MGM/UA
1989 Color
90 mins.
Horror Anthology
Marg Helgenberger (Species), Judie Aronson (F13 4), Marc McClure (Back to the Future), Pamela Adlon (Gate 2), Penelope Sudrow (NOES 3), Tracy Wels (Gremlins), Ramy Zada ( 2 Evil Eyes) and Loyda Ramos (Speed) star.
Written and Directed by Jim and Ken Wheat
Rated R for language, violence and gore.
I'm sure many of you have not heard of this film. And what I'm about to say may have more to do with nostalgia than anything else but after revisiting this little cinematic treasure I believe it's the best of the horror anthology films. Not to say I don't love Tales from the Darkside, Tales from the Crypt,The Creepshows, Twilight Zone the movie and especially Trick or Treat but this one just takes the cake for me. It centers around a young woman on her way to her psychology of fear class at her college and she has a bad feeling about it. Well as soon as it begins she discovers she's right with a darkly handsome but radical professor whose methods are off the wall at best. The school of course ends up reprimanding him for embarrassing a student and they decide to join him in a exploration of fear at his humble abode on a rainy night of course. There they begin to tell stories to scare each other. Each one a little creepier than the last. The first one features a married couple celebrating the husbands birthday when their car gets two flat tires and they end up in front of a dilapidated mansion with a sordid past. To tell you any more would spoil the good bits but the ending is a real kicker! Next up is the story of four teenage girls trying to go to a club in the city when their car runs out of gas in the ghetto and they find themselves on the run from three killer pooches and the final one has a young Marg Helgenberger as the only employee at an all night phone messaging service who finds herself being stalked by her clients stalker. All have some what of a familiar tone but are executed solidly and unlike most films of this type all of them feel like theatrical material. It all culminates into a bizarre but inspired finale that will have some rolling their eyes and others geeking out. I love this film. I grew up on it. It's one of my favorites and deserves a cult audience. It can be hammy at times like any good nostalgia piece but it still delivers the creepy goods and is more ambitious than most films nowadays. ****.5/5
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