Scary Tales

I've seen some awful, awful horror movies made on low budgets, but this one wouldn't even qualify as a halfway decent student film. I laughed throughout the movie--not with it, but at it. Every, and I mean every, element of "Scary Tales" spells out A-M-A-T-E-U-R. On an obvious level, there's the terrible acting. It's one thing for an actor not knowing how to emote well, but these actors literally can't do anything right. There's a couple of scenes where characters are rustling through papers, and they don't even do that convincingly! You can attack this movie from any and every level. There's the pervasive use of cheesy sound effects, uninspired computer-generated editing techniques that even the most elementary film student can figure out--Hell, even the font they used for the titles is horrible! I'm a film student myself and I can honestly say I've made better films than this. The director really put no effort into suspending an audience's disbelief and concealing the micro budget. In a couple scenes, the main character is working in a bookstore and he stacks the books vertically, rather than horizontally. Now, even the lousiest, around-the-corner bookstores don't stack their books that way. Did the director have any brains whatsoever? Even amongst cheesy horror movies, this ranks as one of the cheesiest. Skip it at all costs!

This shot on video anthology works well as a black comedy/horror cheapie. Bill Cassinelli is quite good in his role as Dennis Frye, an unemployed man who visits a job placement center. While there, he is told what may happen to him at each job by Mr. Longfellow (wonderfully played by Joel Wynkoop). The flick is paced slowly at times, but it works. Michael A. Hoffman maintains a sense of humor and never lets this become predictable. One of the better horror anthologies to be released for some time....7/10

I was lucky enough to view a screener copy of Scary Tales and let me tell you it was great. Granted, there are a few scenes where I thought it was a little slow, but the great twists and funny faces made up for it all.

I 100% recommend this to anyone who enjoys a little mind-challenge, horror, and comedy. Have fun with it!

Our film review website was sent a screener of the "Scary Tales Collection 2 pack", which is set for major release later this year.

Having read some reviews for both films, I was interested in seeing what each entry in this low budget series had to offer.

To my surprise, both films moved at a quick pace and each offered their form of "entertainment". Now, why is entertainment in quotation marks?

Well, these little low budget features were oddities. For starters, despite being irrational with their narratives, they seem to intentionally tread familiar ground only to push a cliché so far before completely turning it in your face. Of course, the entertaining factor is the oddness of the production.

SCARY TALES

A review by Justin Dyer

5-24-2005

Part 1 in the series, captioned "Volume 1 - Warped Realities" - is much different than the 2nd entry in the series. While it technically is a horror anthology, each tale is centered around one individual who visits a job finding agency. Here, he is told 3 stories dealing with different jobs, and what his future would hold if he took each.

While the wrap-a-round is a good idea, the idea is underutilized. While Joel D. Wynkoop has a fun, campy presence as Mr. Longfellow - this low budget series' version of the Crypt-Keeper, his being confined behind a desk lowers the fun level (he is much more animated in the sequel).

Technically this entry falls within the "anthology format", yet, each tale deals with the same character - making it almost a feature cut into vignettes as opposed to a typical "trilogy" of horror.

SCARY TALES is extremely similar in tone to the television anthology series of the 1960's and 70's; somber, paced with deliberate intention, stories focused on one individual - yet, there are some campy scenes mixed within. It's odd that the creators took the campier level with the sequel - as this is a fairly straightforward series.

Each tale is decently acted and well photographed - but blood is a scarcity as, again, these are more reminiscent of something you would see on television.

There is an effective sex scene thrown within, upping the level of exploitation, but this is still a more "mainstream" feature that is appropriate for 13+.

What should you expect from SCARY TALES?

It is entertaining with fairly solid stories, attractive women (with a decent amount of nudity) and a straightforward narrative. Would I recommend it as much as it's sequel? No.

However, it does lead into THE RETURN OF MR. LONGFELLOW quite well, and there's an inside joke that's bound to make any fan of this film chuckle once they watch part 2.

Camp Value - 7 out of 10 Production Value - 8 out of 10 Acting - 6 out of 10 Screenplay - 6 out of 10 Entertainment Value - 7 out of 10

Overall

6 out of 10

Recommended

i watched this movie after seeing part 2.

it's a good idea, about a guy who visits a job finding office. hes offered 3 jobs but can't take them until he hears about them.

each story is about his future. one has him running over a little girl and being haunted by her doll. the last one has edgar allen poe.

not nearly as good as scary tales 2, but worth your time.

one comment though, the acting kind of bad in some spots, but the leads are really, really good.

my wife and i picked this movie up in Ohio at a horror convention (where we watched part 2 with an audience). both movies are hard to find, but worth your time if you can buy them.