Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Starring: Deborah Harry, Matthew Lawrence, Christian Slater, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, David Johansen, William Hickey, Alice Drummond, Dolores Sutton, Mark Margolis, James Remar, Robert Klein, Rae Dawn Chong
Review: To keep from becoming the main course for a modern-day witch's dinner party, a kid (Matthew Lawrence) tries to buy himself some time by reading three twisted tales of fear, horror, and unrelenting evil.
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie has a lot good things going for it. You have stories and scripts from the likes of genius genre writers George A. Romero, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Michael McDowell, and Stephen King. Plus, you have an all-star cast which includes Deborah Harry, Matthew Lawrence, Christian Slater, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, David Johansen, William Hickey, James Remar, Robert Klein, and Rae Dawn Chong. It's just a shame that this cult classic, touted by Tom Savini as the true "Creepshow 3", isn't very entertaining.
The three tales (Lot 249, The Cat from Hell, Lover's Vow), and the wrap-around story are perfect for a horror anthology like this, but the execution is not very cinematic. The movie looks rather cheap, rushed, and amateurish. The actor's all do a great job. It's the direction that's problematic. Some of the stories are confusing, like some of the important info about characters and how they relate to one another are never mentioned or expressed so you spend too much time trying to figure who they are and who is being talked about; kind of like going to a party where you don't know anybody.
The special effects are rather low budget and very dated, but not in a good, nostalgic way. And the scares and surprises aren't scary or surprising; well, that thing with the cat was a jaw-dropper.
I remember liking this one when I was a kid, but this time around Tales from the Darkside: The Movie was a huge disappointment. There's nothing scarier than seeing top-tier talent wasted like it is in this movie.