Chop Shop

I attend several midwest horror conventions each year, and one thing I like to do is buy random films from the companies and actors who are in attendance. I know going in that these films may not have the best acting or editing, but I really appreciate seeing the passion that these folks put into their work and I like to support that.

I met some of the folks involved with Skeletons in the Closet at Horrorhound Weekend in Cincinnati in March 2019, and they were clearly very excited about this film so I bought a copy. This is one of the best films of this type I have bought at a horror con and I am very happy I was able to grab the second to last copy they had at their table! It is very well shot and has a slick look to it, and the acting and timing of everything was perfect for this type of throwback film.

I am not going to review the plot because if you read the summary here on IMDB then you will either watch it or you won't, but this is definitely a hidden gem. This is not a standard anthology film because unlike others (Creepshow, VHS, etc.) there are two "wrap around" segments (a babysitter watching a kid who is watching the movies, and two horror host type monsters watching everything unfold on their own t.v.) that are tying things together, each of which is almost a movie in itself. The segments themselves are stories that put a twist on your standard horror trope and there is a very energetic feel to everything throughout the film.

If you want something different from most of the low budget, indie stuff that is out there I would highly recommend Skeletons in the Closet. This is a great one to just sit back and watch if you want to relax and be entertained!

Aside from the astounding number of 10-star reviews that all surprisingly appear almost the same date (can you say "bought reviews?")... we have this gem of wisdumb:

"Safe for kids barring language, violence, and very brief nudity." (And the review actually seems to be serious.)

Are you kidding me?

Well, "Chop Shop" (aka "Skeletons in the Closet") wasn't exactly a horror anthology that got me all worked up. Actually, far from it. But then again, it is rare that a horror anthology comes along that truly is outstanding.

Of the tales told in this 2018 anthology, only the first story was the most entertaining and interesting, although it was in itself not particularly impressive in comparison to stories found in other horror anthologies.

"Skeletons in the Closet" was lacking proper horror elements, and it wasn't particularly scary or disturbing. Especially not to a seasoned horror veteran such as myself. But I can't really imagine that this 2018 anthology would be particularly scary even to a younger audience. It just had an almost family-friendly feel to it.

Would "Skeletons in the Closet" work as a TV series instead? No, hardly so. Not if it was done at the same level of storytelling and production as they did with this 2018 movie. Then it just wouldn't become a very memorable horror anthology series.

It should be said that some of the special effects throughout the anthology were actually quite good. Not impressive, but working well enough to serve their given purpose. So there was a little bit of gore and mayhem in these stories.

The acting in the stories were actually fair, just a shame that the actors and actresses had very little to work with in terms of storyline, script, plot and characters.

I can't claim to have been overly entertained by what I saw in "Skeletons in the Closet", and it is most definitely not a movie that will find its way back to my screen again.

I don't think there's a single scene that's more than 30 seconds in this movie. In this movie the plot is a babysitter and kid watching a tv show about a woman and her dead husband watching movies. So I'm watching them, watching 2 more people who is watching someone else. I think whoever created this piece of trash has watched Inception too many times. The glitchy VCR effects and random glitches get annoying very quickly.. This movies cuts back and forth and is hard to follow. I knew it was going to be bad but thought I'd watch it for a laugh. Couldn't watch it to the end. Complete garbage. Do not watch. This movie isn't for people into B horror flix.

Turned this off an hour in. Terrible acting. I think I get what they were trying to do, but this was just god-awful. Rob Zombie, this is NOT!!!