Darkside, les contes de la nuit noire

Okay, not officially, but basically this Romero/King joint effort is a successor to their Creepshow movies as much as a movie-length version of the TV series Tales from the Darkside. Maybe they avoided calling it Creepshow 3 due to the poor take from the second movie? Regardless, while the framing device is merely adequate, all three of the stories are chilling enough. The first two stories are in the fine old EC Comics/Creepshow tradition of bad people getting their comeuppance in memorable style. The third is a rather touching romance, all things considered. The best segment is probably the first, with performances from Christian Slater doing his best Jack Nicolson impression, and cult-fave Steve Buscemi as a murderous grad student. But it's all pretty enjoyable if you like that kind of thing.

If your a fan of Tales From The Crypt or Creepshow then Tales From The Darkside: The Movie is a must see! All three stories are highly enjoyable the last story Lovers Vow is great a honor to the now late Michael McDowell. Lot 249 also features great performances from Christian Slater,Steve Buscemi,and Julianne Moore. The second story Cat from Hell is enjoyable and is one of William Hickey's last roles.A great horror movie to watch over and over one of the best ever made.

Tales from the Darkside mixes together three individual stories, all "narrated" by a kid in a "wraparound" story he's telling to a woman (Deborah Harry) preparing to cook him. As with Arabian Nights, Timmy is trying to stay alive by telling stories. The first story is the best of the three: "Lot 249" features Christian Slater as well as pre-fame Steve Buscemi and Julianne Moore in a mummy story. The pacing is good, the story works, and the acting is well above what one expects in a cheap horror story. The second story, "Cat From Hell" is an adaptation of a Stephen King short story about a cat that has killed its way through most of a family. An old man (William Hickey) hires a hit man (David Johansen) to kill his cat and the story goes from there. This is yet another example of a Stephen King story that works very well on paper but has gotten mangled horribly in translation to screen. Part of the problem is the special effects involving the cat look dreadful now - but I don't think they were even state of the art in 1990. Regardless, I don't quite know how you could film a fight between a man and a cat and not have the result end up looking ridiculous. "Cat From Hell" didn't really try very hard. The third story, "Lover's Vow", concerns a man who witnesses a friend murdered by some kind of gargoyle-type creature. The gargoyle promises to spare him his life in return for the man's pledge to never tell anybody about the encounter. It's an interesting premise that is tested when the man later hooks up with a young woman played by Rae Dawn Chong. Ultimately the story doesn't make all that much sense, and again the story is hurt by relatively weak special effects. The wraparound story works very well, as does "Lot 249", but ultimately that doesn't feel like enough to redeem the weakness of the other two segments. "Cat From Hell" in particular is a failure. But I would recommend watching the movie if only to see early-career work from Buscemi and Moore in "Lot 249".

As horror anthology films go, TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE: THE MOVIE is a good one, consisting of three segments and a wraparound story.

The wraparound has Deborah Harry preparing a very interesting dinner. Her main course is... disagreeable, and delays his fate by convincing her to listen to tales from the titular tome.

Tale #1 is called LOT 249- A college student (Steve Buscemi) receives the large, heavy box of the title, using its moldering contents to unleash gruesome vengeance upon the snobby cretins who have wronged him. Co-stars Christian Slater and Julianne Moore. An excellent story with a perfectly-realized monster and a fantastic double twist ending!

Tale #2, entitled CAT FROM HELL, stars David Johansen as a hit man, hired by an ancient zillionaire (William Hickey) to kill his... cat! Said assassin soon discovers that this is no ordinary feline! This one's absurdity is matched by it's sheer entertainment value. Both Johansen and the kitty are quite memorable in their blood-soaked duel.

Tale #3 is LOVER'S VOW, in which an artist (James Remar) witnesses something horrific and unbelievable. He is allowed to live, only if he never mentions what he has seen to anyone. Of course, such a promise is difficult to keep. Arguably the best part of the whole anthology, this story has horror, gore, and even poignancy. It also sports a jaw-dropping transformation scene! Co-stars Rae Dawn Chong, who is hot enough to melt lead! Yikes!

A terrific collection of terror tales, suitable for any Halloween fright fest!...

Tales From the Darkside: the Movie was a very entertaining film. It has four stories in it. The first is a wrap-around story about a woman going to cook a ten year old boy for dinner, yet the child reads stories to her to try and delay his death. In a way, this is related to tales of the Arabian Nights. The three other stories are the ones told by the young boy. All of them are actually very interesting, have elements of fright, are generally well-acted, and have some kind of message. One deals with an ancient mummy out to avenge a smart yet socially outcast student at a college. Another story deals with a malevolent cat out to duel with a hitman paid $100,000 to kill a cat. Gruesome but great story with some real good acting, especially by William Hickey. Love that voice! The final story deals with a relationship between a gargoyle and an artist. An intriguing tale and has Rae Dawn Chong in it(a nice asset). All the stories are well-made and well-written, the wrap-around story being the weakest due to its resolution. Nonetheless, Tales From the Darkside is a fun horror film in the vein of Tales From the Crypt and Creepshow.