Terror Tract

If you're a fan of searching through "B" movies and finding those rare ones with true "gem" moments, have a look. John Ritter truly makes this film. His segment has the most laughs, and the best tongue-in-cheek delivery. The story that ties the three sub-features together is actually the best one. Format-wise, this is purely Tales From the Dark Side. One segment ties three 30-minute shorts together, and much fun is had by all. Hokey horror and fun ensues. Segment 1 is the weakest of the bunch, but still has a few moments to keep things lively. Segment two is supported both by a notable appearance (Bryan Cranston, father on Malcolm In the Middle) and by a hilariously preposterous evil villain. Segment three is the creepiest of the bunch, and uses classic thriller/horror tricks without concerning itself with an explanation or a payoff, much like the early fifties Twilight Zone episodes. Personally, my favourite moment is the opening credit sequence, which stands tall among "b" movie setups. But it's still a bad movie...

Bob Carter (John Ritter), a suburban real estate agent, tries to get a kindly couple, Allen and Mary Ann Doyle, to buy a house only to give them horrifying stories about the pasts of three of them.

What really sells this film is the "before they were stars" appeal of it. The "Nightmare" segment features Wade Williams years before his big break on "Prison Break".

The "Bobo" segment features Bryan Cranston, just as he was hitting it big with "Malcolm in the Middle" and years before "Breaking Bad" made him an A-list star.

And the "Come to Granny" segment has Brenda Strong, who was already quite successful, but this was again years before her biggest role: on "Desperate Housewives".

Beyond that, it is a slightly above average horror film. Nothing like a "lost treasure", but definitely worth checking out.

Real estate man John Ritter shows three houses to a young couple (David Deluise, Allison Smith). Each one has a horrible story attached to it which Ritter tells the couple.

"Nightmare" is a predictable story about a love triangle and murder. There are too many false scares but it's fairly well-done. "Bobo" is a real stupid tale of a killer monkey. Dumb, illogical, silly but Bryan Cranston gives a good performance despite the script. "Come to Granny" is a winner. A teenage boy (Will Estes) sees killings before they're about to happen at the hands of the Granny Killer--a killer who wears a disgusting old womans mask while killing women. The mask itself is scary and the murder scenes are violent, bloody and extremely well-done. Also Estes makes for a very sympathetic protagonist (and has a surprising shower scene). The final wrap up of the framing story is also bloody, funny and really good.

All in all, it's much better than I expected. It's worth seeing for the bits involving Ritter (who's very good) and the final story.

(the house on)Terror Tract is a recent and rather good horror film that should have deserved a bit more praise and credit than it actually got at the time of its release. It certainly isn't a highlight, but it is good enough to take the test with similar movies like "Creepshow" and "Tales from the Darkside". The late John Ritter portrays a real-estate manager who's showing some fancy and luxurious houses to a young couple. Due to a newly introduced ethical law, he's obliged to tell the potential buyers every little detail about the past of these houses. That's how we come to the separate stories. Actually, the whole wraparound story starring John Ritter is the best part of the entire movie...it contains a terrific opening on the "eat or be eaten" theme and the finale is just great. Terror Tract constantly flirts with the genre of parody (life in the upper-class neighborhood) but it manages to keep up the horror atmosphere during the entire movie. The quality level of the actual stories of Terror Tract is varying directly as their order. The first story is lame and far from original and handles about the "getting rid of the husband's corpse"-theme. The second story contains a few more interesting aspects but it still isn't quite satisfying. However, the third and final story was really good. It has a fascinating plot and the suspense is built up real well.

The House on Terror Tract certainly isn't a must-see, but you won't regret it if you spend your time watching it. The most important positive point of this film are that it has a fresh and light-headed tone and a pretty funny surrounding. It could have used a bit more bloody sequences, though...

my friend was looking in the movie place one day and stumbled upon this film and thought it would be good and scary... so he bought it. While watching this movie, i realized that the actors in this film were excellent. Also, the film wasn't very scary but definetly entertaining. I give this movie a ******* out of ********** !!!