X
- 2015
- R
- GoDigital
- 1 h 37 m
- 2015
- R
- GoDigital
- 1 h 37 m
Summary Ten stories from horror's top directors. Ghosts, ghouls, monsters, and the devil delight in terrorizing unsuspecting residents of a suburban neighborhood on Halloween night. This creepy anthology combines classic Halloween tales with the stuff of nightmares. [Epic Pictures]
- 2015
- R
- GoDigital
- 1 h 37 m
- 2015
- R
- GoDigital
- 1 h 37 m
Tales of Halloween
64
8.5
Where to Watch
Summary Ten stories from horror's top directors. Ghosts, ghouls, monsters, and the devil delight in terrorizing unsuspecting residents of a suburban neighborhood on Halloween night. This creepy anthology combines classic Halloween tales with the stuff of nightmares. [Epic Pictures]
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 5 Critic Reviews
64
80% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
20% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 5 Critic Reviews
64
80% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
20% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Anthology films are known for being inconsistent, and after the wild mood swings of recent horror anthologies like the "V/H/S" and "ABCs Of Death" movies, it’s a relief to report that despite consisting of 10 segments directed by 11 people, Tales Of Halloween is remarkably cohesive.
The overall tone is more tongue-in-cheek than terrifying. Though some of the directors involved — like Lucky McKee ("May") and Neil Marshall ("The Descent") — have a hard horror pedigree, the emphasis here is on slickness.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 96 User Ratings
8.5
80% Positive
77 Ratings
77 Ratings
10% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
9% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 96 User Ratings
8.5
80% Positive
77 Ratings
77 Ratings
10% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
9% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
A horror anthology of 10 short films, all of which are connected by the fact that they are taking place on the same night in the same town. A few near the end of the collection were nice enough to include some scenes with characters or moments from the previous ones to really show off how they are all set in the same place. It's remarkable how tonally consistent the overall package is. Even when playing around with different concepts, each short contains the same tongue-in-cheek style. Tales of Halloween is all about having fun with the holiday, and not so much on scaring your brains out. Still, it has one or two effective scary moments.
Most of the stories here are pretty predictable in terms of how they'll play out. A character will be told a folklore story about some ghost, and of course that spirit will show up to haunt them. The fact that each still manages to be interesting despite this just goes to show the credibility of the talent of the director's that were selected to participate in this. There are still plenty of surprises along the way. Quite a few of these stories take the familiar and twist them in exciting ways to make them feel fresh and fun again. All it took was a willingness to poke fun at these longstanding horror staples.
Not everything is quite so perfect though. A few of the films feel a bit underdeveloped. They're still perfectly capable of giving viewers a few quick thrills, but ones like "The Weak and the Wicked" end just as they start to get interesting. Yet, with high-production values, humor, inventiveness, and a lot of blood make it easy to overlook a few minor issues. It's focus is definitely more on delivering thrills over chills. If you can find yourself willing to put up with that, then Tales of Halloween should prove to be one enticing package and possibly an annual October rewatch.
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Some segments are really good like the kid that gets kidnapped but he's in fact a creature and he will follow you forever but, there is some really bad segments too.Like the one where the kids just decides to kill 4 people for nothing.Overall it's entertaining and while it does look a little bit like Trick r' Treat, it's better.
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There's much to like here, and ample scares for your brains.
Lined by an amicable sense of dark humor and a sporadically amusing bloodlust, this hit-or-miss compilation could bring Halloween cheer to genre fans, especially if a prop candy bar named Carpenter, or narration from Adrienne Barbeau, sounds like a horror convention dream come true.
More trick than treat.
Yeah, it is surely an amateurish work but it has lots of good ideas in it. And I liked the basis. A town goes gonzo every Halloween. Lots of freaky **** happens every time. Even though it is amateurish work, some of the shorts have pretty good stories. Like the monster-face kid who was kidnapped by idiots and killer pumpkin was fun to watch. Also, the movie is not bewaring using violence which makes the movie better. Kids killing adults, monsters killing kids, lots of gory stuff. Yeah, it was a fun movie.
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This is an anthology film with 10 segments (which is a lot considering its runtime--13 minutes a segment). Most of them are short and involve classic Halloween staples. They kind of relate at the end--a bit too late. Quick hits of the segments, here we go:
Sweet Tooth- One of those myth-y types where characters talk about some ancient homegrown "legend" that comes true like 5 minutes later for the first time ever. Solid blood and gore, but hopefully just a prelude to the good times ahead.
The Night Billy Raised Hell- A strange and silly piece. It's got a nice twist. Perfectly fine in it's minor-ness, though I'm not sure it raises enough "hell".
Trick- Hmm what? A twist in search of some wit, fun, and terror.
The Weak and the Wicked- A boy summons a demon to beat up some bullies (you know, the kind that burn down houses with parents in them for fun). They don't believe him. Then the demon kicks ass. What actually kicks ass is the costume used for the demon. No CGI there. Too bad we don't get to enjoy it more.
Grim Grinning Ghost- Another ancient legend come to life story. Yawn. There's a few nice shots, but really atmosphere like this is near impossible to build in 13 minutes and it builds to nothing anyway.
Ding Dong- This one feels a tad sexist. I don't use that term lightly but all this is about is a woman who can't be a mom so she turns into a **** and eats kids and dogs and stuff. Literally nothing else.
This Means War- Finally some good fun with a solid premise that shouldn't be drawn out beyond 13 minutes anyway. It's like those stupid Xmas movies about neighbors fighting over their house's decorations, except this time at Halloween and with an ensuing bloodbath.
Friday the 31st- Holy **** yeah. This is what this film needed more of. It drops you right in the middle of a classic horror movie scene (power tool wielding psycho chasing buxom lass) and then completely flips the switch in a way that no actual film could (the premise isn't sustainable). Mid-fight alien invasion! And then Evil Dead style wackadoo limb chop battle.
The Ransom of Rusty Rex- Other segments start to show again here (too late) and it has a solid funny premise. It's not nearly delirious enough in the back half but it's fun for a while (and when you're talking 13 minutes that's really saying something, or nothing maybe, depending on how you look at it).
Bad Seed- Finally, killer pumpkins. That's all Halloween is really about, why did this take so long to get to? Besides the final shot being some lame-brain Raiders reference it's Halloween at its loopiest and also its most sincere. Boo.
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Awards
iHorror Awards
• 2 Nominations
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards
• 1 Nomination
