The Dark Dealer (1995) Poster

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7/10
A Cheesy Trilogy of Creepy Low-Budget Horror Tales in the Style of Creepshow that Entertains a Lot
claudio_carvalho20 January 2014
Three men find themselves forced to gamble blackjack for their souls with the Dealer (Mark Fickert) that is the devil. As long as they bet, the reasons why they are in that place is revealed.

"Cellar Space": The hoodlums Peter (Rocky Patterson) and his accomplice Fred (Charles Carroll) kill a man and they break into the basement to escape from the police, where the harmless Nickodemus (Gordon Fox) live. They give an abusive treatment to the old man and discover that he is actually a powerful demon.

"Blues in the Night": The lawyer and aspirant songwriter Phillip Barton (Kevin Walker) finds a demo tape of the unknown blues singer Samson Burke (Vincent Gaskins) in a garage sale and he becomes obsessed to find the man, affecting his relationship with his girlfriend Lynda. He discovers that Samson Burke is an obscure blues man that was forgotten by his family after his death, and Phillip decides to take the credit for his songs. But Samson returns from the afterlife to collect Phillip soul.

"Dark Dealer": Ray (Richard Hull, Jr.) meets the drug dealer Cracker (Jeff English) expecting to pay the debts of his addicted girlfriend Denise (Kim Frazier) that is forced to prostitute for Cracker. The drug dealer proposes that Ray steals the badge of his father that works in a pharmaceuticals laboratory and they break into the laboratory to heist drugs. Cracker takes an experimental drug and transforms himself into a lethal ball of lights. Now Ray has to gamble for his soul and try to save Denise that was dragged into the ball.

"The Dark Dealer" is a cheesy trilogy of creepy low-budget horror tales in the style of Creepshow that entertains a lot. I saw this movie for the first time on 24 February 2000 on VHS and I loved it. Yesterday I saw it again and I had lots of fun. This movie has a minimum budget, uses amateurish cast, the camera work and lightening are poor, but the stories are well-written and do not disappoint. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Jogo Macabro" ("Macabre Game")
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Good
zmoviefan21 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I bought this for 2 bucks at a video store going out of business and it was good. This flick is about three men who find themselves gambling for their souls. Quickly we learn how these men ended up dead.

We get three different stories, a la Creepshow. The first one involves an older man who witnesses a murder outside his home, then the killers pay him a visit. This one was the best.

Story two is the most boring. It has a young lawyer who wants to become a songwriter so bad, he steals the songs and music from an unknown musician who died in the 60's.

The third story, is the funniest and better paced of the three. In this, three young people break into a pharmaceutical company to steal drugs. Here they are chased by a big bright thing.

If you like low budget flicks, check this one out.
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8/10
Entertainingly chintzy low-budget horror anthology obscurity
Woodyanders14 November 2013
Warning: Spoilers
A trio of desperate men are forced to participate in a nightmarish game of blackjack for their souls. The circumstances behind how these fellows wound up in purgatory are revealed in three individual segments. First and most enjoyable tale: Two vicious hoodlums break into the basement dwelling of an old hermit who isn't nearly as harmless as he appears to be. This honey boasts a gnarly demonic angle complete with one hell of a funky monster. Second and weakest yarn: An unscrupulous entertainment lawyer gets more than he bargained for when he decides to steal several songs from a deceased blues musician. While this one offers a few cool blues tunes, it alas suffers from an utterly predictable story that plods towards a pretty obvious ending. Third and most unintentionally funny vignette: An ex-con agrees to help a scuzzy drug dealer rob a pharmaceutical lab in order to rescue his girlfriend from the clutches of said dope pusher. Boy, is this baby a total kitschy hoot, thanks to the ridiculously broad portrayal of the drug dealer and a goofy glowing red ball thing that chases our would-be hero all around the lab. The tacky gore,, flat (non)direction, insipid acting from a lame no-name cast, cheesy (markedly less than) special effects, and grainy cinematography all give this omnibus outing a certain endearingly crummy charm. A good deal of campy nickel'n'dime fun.
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