Scary Tales: The Return of Mr. Longfellow

My husband and I purchased this at Screamfest in Florida, not sure of what to expect. The girl who talked us into buying was very friendly and oh, so cute (but it must have been cold in that outfit).

The movie was WAAAAY past expectations! For a low budget, this sure looked good - sound, sets, effects (even decent computer graphics). We bought this one with the original, and recommend that one as well.

Joe Estevez was outstanding. The final segment with him in it was actually pretty creepy, and the others were a riot!

Along with these movies, we purchased about 6 from the same show, and, so far, NONE of them matched the quality of production.

I think the director said they've changed distributors or companies a few times, or something.

One question - WHY isn't this in stores?

8 out of 10

a friend of mine is a critic, and received an advance screener of this. we decided to watch together.

the film centers around an over-the-top character named mistour long fellow, who, tells stories. this is a ridiculous set-up for the stories themselves, but at least it was breezy and refreshing.

the first story, albeit short, is to the point - with mediocre acting but very well-done gore effects.

the second story is about a fellow who works in a convenience store that comes across a mystical box of chocolate bars. they turn the antagonists into zombies - and, hence, there is a final confrontation that is both breezy and entertaining.

the last story has martin sheen's dopleganger brother as the manager of a hotel. his performance is both undeniably creepy and silly. there is no gore to speak of in this story, but it has great acting throughout and nice usage of locations, creating some good atmosphere.

all in all, a nice little film that seems to have fallen under the radar. definitely worth a look for anthology fans.

it also features the man who played the "maniac cop" and the lady who was the killer in "sleepaway camp".

I'm someone who likes horror movies because they're funny, not scary.

This movie was made for me.

There's 3 stories with a story that connects them, like Creepshow, but this movie was a lot more fun.

The part at the car lot which links everything together was hilarious. There's this character named Wesley who looks like a crazy version of Kurt Russel in Used Cars. He wears make-up, a terrible plaid suit and chomps on mini cigars (and the scenery).

The first story is about a guy who visits a cabin in the woods. It turns out he's heading for group therapy. People start getting killed, and the gore effects are actually pretty good - including a cringing baseball bat to the forehead. Brutal.

The second "Scary Tale" was funny. This guy has a box of Acme Brand chocolate bars which turns some gang members called the zombies into zombies. It's really, really silly and fast paced.

The final tale has awesome acting. It reminded me of the Twilight Zone. This guy with stolen money almost has a car accident and ends up at this hotel he can't leave. Joe Estevez is fantastic (I bought a copy which was pre-autographed by him and the director from a cult movie store in New Jersey).

Loved this movie! I haven't listened to the commentary, but I can't wait.

I must admit, this was one of the first "underground movies" I've ever seen, and to be honest, it looks a lot better than the stuff that's on TV and in chain movie stores.

At least someone's still making fun horror movies. Aside from Shaun of the Dead, everything that's straight to video, or in theaters, has no personality. This movie's subtle about being over the top (which is really hard to do). A must find! IT makes fun of all sorts of clichés - although, it took my neighbor 3 viewings to figure out it wasn't serious. He loves it now too.

I've followed Felissa Rose's career for quite some time now. "Sleepaway Camp" is about my favorite horror flick of all time. Over the years, she's done some no budget dreck. However, flicks like "Horror" and "Satan's Playground" show she's coming back.

In the middle of her slump, she starred in this low (almost no) budget feature. I assumed the worst, as it never seemed to be released. I finally found a copy at the Chiller con in New Jersey...dumped in the middle of a table with about five thousand other terrible-looking titles.

So, I popped it in - expecting the worst.

What I got was a surprise.

A movie with so many tone shifts - "scary" (which it never really is) to "funny" (yeah, I chuckled a few times) to "bizarre" back to "silly" and I guess to "scary" again.

Ummm. I'm not sure what the filmmakers were thinking - but, as a change of pace, it kind of worked on me. Unfortunately, Ms. Rose was left with a supporting role in the second segment (the film is an anthology of short stories), and doesn't have much to do. On the bright side, Joe Estevez is a hoot. The big chinned guy from Tango and Cash is also in this too, but like Felissa Rose, doesn't have much to do.

The acting ranges from bad to terrible to great. Joe Estevez is outstanding. The guy who played Longfellow hilarious. The other guy in the noisy suit really fantastic. Other performances don't fare too well...until I heard the commentary where I realized the actors thought they were in a scary film, but the directors new it was a joke. I guess this theory forces you to laugh at them - which is what the filmmakers intended (I hope). The "scariest" thing about these tales is the fact they're so clichéd - and done so on purpose, one would assume.

As for everything else... The score is decent. Effects surprisingly good. Sound excellent. Sets minimal. Wardrobe blah (did everyone in the first segment wear white, or was it my imagination?). The stories, well, so bizarre at times...they kind of work, despite their base core being overly recycled.

I guess, in conclusion, as far as low budget cinema is concerned, this is high up in terms of production values. It's fun, for sure. Never really slow. I can't say it's great - but I can say it's different, and better than most stuff collecting dust on the video store shelves. The movie really works because no one camps it up. The "Scary Tales" title is more like "Scary Movie", whereas the tales are only scary to the person in the film hearing them and a joke to the audience.

In the end, I guess I'm glad I bought this thing. I'd try to find the original, but that may take another 2 years (and there's no Felissa!).

As for Felissa, here's to Return to Sleepaway Camp!

I thought this was a very entertaining film!I feel that i must write about this independent film because it should be given attention as it is quite a good movie. I enjoyed watching it and i love the song where the menu is.. Darkest Knight by beyond the shattered mirror. I will buy this movie when it is sold, and i will recommend it to my friends. It's much better then some of the movies i have seen in the theaters. Joel Wynkoop, (longfellow) is a very effective actor, i have seen him in other films and i always find entertaining and in very interesting parts. The way this movie is woven together is very well done , enter-twining 3 different stories with fairly good acting through out it. Good placement of music and ambiance to set the feel to this movie. I look forward to more from this director. Will there be a scary tales 3?