A fistful of mostly fun frights.
There’s something really enticing about a good anthology horror movie. Modern entries like Trick ‘r Treat and V/H/S have become cult favorites among scare buffs, and brought about some of the most terrifying and creative stories in recent memory. (The latter’s succubus short still haunts me to this day.) Tales of Halloween, however, is a bit sillier than those films, but it’s nevertheless enjoyable with a scattering of chills and thrills.
Here, the film features a whopping ten segments directed by 11 horror filmmakers, including Neil Marshall (The Descent), Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, III and IV), Lucky McKee (The Woman) and Mike Mendez (Big Ass Spider!). But the real catch is, Tales of Halloween takes place in one suburban town, which is terrorized by ghouls, aliens and psychopaths all in one night on All Hallows’ Eve.
As with most anthology films, some shorts are stronger than others, but there are definitely a few standouts. The first segment, “Sweet Tooth” (directed by Dave Parker), is about a kid deprived of candy who rips out the intestines of trick-or-treaters to harvest their sweets. It’s also probably the scariest of the bunch and actually goes for genuine frights.
Another segment called “Trick” (Adam Giegrasch) finds four adults watching movies at home when they’re suddenly ambushed by murderous trick-or-treaters. That one comes with a surprisingly great twist at the end.
From Tales of Halloween: “Trick”
Then there’s “The Ransom of Rusty Rex” (Ryan Schifrin), which pays tribute to mini-monster movies like Leprechaun and Gremlins. That segment follows a couple of crooks who think they’re kidnapping a millionaire’s son but are horrified to find out that something else is lurking underneath the kid’s costume.
My personal favorite segment is “The Weak and the Wicked” (Paul Solet), which, as the title suggests, is an homage to westerns. Here, a masked teenager seeks vengeance against three nighttime bullies who wreaked havoc on his family many Halloweens ago. To carry out his plan, he calls upon a grotesque guardian angel to join him in battle against the trio of persecutors.
From Tales of Halloween: “The Weak and the Wicked”
Meanwhile, segments like “Grim Grinning Ghost” (Axelle Carolyn), “This Means War” (John Skipp & Andrew Kasch) and “Friday the 31st” (Mike Mendez) range from “okay” to “mediocre,” while “The Night Billy Raised Hell” (Bousman) and “Ding Dong” (McKee) have some interesting ideas but are ultimately juvenile and cartoony. Finally, Marshall’s segment “Bad Seed” is somewhat interesting, if only because it ties the other shorts together, but it too suffers from being too corny for its own good.
From Tales of Halloween: “The Night Billy Raised Hell”
That said, Tales of Halloween does include several actors you might recognize from other horror-themed movies and TV shows. Sam Witwer (Being Human), Lin Shaye (Insidious), Keir Gilchrist (It Follows), Booboo Stewart (The Twilight Saga), Jose Pablo Cantillo (The Walking Dead), Greg Grunberg (Heroes), Grace Phipps (The Vampire Diaries), Barry Bostwick (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) and director John Landis (An American Werewolf in London) all pop up in the film, which adds a fun bit of “who’s who” to the equation.
The October Society’s Tales of Halloween isn’t as frightening as V/H/S nor as consistent as Trick ‘r Treat, but it’s still pretty good for a horror anthology film. Among the 10 different segments, you’re sure to find at least one or two that will scratch that spine-tingling itch. It would have been nice if more of the segments had actually committed to the horror aspect, rather than deflected it with comedy. That said, if you’re looking for something in the spirit of the holiday to watch come October 31st, Tales of Halloween might just hit the sweet spot.
Tales of Halloween hits theaters, VOD and iTunes on October 16.
