Darkside, les contes de la nuit noire

Much like Cat's Eye was a series of three short stories, Tales from the Darkside is done similarly. In this Stephen King work a boy tries to avoid being cooked and eaten by a witch by occupying her with fanciful stories.

There were three total stories featuring some well known actors. Some were already established, like Rae Dawn Chong and William Hickey. Others I don't believe were as well known at the time, such as Christian Slater, Steve Buscemi, and Jullianne Moore.

I thought the three stories were solidly done. I can't remember the order but the order of preference for me was: 1.) Mummy story, 1A.) Gargoyle story 3.) and a distant third was the cat story.

None of the stories were very spooky or scary, in fact you could say they were somewhat comical (especially the mummy story), but they all had an intriguing premise. The three stories all wrapped into the initial story made for a good movie.

This is really three shorter movies, bound together by a fourth tale in which the other three stories are read. The first segment features an animated mummy stalking selected student victims; the second tale tells the story of a "cat from hell" who cannot be killed and leaves a trail of victims behind it; the third story is about a man who witnesses a bizarre killing and promises never to tell what he saw and the "in-between" bit is the story of a woman preparing to cook her newspaper boy for supper. Not the best king adaption, but hey, it ain't bad either. A good cast and some nice special effects. The Gargoyle was nasty! Plenty of gore here, but used in just enough moderation to be effective. A couple of tense moments, some god scares (Especially in the story about involving an elusive, seemingly immortal cat.) and pretty good music. Pretty good movie, just nothing really spectacular or life-changing. My rating for "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie"--6/10.

In director John Harrison's adaptation from the 80s TV series, four horror stories are told (one of them as a wraparound story) with different results, although the movie leaves the audience with a feeling of pure worthy entertainment.

The wraparound story stars ex-Blondie singer Deborah Harry as Betty, the typical next door woman, the only difference is that she hides her cannibalistic habits a a secret. Matthew Lawrence is Timmy, a kid who was kidnapped by Betty in order to be her dinner tonight. Timmy begins to tell her stories from the "Tales from the Darkside" book in order to gain time while he plans his escape. The stories Timmy tells are the other three stories in the movie.

First one, "Lot 249", stars Steve Buscemi as Bellingham, a misfit in a yuppie university. Bullied by Andy (Christian Slater), Lee (Robert Sedgwick) and Susan (Julianne Moore), he works as assistant in the Museum. When he receives Lot 249, troubles will begin as he revives an ancient mummy to do his will.

Second one stars William Hickey and David Johansen in a tale of a devilish cat that seems to haunt Hickey's character. Johansen plays a professional assassin hired to kill the feline.

In last one, writer Michael McDowell develops a love story loosely based on a Japanese tale. James Remar stars as Preston, a failed artist who is having the worst day of his life, as he watches his best friend being brutally killed by a mysterious beast who makes him promise that he won't tell anyone about it; everything looks worse until he meets Carola (Rae Dawn Chong), and his life changes for good. What would happen if he reveal the secret of the monster?

The four stories have very good performances, particularly those of Buscemi and Hickey. The downside is that while the three main stories present a very adult horror style with very gory scenes, brief nudity and foul language, the wraparound story looks tame and more similar to kid's horror like "Goosebumps". That doesn't mean that it's a bad tale, is just that it seems out of place in the film, but still the movie is good enough to keep the attention of the viewer.

Very good movie that it's almost forgotten today. The very good acting and the good SFX (although outdated for today's standards) create a very rewarding movie that surely will give entertainment. 7/10

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!...