Terror Tract

I'm a sucker for John Ritter due to my longstanding love of "Three's Company," so when I stumbled across this flick while browsing through On Demand horror movies, I was quick to download it.

I wasn't expecting much, but I found myself laughing right from the opening credits, and I was thoroughly engaged during these "Tales from the Darkside"-type stories. I think my favorite was the second--I don't think I've ever seen a monkey as a horror villain!

The film satisfied both my love for Ritter and my love for cheezy horror, so I have no complaints. If you like Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Darkside, the Twilight Zone, or any of the other myriad sci-fi/horror anthologies, you might just enjoy this little unknown gem. Worth a watch, especially around Halloween when all the other horror flicks are rented.

Bob Carter (John Ritter), a suburban real estate agent, tries to get a kindly couple, Allen and Mary Ann Doyle, to buy a house only to give them horrifying stories about the pasts of three of them.

What really sells this film is the "before they were stars" appeal of it. The "Nightmare" segment features Wade Williams years before his big break on "Prison Break".

The "Bobo" segment features Bryan Cranston, just as he was hitting it big with "Malcolm in the Middle" and years before "Breaking Bad" made him an A-list star.

And the "Come to Granny" segment has Brenda Strong, who was already quite successful, but this was again years before her biggest role: on "Desperate Housewives".

Beyond that, it is a slightly above average horror film. Nothing like a "lost treasure", but definitely worth checking out.

I caught this peculiar little gem late night on USA and was instantly intrigued. John Ritter hamming it up royally among granny masked killers, malevolent monkeys, and at least one zombie. Well it's all part of Terror Tract, an enjoyable anthology which follows a young couple looking at homes with a kindly (if a little strange) real estate agent (Ritter). But each house comes with a story (full disclosure), and the young couple may be in for more than they bargained. Story One: After doing away with her husband, a woman and her lover are haunted by visions of said husband unearthing himself from his watery grave and returning for vengeance. Story Two: A little girl finds a playful monkey in her backyard and asks her father (Bryan Cranston) to keep it...but why does the monkey unsettle the father so. Story Three: A young man believes he shares a psychic connection with a brutal serial killer adorned in a granny-mask. But it's the wraparound that is the most fiendish fun it becomes clear that no house on Terror Tract is free from evil. The budget may be a little low but I would stack it up against most of the studio horror films these days. Just watch out for granny face!

Real estate man John Ritter shows three houses to a young couple (David Deluise, Allison Smith). Each one has a horrible story attached to it which Ritter tells the couple.

"Nightmare" is a predictable story about a love triangle and murder. There are too many false scares but it's fairly well-done. "Bobo" is a real stupid tale of a killer monkey. Dumb, illogical, silly but Bryan Cranston gives a good performance despite the script. "Come to Granny" is a winner. A teenage boy (Will Estes) sees killings before they're about to happen at the hands of the Granny Killer--a killer who wears a disgusting old womans mask while killing women. The mask itself is scary and the murder scenes are violent, bloody and extremely well-done. Also Estes makes for a very sympathetic protagonist (and has a surprising shower scene). The final wrap up of the framing story is also bloody, funny and really good.

All in all, it's much better than I expected. It's worth seeing for the bits involving Ritter (who's very good) and the final story.

The suburban real estate agent Bob Carter (John Ritter) is driving the newlywed Allen Doyle (David DeLuise) and his wife Mary Ann Doyle (Allison Smith) through a suburban area expecting to sell a house to them. While showing the houses, his clients asks for full disclosure about each house and Carter is forced to tell the frightful truth about each house. In the end, Mary Ann knows the neighborhood.

"Terror Tract" is an excellent horror film with a lead storyline and three segments. "Nightmare", "Bobo" and come to Granny" are highly entertaining and the lead segment "Make Me an Offer" has a surprising and hilarious conclusion. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa do Terror Tract" ("The House of the Terror Tract")