I was browsing through the Electronics Boutique in my local mall. Usually, when I see a cheap 2 pack dvd, I'll go for if the movies look promising. That being said, I saw the two pack dvd that consisted of Cherry Falls, and this: Terror Tract. I paid seven dollars for the dvd, and it was worth it, especially for two films.
At first, when I looked at the back of the box, and read the plot, my expectations weren't exactly high. From the description on the back of the box, it sounded like it was just a single-story clichéd horror film about a psycho who takes his job too seriously. When I watched it, I was proven wrong. VERY wrong. The film features three different horror stories, all of them are retold by John Ritter's character. He retells the bloody past of each house to a couple who are thinking of purchasing them. The stories his character tells make up the stories in the movie.
The first horror tale is entitled `Nightmare.' It's plot revolves around a young woman who is caught cheating on her husband with another man. At the beginning of this story, it teases the audience, and me, by showing the back of a nude woman. But anyways, her husband catches her with the other man, revealing that he knew about everything all along. He attempts to kill both his wife, and he lover, but things end up backfiring back to him. The wife and lover dump his `dead' carcass in the water, and desperately try to cover the incident up. I particularly didn't enjoy this story very much, because it has the typical story of a wife cheating on her husband, and someone ending up getting killed. The script is hampered by below mediocre acting from Carmine Giovinazzo (Frank the lover) and Rachel York (Sarah, the wife). The dialogue is lame and derived from old campy horror tales, and each character is just what you would expect: The wife who participates in the murder of her husband, and slowly slipping into insanity because of all the strange things happening, and the lover who seems to never show consideration towards anyone else. The story is somewhat lame, but still proves to be old fashion and fun. The suspense still seems to remain intact, and the tension that builds up in certain scenes will eventually score a cheap scare out you, witch, in my opinion, isn't a bad thing. If a movie has a scare in it, regardless if it's a cheap one, it's still a good thing. Overall, however, this story is the worst out of the bunch, but the movie does get better. Overall Score (for the segment NIGHTMARE): 5 ½ out of 10.
After the couple is disgusted after the realization of the house's past, they go to house number two, which leads to story number two, entitled `Bobo.' Bobo, is about a typical family who finds a seemingly normal monkey in the backyard. The daughter (played by Katelin Petersen) loves the monkey, but as the monkey raises more hell in the house, the father (played by Malcom in the Middle's Bryan Cranston) has more hate for it, and has the feeling that the monkey is evil. This segment bares a more of a `slasher' tone than the previous story. Unlike the previous story, this one doesn't suffer from a s****y script, or bad acting. The acting is a little above mediocre. Each actor creates more characterization for each character, the lines are delivered well, and surprisingly, Marcus Bagwell (a.k.a. Buff Bagwell) delivers a more-than-mediocre performance as the pound dispatcher. Bryan Cranston gives the best overall performance. This segment bares a semi-good storyline, but is missing ingenuity and quality. I like the fact that the `evil killer monkey' story is handled quite well, and there's enough blood for the average horror fan. This segment also has a good ending. It is the second best out of the three stories.
Overall score (for the segment BOBO): 7 ½ out of 10.
The final segment is `Come to Granny,' a somewhat scary story that ahs a somewhat scary villain (the only scary thing from the villain is his/her voice). This segment is the story that delivers the most horror, and DEFINITELY the most gore, but the story is almost third rate. Here's how it goes: The story's main character is Sean Goodwin (play by Will Estes), who has reoccurring premonitions of a psychotic serial killer who goes by the name `Granny Killer,' and who also where's an odd Grandma mask (which s a nice touch to the character). Every time the killer strikes, he sees them all. There really is no distinctive point to this story. The fact that the main character has premonitions kind of already bogs it down in terms of originality. This story, however, for some reason, can actually scare you. The villain is actually somewhat scary, mainly because of it's voice and appearance. The acting is somewhat good, but falls short of what Bobo had, the script, however, isn't good. It's loaded with clichés, and mediocre dialogue, but is still better than the first segment's story.
This segment, however, has the most gore out of each. It has amazingly awesome splatter affects, and very detailed and distinct make-up. Overall, this story is the most entertaining out of the three, and delivers the most horror out of all. This one is the best segment out of the three. Overall score (for the segment COME TO GRANNY): 8 out of 10.
Now, there's technically a fourth segment, which involves John Ritter's character and the couple, but it's not really a segment. John Ritter delivers a great performance, and creates a lot of character, however, the couple does not deliver a good performance. The ending is somewhat funny, just the thought of what's happening before the credits roll will make you laugh.
Overall, Terror Tract was one of the my favorite B-movie quality horror movies. It is not entirely a b-horror movie. Seeing it as a normal movie viewer, I give it a good score, but seeing it as a critic.Actually, I'm not a critic, so who gives a crap? The script varies from good to bad, it depends on which segment, and the story lines are good old fashioned campy horror. This film proves to be very entertaining. Also, view this movie with an open mind, it's meant for enjoyment and nothing else.
Also, this is my favorite John Ritter movie. May he rest in peace. My heart goes out to his friends and family. Rest in peace, John.
Overall score: 8 out of 10.
