Tales from the Crypt: Showdown starts as Texas Ranger Thomas McMurdo (David Morse) catches up with the notorious gunslinger, thief & killer William Quintaine (Neil Giuntoli) & challenges him to a showdown which he loses. After killing McMurdo in the showdown Quintaine heads for the saloon where he meets up with the ghost's of his past victims, at first refusing to believe what he is seeing Quintaine eventually has to face up to the truth whether he likes it or not...
This Tales from the Crypt story was episode 8 from season 4, directed by Richard Donner one has to say that Showdown doesn't really feel like a Tales from the Crypt episode. Showdown was one of two segments from a TV pilot film called Two-Fisted Tales (1992) made by the same production team as Tales from the Crypt but focused on stranger none horror or sci-fi stories from the comic book Two-Fisted Tales, I suppose to save money they filmed an opening & closing Cryptkeeper sequence to bookend each individual story & passed them off as a proper Tales from the Crypt episode which it isn't & it doesn't really feel like one either. The script by Frank Darabont is a character driven supernatural ghost story although there is no overt horror in it, no real gore, no bad language & a lack of scares. As I said this was not made for Tales from the Crypt & it show's. At twenty five minutes in length it passes the time & the story is alright if a little lightweight & forgettable, I also have to say there isn't any sort of twist or ironically dark ending which makes it feel a bit pointless.
Along with the Showdown segment the next Tales from the Crypt episode King of the Road (1992) was also taken from Two-Fisted Tales although to be fair Tales from the Crypt returned the favour when Two-Fisted Tales took the episode Yellow (1991) from the end of season three & used that as one of it's stories! There's no gore here apart from one or two gunshot wounds & there's nothing particularly scary or horror themed. The acting is alright although I didn't recognise anyone.
Showdown is an OK way to pass thirty odd minutes, the production values are very good & the Cryptkeeper sequences are fun as usual but it's not a story that will live long in the memory once it has finished.
This Tales from the Crypt story was episode 8 from season 4, directed by Richard Donner one has to say that Showdown doesn't really feel like a Tales from the Crypt episode. Showdown was one of two segments from a TV pilot film called Two-Fisted Tales (1992) made by the same production team as Tales from the Crypt but focused on stranger none horror or sci-fi stories from the comic book Two-Fisted Tales, I suppose to save money they filmed an opening & closing Cryptkeeper sequence to bookend each individual story & passed them off as a proper Tales from the Crypt episode which it isn't & it doesn't really feel like one either. The script by Frank Darabont is a character driven supernatural ghost story although there is no overt horror in it, no real gore, no bad language & a lack of scares. As I said this was not made for Tales from the Crypt & it show's. At twenty five minutes in length it passes the time & the story is alright if a little lightweight & forgettable, I also have to say there isn't any sort of twist or ironically dark ending which makes it feel a bit pointless.
Along with the Showdown segment the next Tales from the Crypt episode King of the Road (1992) was also taken from Two-Fisted Tales although to be fair Tales from the Crypt returned the favour when Two-Fisted Tales took the episode Yellow (1991) from the end of season three & used that as one of it's stories! There's no gore here apart from one or two gunshot wounds & there's nothing particularly scary or horror themed. The acting is alright although I didn't recognise anyone.
Showdown is an OK way to pass thirty odd minutes, the production values are very good & the Cryptkeeper sequences are fun as usual but it's not a story that will live long in the memory once it has finished.