"Halloween Horror Tales" is an indie anthology from Director, Writer, all around filmmaker, Jeff Kirkendall. It is pretty much what the title promises, four short films about the strange happenings in a small town. Like in many of the classic anthologies the person telling the story is also a main character in the final tale. We're treated to stories about a psychotic clown, a horror hostess with a secret (I'm not really sure what the secret was), a "Bad Flower" and a rash of killings that are being blamed on a vampire.
The stories are much like old Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt episodes where the real payoff comes with the ending. Some of these payoffs are more worthwhile than others. Some are twists, other punchlines of sorts. Of course, I was partial to the killer plant story, "Bad Flower", even though there was nearly no character development outside of the first two women we meet. I just really enjoy killer plant movies like "Lumber vs Jack" and "Jack vs Lanterns" . I kind of wish there had been more sound F/X used in this one, but the visuals were pretty effective for the monstrous flower.
Throughout the stories we see some of the same faces, but they're obviously meant to be playing different characters. Some viewers may find this confusing since it's supposed to all take place in one town. Just try to think of them as relatives who closely resemble each other. The acting is hit and miss throughout. At some points it is very appropriately over the top (Like the two main characters in the flower story) and others lines are delivered so flatly that they seem more like a read through than a performance. This is not uncommon in indie films, however, since there is often little time for rehearsals and sometimes actors are working together for the first time when the cameras are rolling. It's something I can forgive in a movie if the stories are strong enough and the lead performances are adequate, as the case in most of the shorts here.
If I have one complaint it's that so much of the action takes place during the day. This offers very little opportunity for dramatic lighting or dark shadows that help make horror suspenseful. On the other hand, it does help avoid the indie stigma of being so woefully underlit that you can't see the action. (Newer cameras with low light capability and spot on monitors have also helped avoid this in newer indie productions.) What we're left with are some uninspired, but very viewable scenes. On another technical note the audio is almost entirely good. I don't recall every feeling like I suddenly couldn't hear a line. At times it seemed, again, a bit "flat", like some more layers of sound may have helped beef things up, but good audio is better than cluttered bad audio.
Overall, I'd suggest this one to any horror or anthology fan. There's enough entertainment here to make it worth a watch and a twist or two that might actually surprise some viewers.
I look forward to more work from this crowd.
The stories are much like old Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt episodes where the real payoff comes with the ending. Some of these payoffs are more worthwhile than others. Some are twists, other punchlines of sorts. Of course, I was partial to the killer plant story, "Bad Flower", even though there was nearly no character development outside of the first two women we meet. I just really enjoy killer plant movies like "Lumber vs Jack" and "Jack vs Lanterns" . I kind of wish there had been more sound F/X used in this one, but the visuals were pretty effective for the monstrous flower.
Throughout the stories we see some of the same faces, but they're obviously meant to be playing different characters. Some viewers may find this confusing since it's supposed to all take place in one town. Just try to think of them as relatives who closely resemble each other. The acting is hit and miss throughout. At some points it is very appropriately over the top (Like the two main characters in the flower story) and others lines are delivered so flatly that they seem more like a read through than a performance. This is not uncommon in indie films, however, since there is often little time for rehearsals and sometimes actors are working together for the first time when the cameras are rolling. It's something I can forgive in a movie if the stories are strong enough and the lead performances are adequate, as the case in most of the shorts here.
If I have one complaint it's that so much of the action takes place during the day. This offers very little opportunity for dramatic lighting or dark shadows that help make horror suspenseful. On the other hand, it does help avoid the indie stigma of being so woefully underlit that you can't see the action. (Newer cameras with low light capability and spot on monitors have also helped avoid this in newer indie productions.) What we're left with are some uninspired, but very viewable scenes. On another technical note the audio is almost entirely good. I don't recall every feeling like I suddenly couldn't hear a line. At times it seemed, again, a bit "flat", like some more layers of sound may have helped beef things up, but good audio is better than cluttered bad audio.
Overall, I'd suggest this one to any horror or anthology fan. There's enough entertainment here to make it worth a watch and a twist or two that might actually surprise some viewers.
I look forward to more work from this crowd.
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