Monday, February 27, 2017

Movie review: Tales of Halloween

Tales of Halloween presents ten horror stories about Halloween night in a typical American suburb. But with killer pumpkins, angry spirits, and even alien possession, this is far from your usual trick-or-treat adventure.

Adrienne Barbeau (Radio DJ), Hunter Smit (Sweet Tooth), Barry Bostwick (Mr. Abbadon), Marcus Eckert (Billy), Lin Shaye (Mom), Mick Garris (The Phantom), Stuart Gordon (Sherlock Holmes), John Landis (Jebediah Rex).

Tales of Halloween, like many horror anthologies, struggles a bit with transition between stories but does better than most at creating continuity. The 10 stories are widely varied with both topic and presentation. Most are done well with only a few rough spots and a sense of humor is maintained through the entire film. The result is a fairly fast moving anthology that holds interest well and tests some interesting horror waters.

Acting was pretty good overall and the cast for this film was huge. Barbeau fit well as the Radio DJ. Bostwick did a nice job, as did Shaye. Cameo appearances by horror greats Garris, Gordon, Landis, and more were quite enjoyable.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were as varied as the cast and stories. CGI, animation, and action enjoyed great variety. Some were silly, others campy, several a bit elementary, but all were enjoyable. Dialogue was solid and fun throughout. Sound and soundtrack were nicely done.

Overall Tales of Halloween is a nicely done anthology delivering some unusual stories very quickly with good attention to detail and technical aspects. Those who enjoy a unique approach to horror should enjoy this one.

With plenty of violence, gore, mild profanity, disturbing situations and monsters, and some mild sexuality, this should be fine for older teens and above.

Released: 2015
Reviewed: 2.11.17
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Sci-Fi Horror, Dark Comedy, Horror Comedy

copyright ©2017 Dave Riedel
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