Scary or Die

"Scary Or Die" anthology tells five very different dark and twisted stories with L.A as a backdrop save the first. The first story happens in the borderlands outside the city close to Mexico. The film manages to quietly hint at the interwoven depth of the five tales with carefully hidden elements to the tale which require careful attention from the viewer to catch the connection. "Scary Or Die" has directors Bob Badway, Michael Emanuel, and Igor Meglic coming together to create some clever and fresh urban tales of horror which star Bill Oberst Jr., Alexandra Choi, and Corbin Bleu just to name a few playing out these ill fated lives.

scary or die"Scary Or Die" is a classic horror trilogy that celebrates the classic dark, witty and twisted styles most common in 80's anthologies and television series (Tales From The Darkside is the one I kept coming back to as I watched this film). The stories are "The Crossing" - a very dark and poignant story of prejudice and karma which has a couple of 'good ole boys' seeking to deport immigrants in their own sick manner only to have fate exact a gruesome justice of it's own; "Tae Jung's Lament" - a Korean vampire tale that is both elusive and clever in it's re-imagining of a 'damsel in distress' story; "Re- Membered" – a story that brings a scene of almost demonic or devilish cat and mouse dance between a shady character with someone in the trunk; "Clowned"- is an emotional horror story that has a family torn apart over some demonic case of twisted circumstance which conjures nightmares on so many levels; and "Lover Come Back"- a sinister and justified voodoo love story that proves some emotional bonds go beyond the grave or in this case the gross dumping ground.

For me this is one of the better produced anthologies that flows cleanly between tales as given through us by an unknown person via a website entitled "Scary Or Die". The person becomes known at the end, tying up the thread of continuation in this nice little flick. The stories varied from dark humor to melodramatic despair. Each of the stories held out to the very last scene before unveiling the full scope of the twisted tales which brought a freshness to each of them and made this film very entertaining. It is not a balls out scary anthology but it is clever and modern. "Scary Or Die" is a new urbanized 21st century anthology that holds it's own against the classics. I will watch this one many more times before I tire of it. Mainly because there are some deep messages in these stories that you don't see in a lot of the new anthologies and I am still trying to figure out what those messages actually represent.

I didn't really care for it. Hey they say that review is too short so I'll write this sentence to make it longer. Done ?? 3/10

Lured by the cover art to think I was in for a killer clown movie, the Creepshow-esque hand that clicked on the scaryordie website in search of a good horror clip made me realize that this was an anthology.

I haven't bothered to check if all segments were directed by different directors, but what they lack in a unifying theme, they make up with style. The general vibe is old-school, with enough blood to keep the viewer happy but no outright gore or torture. The set-ups are also classic : zombies, vampires, devil cults and the aforementioned killer clown. Segments range from 10 to 30 minutes, with no twists. The story lines are straightforward to a point and do not try to add to any mythos. But they all deliver with elegance and a lot of promise.

Because none of the sketches tries hard to surprise you, they're better left at their short running time, which is enough to be impressed by the directorial styles displayed. This explains why the Clown segment, the longest in the anthology, is also the weakest. It outstayed its weak set-up. The first and last segments, both tales from the undead, are also the slickest and nicely round up this hodgepodge of atmospheric, but almost too respectful quickies.

The main story, Clown, I didn't think was ever so good.

With all the stories, you know what was going to happen, but they were entertaining nonetheless.

Although not entirely original at parts, Scary or Die is a modern "Vault of Horror" or "Trilogy of Terror." We are presented with five tales of the macabre as a zombie clicks on the clips on a you-tube like site.

The Crossing: When three Mexican hating rednecks murder two innocent Latino men at their dump site, they are punished three-fold.

Tajeum Lament: A Japanese man who recently lost his wife saves a woman who looks similar to her. She convinces him to meet her for a night and it's going to be a night to remember.

RE-Membered: A man with a body in his truck is pulled over by a policeman, he's about to let him go when he hears a rattling in the trunk. We've all seen it before.

Clowned - A young man is bitten by an evil clown that eats children. He begins a metamorphism into the same creature that attacked him.

Love Come Back: You can already guess what happens in this revenge story.

I give it a C because although it's entertaining, sometimes it's way too predictable.