Review of Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) by Allan C — 07 Jun 2014

Entertaining horror anthology film in the mold of Creepshow/Tales from the Crypt, mixing horror and dark humor. The film isn't anything all that original, but it's competently directed (which is more than can be said of most horror films), had solid special effects (done by Dick Smith), and features an above average cast including Christian Slater, David Johansen, William Hickey, James Remar, Rae Dawn Chong, Robert Klein and early career roles for Steve Buscemi and Julianne Moore.

The first story is based upon an Aurthur Conan Doyle mummy short story of revenge. This one stands out because of the cast Christian Slater as the lead and Steve Buscemi in an early part as the nerd using a mummy for revenge on mean trendy people like Julianne Moore with fabulous 80s hair.

I'd also say this is the only time a mummy has seemed scary to me. The second one is probably the weakest of the three, based upon a Stephen King and George A. Romero story that was originally going to be in a Creepshow film.

It's about a old rich man who hires a hitman to kill an evil cat that's evil and killed everyone else in the house. The third segment is the least comedic and does have a certain amount of sincerity to it that's missing from the others, mostly thanks to a strong performance by the underused James Remar.

The twist at the end of the story is not too much of a surprise, but Remar makes it a story of the three that always stuck in my mind. And then top it off with a wraparound story of a young boy about to be eaten by a modern times witch, played by Deborah Harry, and stalling by reading her scary stories.