And then here we are at a study of scared faces by female, who must have an IQ of 20. Pull hair, open mouth wide, etc, heck actress could have been perfect for the silent movies in the very early 1900's. "We.. what happened to the girl" says the main character who is not part of story one; I ask myself the same question. Story two, dead woman on ground and I couldn't stop laughing, heck I have a dress mannequin that looks more real. Then the witch has both a male and female voice, what? Lol. How do you rate a movie that was campy, which I really like and lousy which I really hate. I decided to give it a seven thank to the store owner, and the two dummies looking for something scary. LOL.
4 Reviews
An enjoyably effective British indie anthology effort
kannibalcorpsegrinder29 October 2023
Arriving at an antique store, a pair of teens looking for decorations for an upcoming Halloween party hear a trio of stories told by a malevolent fortune-teller box.
The Good Stor(ies): Story 1-Waiting alone for her date, a woman receives a call informing her of his vehicle troubles and to leave, where her journey home brings her into contact with a strange masked man who begins following her through the city until she makes it to safety. Sensing a connection between her encounter and the string of brutal murders, she tries to look into the case which may soon feature her as an unwitting participant. Overall, this is a pretty enjoyable start to this one. The opening premise is solid enough with the masked figure appearing menacingly and chasing her through the darkened streets of the city which reveals the backstory of the killer as well her police investigation into the other murders said to be taking place at the same time. This allows the use of the crime-scene footage where the killer carving into and dismembering the bodies of several victims turns this into a brutal form of torture as a lead-up to the arrival at her apartment and subsequent chase through the building. While it ends rather abruptly, there's still quite a lot to like here.
Story 2-Obsessed with the story of an old witch, a man visits a woman who supposedly holds the skull of a woman said to be the witch he's looking into. Preparing to stay at her house to look into the skull, he soon finds himself drawn into a returning curse from the witch that soon turns the trip into a nightmare. For the most part, this is a decent enough if somewhat flawed segment in the story. The main setup here, involving the witch back when she was alive and the incidents that occur there which correspond nicely to his obsession for it that drives him to the house to study it, all come off rather nicely and give this a great starting point to work with. The Gothic archetypes at play, while he's studying it and tormented by unearthly howling or frightening visions back to the time when she was killed showing her powers at work, is fun enough as it serves as motivation for a decent enough twist to be had. That's the main drawback here, though, as the twist doesn't come off as necessary and could've been fine without it so this comes off as needless filler despite the positives.
Warp-Around-Arriving at an antique store, a pair of teens looking for decorations for an upcoming Halloween party find a possible candidate in a just-purchased story-teller box that tells macabre stories as a trick. As they listen to the machine's stories and what they expect of the device, soon find themselves in great danger the longer they're in the shop. As a whole, this is a really fun and solid piece that has a lot to like about it. The normal function of a wrap-around segment in an anthology is to set up the need for the stories to be told and come about logically, which is ably accomplished here with the friends listening to the stories told on the machine as a means of testing it out for their park so it all comes together logically. With the especially sleazy salesman doing his best to appear suspicious at every turn and a chilling if slightly protracted final resolution coming to pass rather nicely, this is a rather fun part of the film to get a lot to like about it.
The Bad Stor(ies): Story 3-Meeting up with a friend, a pair of men who've just gotten the news of their friend's death, and their postmortem task to deal with his remains left behind arrive at the house to get started. When he discovers Satanic artifacts and evidence of black magic in his belongings, they find themselves faced with the supernatural ramifications of his past. This wasn't bad but does have the most issues of the segments. The initial setup here is quite rushed with no real context as to who the two are so it all lacks the emotional resonance necessary to make the story engaging, which the flaccid pacing does no favors with barely any real context or scares to what's going on. Once it does, though, this picks up considerably as the supernatural visions and hallucinations come fast and thick leading to all manner of fine scares here involving the truth bout the torments his friend succumbed to, although cheap and flimsy, manages to give this some decent scenes overall.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, and Brief Nudity.
The Good Stor(ies): Story 1-Waiting alone for her date, a woman receives a call informing her of his vehicle troubles and to leave, where her journey home brings her into contact with a strange masked man who begins following her through the city until she makes it to safety. Sensing a connection between her encounter and the string of brutal murders, she tries to look into the case which may soon feature her as an unwitting participant. Overall, this is a pretty enjoyable start to this one. The opening premise is solid enough with the masked figure appearing menacingly and chasing her through the darkened streets of the city which reveals the backstory of the killer as well her police investigation into the other murders said to be taking place at the same time. This allows the use of the crime-scene footage where the killer carving into and dismembering the bodies of several victims turns this into a brutal form of torture as a lead-up to the arrival at her apartment and subsequent chase through the building. While it ends rather abruptly, there's still quite a lot to like here.
Story 2-Obsessed with the story of an old witch, a man visits a woman who supposedly holds the skull of a woman said to be the witch he's looking into. Preparing to stay at her house to look into the skull, he soon finds himself drawn into a returning curse from the witch that soon turns the trip into a nightmare. For the most part, this is a decent enough if somewhat flawed segment in the story. The main setup here, involving the witch back when she was alive and the incidents that occur there which correspond nicely to his obsession for it that drives him to the house to study it, all come off rather nicely and give this a great starting point to work with. The Gothic archetypes at play, while he's studying it and tormented by unearthly howling or frightening visions back to the time when she was killed showing her powers at work, is fun enough as it serves as motivation for a decent enough twist to be had. That's the main drawback here, though, as the twist doesn't come off as necessary and could've been fine without it so this comes off as needless filler despite the positives.
Warp-Around-Arriving at an antique store, a pair of teens looking for decorations for an upcoming Halloween party find a possible candidate in a just-purchased story-teller box that tells macabre stories as a trick. As they listen to the machine's stories and what they expect of the device, soon find themselves in great danger the longer they're in the shop. As a whole, this is a really fun and solid piece that has a lot to like about it. The normal function of a wrap-around segment in an anthology is to set up the need for the stories to be told and come about logically, which is ably accomplished here with the friends listening to the stories told on the machine as a means of testing it out for their park so it all comes together logically. With the especially sleazy salesman doing his best to appear suspicious at every turn and a chilling if slightly protracted final resolution coming to pass rather nicely, this is a rather fun part of the film to get a lot to like about it.
The Bad Stor(ies): Story 3-Meeting up with a friend, a pair of men who've just gotten the news of their friend's death, and their postmortem task to deal with his remains left behind arrive at the house to get started. When he discovers Satanic artifacts and evidence of black magic in his belongings, they find themselves faced with the supernatural ramifications of his past. This wasn't bad but does have the most issues of the segments. The initial setup here is quite rushed with no real context as to who the two are so it all lacks the emotional resonance necessary to make the story engaging, which the flaccid pacing does no favors with barely any real context or scares to what's going on. Once it does, though, this picks up considerably as the supernatural visions and hallucinations come fast and thick leading to all manner of fine scares here involving the truth bout the torments his friend succumbed to, although cheap and flimsy, manages to give this some decent scenes overall.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, and Brief Nudity.
Devilishly Good UK Horror!
adrianchavo16 October 2023
I grew up watching anthology-style horror films! This is a much beloved sub-genre perfected by British studios such as Hammer and Amicus and it's simply good to see another young British filmmaker picking up the tradition with this low budget yet entertaining film. This movie is heightened and "campy" enough to keep casual viewers laughing, but I was impressed with the stylish camera work and technical prowess delivered on such a tight budget. Whether intentional or not, the vintage aesthetic really put me in a nostalgic mood and that is at least half of the fun of a film like this! I love movies that feature relics or cursed antiques and so I was eager to give this one a go! If you are looking for a slick commercially made studio horror...this will not be your cup of tea. But if you enjoy nostalgic vibes and a good retro inspired British spine tingler... give this one a watch!
Spooky Fun!
jaydenfosterfreeze24 October 2023
A fun movie to watch this spooky season! While not exactly terrifying, it's still creepy, funny and well acted. This is a lower budget horror flick that actually uses it's limitations to full advantage. Instead of trying to be slick with green screen effects and CGI imagery, this wee dreadful actually works because it's a character based anthology horror that feels old school and organic. The wrap-around story is entertaining and I'd put this in the same category with The Mortuary Collection. The music is the movie's greatest strength and it adds to the spooky and nostalgic atmosphere. Id say the overall style feels ripped from a 90's video store rental and I do love that!
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