a local priest searches for a way to stop the whole thing.

The Good Stor(ies): Lot 249-Receiving a special package, a professor enlists several friends to open his newest prize, lot 249 from a special auction that contains the remains of an ancient Egyptian mummy, and becomes obsessed with trying to bring it to life using the magical scrolls sent along with it. Went a string of murders around their college campus appears to have them befuddled, they learn the secret of why the lot was bid on and try to get away from it. This is a light and breezy tale, mostly centered around the mummy's antics, as the few killings are quite eerie and creepy. The attack in the dorm, which includes the graphic killing where it removes the brain with a wire hanger through the nose, and a later one inside a living room is really great. The special effects on the mummy are great, making it look effectively rotten and crumbling, and it's destruction scene is great, playing that off as well. It ends predictably, but that's a minor after-thought here.

The Bad Stor(ies): Cat from Hell-Summoned to a giant mansion, a hit-man finds that his charge wants him to kill a cat. Surprising and a little befuddled over the request, he explains that the creature has had a long-standing habit of killing those in its path, including the former inhabitants of the house. Left alone to deal with it, he finds that killing the cat isn't the easiest assignment of his career. This here had a lot of potential, with an intriguing story and some really inspired ideas, notably the idea of the cat's motive for coming back. The flashback scenes are good fun, and the fact that a major attack sequence is shot through the cat's POV is really great. The main thing that stops this one is that it's way too long. The majority of the segment consists of the two talking about what the cats' done to deserve the punishment, taking a lot of drama out of the chase. The conclusion is also foretold from the beginning, which all of the stories consists of and makes it feel really uninspired.

Lover's Vow-Trying to create new artwork, a struggling artist is told by his agent that his work can no longer be represented through his agency. Walking through an alley, he runs into a strange woman out alone in the night and offers help. Becoming obsessed with a strange creature he saw that spared his life for the secrecy of its existence, he allows it to become his sole desire to his own detriment. What really hurts this one is the inordinate amount of cheese on display. The design of the gargoyle, with the large eyes, big mouth and intricate designs on the side of his head, make it more cute than fearsome. The easily determinable rubber used for the creation makes it another strike. There's also the fact that it takes way too long to get to its really good parts, concentrating on the romance angle way too much, and the way they get together also is a little unbelievable. As with the others, the ending is way too predictable and doesn't really get the chance to become the possible shock it could've had.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Brief Nudity and children-in-jeopardy.

Horror Lite

[ReelCheese · 5/10 · 11 June 2006]

TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE: THE MOVIE is the kind of "horror lite" you might find scary if you're a fourth grader up at midnight. The rest of us are only mildly amused at this anthology of not-so gruesome tales.

A young boy tries to stave off becoming dinner for a modern-day witch by sharing a trio of stories from the phonebook-sized "Tales from the Darkside" book. First a mummy is resurrected to exact revenge on a college preppy. Next, a black cat proves to be more than just bad luck for a hit-man hired to kill the cursed creature. Finally we have a murderous gargoyle with a really big secret.

A blend of GOOSEBUMPS, Charles Band and '80s shlock, TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE only escapes mediocrity with the mummy vignette, which is surprisingly effective and reminds us how horror doesn't always have to be about bloody knives and severed body parts. A young Steve Buscemi is terrific as the tormented geek who summons an undead monster so real you can almost smell the decay. However, this opening bit is quickly forgotten amid the dreariness and futility of the final two tales. The gargoyle story in particular is silly and out of place with a monster that looks like it came straight from Jim Henson's Creature Workshop.

The motive behind TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE was a good one. It sought to revive the "scary stories around the campfire" style of horror from yesteryear. It just couldn't match its ambition with results.

Terrifying if watched alone late at night

[Stevenuccj · 9/10 · 9 May 2001]

One of the top horror-story anthology movies out there (albeit that isn't saying much). Will scare the pants off you if watched late at night by your lonesome. Stories are cleverly placed from least terrifying first to most terrifying at the end. Acting leaves much to be desired, however, with the first story containing the most watchable cast (Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater). Wraparound story is cliched and predictable, but it doesn't really matter.

First story is one of the more interesting mummy tales out there, with Buscemi playing an outsider in a yuppie university who discovers "Lot 249." Lot turns out to be ancient preserved mummy who, of course, wrecks havoc. Twists at the end are good but not exceptional in any way.

Second story is a fantastical tale regarding a vicious cat that never seems to go away. Old man hires hitman to kill cat. Tale is entertaining and unnerving but altogether ridiculous as well. Only for fans of horror, really.

Third story is gem of anthology. Concerns a young man who witnesses a gargoyle savagely kill a man in a dark alley. Man makes vow to never speak of gargoyle to anyone in exchange for his life. Romantic tale ends in shock and horror. Likely to give nightmares.

Overall, this movie is laughable and boring in daytime but can be terrifying at night. Personally I have a tough time choosing favorite tale; each one brings something different to the table. Horror buffs be sure to check this one out if you haven't already.

Creepshow 3

[Mileskolehmainen · 7/10 · 4 September 2014]

Tales from the Darkside (Technically Creepshow 3) is a great horror film, and actually better than the decent Creepshow 2. This film has a mysterious fantastical tone, with spikes of horror, and (surprisingly) romance. Tales from the Darkside has much better effects than the Second film, and great characters/actors. The stories are also very compelling and The second segment- "The cat from hell" written by Stephen King and George Romero, is quite scary. Not as scary as the Creepshow 2, but close. On camera views/cuts, this film also does well. Lots of comic book angles and coherent cuts. So Tales from the Darkside is a classic horror film, and I recommend it to horror fans. Also, Just like Creepshow 2, this got a low (35%) rating on rotten tomatoes, but is much better than two stars.

Tales from the Dull Side

[TheRedDeath30 · 5/10 · 20 February 2017]

Okay, yes, I started with a bad pun, but there is really nothing memorable about this movie, at all. When you consider the level of talent involved in the creation of this movie, it should almost be an embarrassment that it ended up so painfully mediocre.

Many would tell you that this is the unofficial "Creepshow 3". The plans to create a Creepshow television series eventually resulted in TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, a second rate TALES FROM THE CRYPT clone. The movie spin off of the series that started as CREEPSHOW and features many of the same people behind the legendary 80s portmanteau resulted in this movie. I am a big of the original CREEPSHOW and this movie doesn't hold a candle to it. Then again, it's not much below the quality of CREEPSHOW 2 which I loved as a kid, but cringe a little now when I revisit and realize how poor some of that movie is, as well.

Like most horror anthologies, we have a wraparound story, here the singer from Blondie overacts in the role of a witch preparing a feast, which is supposed to be Joey's Lawrence's little brother, who is so annoying in the role you wish they would eat him. The setup is that blondie has given the kid a book to occupy his time and he convinces her to allow him the time to read a few sections to her, in an effort to buy himself time.

For the most part, all of these stories follow the same blueprint that has been done over and over in EC Comics, Amicus films, CREEPSHOW and TALES FROM THE CRYPT. Introduce a plot, give us 10 minutes of horror, then pull the rug out from under the audience with a twist ending that usually features some visual pun. When the formula works, it usually works well and allows directors success with the timeframe. More often than not, though, it results in halfway formulated ideas, corny plots and ludicrous ideas, which is essentially what we have here.

The first segment, LOT 249, is a revenge story featuring a mummy. Steve Buscemi has been robbed of some academic award or other when he's cheated by a rich kid at school. Buscemi, also, happens to be a seller of antiquities and his latest acquisition is a mummy. With a scroll, he brings the corpse to live and uses it to enact his revenge. The story features Christian Slater and Julianne Moore and could have been the most terrifying of the lot, except that it can't help but devolve into cheesiness, with bad jokes and Slater hacking the thing apart with an electric meat cleaver.

The second segment is just plain stupid. THE CAT FROM HELL is about a pharmaceutical giant being tortured by a cat, who's apparently been sent on a mission of retribution to right the wrongs of abuse done by the company as it tested its' drugs on cats through the years. The cat has killed the man's wife and friends and he knows his time is next, so let's hire Buster Poindexter, as a hit-man, to off the beast. We get boring recollections of the cat's previous murders, many of which feature ridiculous special effects, the kind where an actor holds a badly designed stuffed cat on their face and wiggles it around to simulate a cat attacking them. Then, the assassin is left on his own, in an old dark house, to kill the cat, which only leads to all too predictable results.

The final segment, LOVER'S VOW, seems to be most reviewers favorite, but it's really not much better. An artist has just found out he's pretty much broke and drinks his sorrows away. Upon leaving the bar with his friend, they are attacked by a gargoyle that looks as if it was designed by high school students, on a public access channel budget. It's bad, especially when I consider the level of regard that I have for KNB Effects. The gargoyle spares him so long as he promises never to tell anyone what he saw. He immediately meets Rae Dawn Chong, they fall in love, his life gets better, they have kids. If you don't see the end of this one coming a mile away, then you are either stupid, or not paying attention.

Then we get the resolution of our wraparound, which sees two people who can't act, playing out a ridiculous situation that crosses that line from being a bad attempt at humor to being insulting to my intelligence.

I am coming off a little harsh, but the movie is not good, at all, and really deserves no more praise than this. There are plenty of other good horror movies around. Go watch one of those instead.

Don't You Just Love Happy Endings?

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 7 March 2014]

Little Timmy (Matthew Lawrence) is arrested in the kitchen of Betty (Deborah Harry) that is preparing a dinner party for eight guests where Timmy is the main dish. Timmy tells three horror stories to buy time and try to escape:

"Lot 249" – The riches Andy (Christian Slater) and his best friend Lee (Robert Sedgwick) use Andy's sister Susan (Julianne Moore) to trick the nerd Bellingham (Steve Buscemi) and get his place in the university. Bellingham brings a Mummy (Michael Deak) to his room and uses a scroll to revive him and to take revenge against Lee and Susan and later against Andy.

"Cat from Hell" – The millionaire Drogan (William Hickey) hires the hit- man Halston (David Johansen) to kill a cat that has murdered the three other people that lived with him in his mansion. But soon Halston learns that the cat is from hell.

"Lover's Vow" – The washed up artist Preston (James Remar) goes to the bar of his friend Jer to meet his agent Wyatt (Robert Klein) that tells him that does not want to be his agent anymore. Preston drinks booze until Jer closes the bar and they walk through a dark alley. Out of the blue, Jer is attacked and decapitated by a gargoyle and when Preston is going to be attacked, he promises to the gargoyle that he will never tell what has happened that night in the alley. The gargoyle flies away and when Preston is walking back home, he sees a woman, Carola (Rae Dawn Chong), near to the place where Jer was murdered. Preston invites Carola to go to his flat to call a cab and they begin a romance. Ten years later, they are happily married with two children and Preston decides to disclose his secret to his wife with tragic consequences for his family and him.

"Tales from the Darkside: The Movie" follows the format of "Creepshow", with a wraparound story and three segments. The wraparound story is funny with the fate of Timmy. "Lot 249" and "Cat from Hell" are good segments with the debut of Julianne Moore in a feature. But the unforgettable and heartbreaking "Lover's Vow" is among the best horror stories that I have ever seen with the surprising conclusion. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Contos da Escuridão" ("Tales from the Darkside")

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie

[Toronto85 · 6/10 · 26 December 2012]

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is a horror anthology type film that includes three tales. One is about a mummy that kills, the second is about an attacking feline, and the third tells the tale of a murdering gargoyle. I've always loved these type of horror movies that tells multiple stories within it. Some others that come to mind are "Tales from the Crypt (1972)", "Cat's Eye" and "Trilogy of Terror". Like the 1972 flick Tales From the Crypt', this film has a main plot that surrounds the tales told. The plot for this one is of a little boy who is being held captive by a beautiful housewife who plans on serving him for dinner at her house party. The little boy tries to stall her plans by reading the three stories from the book 'Tales from the Darkside'.

The first story (Lot 249) is about a mummy who is brought back to life by a college student who wants revenge on those who have wronged/bullied him. The mummy kills the students in horrific ways, and the tale ends with a decent twist. The second story (The Cat From Hell) shows an old man named Drogan hiring a hit man named Halston to kill a cat. According to Drogan, the black cat is responsible for the death of his sister and two others. He offers the Halston $100,000 to kill the cat. So basically the whole tale revolves around Halston chasing the cat around the huge mansion, leading up to a pretty gruesome finale. The final story (Lover's Vow) is about a guy named Preston who witnesses another man getting slaughtered by a gargoyle one night in a New York alleyway. The gargoyle tells him that if he ever told anyone of what he saw, it would come back and kill him too! That same night, he meets a beautiful woman who he ends up falling in love with. A year later Preston makes the fatal mistake of telling her what he saw that night, leading to one hell of a twist that frightened me the first time I saw it.

The last story is the best of all three. It has a good story to it, lots of gore, and an interesting little twist at the end. The weakest of the bunch for me would have to be "The Cat from Hell". It was just to ridiculous for me, this cat running around with a professional hit-man not being able to capture it. There was definitely a lot of blood and gore in this film, we get a decapitated head and a cat who goes inside of a person's mouth and rests in their stomach. The wraparound story with the woman trying to cook the kid was decent, nothing special but nothing to complain about.

The acting was pretty good with some big names leading the way (Christian Slater/Julianne Moore/Deborah Harry). Overall, Tales From The Darkside: The Movie is an average horror film. I am a fan of the original TV series, I'd rate them above this film. The 'Lover's Vow' story was the best one, the other two lacked a bit and dragged on a little. I guess I'd recommend it for horror anthology fans. It isn't as good as 'Tales from the Crypt (1972)' or 'Creephow', but it has it's moments.

6/10

Worst Anthology

[alfredpr-69611 · 1/10 · 1 August 2021]

This was one of the first things I caught when we first got cable, I believe HBO showed this crap 2-5 times a week back then. This movie is so hideously bad, no scares, no atmosphere, no talent actors, cheap monster effects, Z grade stories. I remember the one about the gargoyle and that is the most pathetic story I ever saw. It was really a parody of interracial marriage and how it invariably ends in disaster.

This movie is just garbage from beginning to end, none of the magic of Creepshow and Creepshow 2.