The Fright Night Files

Not a bad compilation but it did veer into cheesy B movie territory a lot. The first tale was WAY too long and should have had it's run time cut by half. Too much padding (and too much yelling) almost ruined the story. The second story benefited from the presence of Harry Lennix; of the 3 I'd say this was the most B movie-ish of them all. The last tale was my favorite - a late night talk show DJ is plagued by phone calls of an otherworldly nature. The pacing on this was just right, as was the length. In my mind there hasn't been a great 'shorts' series or movie for a long time, and it's a format I really like, but alas this did nothing to change my opinion.

Using her magic powers, a fortune teller reveals the fates of three customers who all turned to her in their search for true love.

The Good Stor(ies): Mirror, Mirror-Growing tired of her antics, a businessman ends his relationship with a young woman to start another with a more sophisticated woman. Enraged over the betrayal, she utilizes her powers of darkness to torment him despite his reluctance to believe her. This one manages to be the most fun out of anything of the segments due to it's rather fun storyline and the fact that this one actually goes for the horror motifs rather than just being a bland thriller. From the night-time attack on the couple that includes rattling mirrors, thundering storms outside and flashing in and out of the apartment to torment him, this one throws in some rather decent energy from time-to-time that really works quite well for this one by working in some creepy moments along the way. The fact that the budget to this one does keep it from really exploiting and following through on it's premise does make the finale a little rushed and filled with clichés that would've been ironed out on a better effort, but still this one is quite enjoyable.

Pillow Talk 187-Starting her shift as normal, a radio DJ's love-and-advice show starts to grow weird as the callers continuously phone in claiming to be the murdered victims she's left in her wake. growing increasingly frustrated at the pranks, eventually the detailed calls weigh in on her and force her into a deadly situation. This is the one here that really could've been something that could've made this into something if only it would've had a better budget to carry on a better final act here. The resolution to this is practically screaming out for supernatural vengeance but nothing of the sort ever comes with this one seemingly stuck in a bland notion that it can't really escape from. Still, there's a lot to like here as the calls initially start out as seemingly pranks to her show and the reaction is justified but over time, the fact that they seem to know a little too much detail for them to be just pranks causes a great reversal of fortune and sets up the final act here. While it doesn't fall through on that, the fact that this one is still fun isn't much of a deterrent.

The Bad Stor(ies): For the Love of Lockwood-Fed up over her behavior, a man finally follows through on an ultimatum to his fiancée by ending their relationship over her jealousy and anger issues. Desperate for help, she goes to a local voodoo queen for a magic potion that will restore their love, but once the potion begins working too well and causes even more strain on their relationship it gradually dawns on her what he has turned into. Frankly, this one really didn't even have any reason to be here as this hardly has anything that can be called horror anywhere near it. Dripping with lame thriller motifs that paint him as a jealousy, possessive stalker which is so clichéd and unoriginal that on that count alone it's reasons for inclusion are dubious, but also the segment never manages to do anything other than him threatening her which never sounds as good as this potentially could've with a different storyline with this one coming off with all the stereotypical efforts found in such story lines, such as the failure to be left alone for a second, never letting her do anything for herself or see her friends simply to spend time with her, bullying her into doing his own thing and threatening with violence to further the point, but it's tired, cliché and never does anything a dozen other thrillers do with a much more pronounced budget than this one. A grossly underwhelming effort that really drags this one down.

Rated Unrated/PG-13: Violence, Language and sexuality.

I truly loved this film and love supporting my black brothers and sisters, especially when it comes to movies that are outside the typical comedy genre. I love seeing actors and actresses taking on serious roles and i truly hope that TV ONE continues to do this film series yearly! MUST SEE IN MY OPINION! In my opinion this film is something that the horror genre truly needs and is well deserved. TV ONE did their thing with this one, i call these types of film hidden gems because if you miss them, it is very hard to find them again. but thank goodness for the internet, hahahaha. Hope I can find and buy this on iTunes and see it on Netflix sooner or later!

"The Fright Night Files" is a trio of short horror films.

"For The Love Of Lockwood" Jealousy engulfs Marla Peters (Eva Marcille) just as she is set to marry her fiancé Lockwood Masters (Sean Blakemore) driving him to call off the wedding. Lockwood ultimately forgives Marla and with a little assistance from Madame Mabry (Whitfield) promises to love her… to death.

"Mirror, Mirror" Ronald (Harry Lennix) is caught in a love triangle between his new love Alexa (Victoria Rowell) and his live-in girlfriend Jessica (Davetta Sherwood). After coming home to find Jessica and friends including Monique (Karrueche Tran) performing a strange ritual, he breaks the relationship off. As a peace offering, Jessica brings an ornately-decorated mirror that changes his life forever.

"Pillow Talk" Channel 187 Late night radio DJ Coffee Black (Elise Neal) has the sultry voice that can seduce any man over the airwaves and in person, she brings them to their knees, in more ways than one. When Coffee begins to receive mysterious calls from past lovers like Isaiah (Bokeem Woodbine) her world is filled with dead air.

I recommend this great entertaining film with some of the most outstanding Black actors of today, yesterday and tomorrow!