Tales from the Darkside: The Movie

Rating:
Summary: But Deborah Harry is good
Review: A so so colection of stories. But what do you expect from Tales from the Darkside. "Lot 249" is a staid run of the mill mummy story with a corny ending. "Cat From Hell" stiff and with awful props. "Lovers Vow" this one is pretty decent. Interesting story line, pretty faces, and a a plot which isn't 100% predictable. In the wraparound story Debbie Harry is as buetiful as ever and for a Debbie Harry fan like me her brief appearances make this worthwhile.

Rating:
Summary: i loved it
Review: Based on the popular TV series, this film is a compilation of three short horror stories told in an amusing wraparound sequence. A young boy has been kidnapped by a maniacal woman (Deborah Harry) and tries to prevent her from cooking him alive by telling horror stories from a book called- yes you guessed it- Tales From the Darkside. The first of these stories is Lot 249, loosely adapted from a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle. The action here takes place in a modern day university where an abused college student, Bellingham, steals an Egyptian mummy and brings it back to life to exact revenge on his tormentors. Although Bellingham in the classic story is a bloodthirsty evildoer, he is here depicted as more of a victim and you cannot help but sympathise with him as he sends the mummy after his bigoted colleagues. Just when you think the end has come when the interfering Smith (Christian Slater), completely unlike Doyle's true intellectual, burns the mummy then the Egyptian scroll, Bellingham leaves the college and reveals that Smith destroyed the wrong scroll! Bellingham still has the real one, and the scene switches to Smith being approached by two mummies saying "Bellingham sends his regards!". You cannot help but feel glad about this, but although the ending is fun the story fails to do justice to Doyle's original, portraying it as a mere contemporary horror story with absolutely none of Doyle's intellectuality. The second story is a Stephen King one, called Cat From Hell, in which a hit man is hired to kill a phantom cat that is plaguing a disabled millionaire (William Hickey). At first he thinks Hickey to be mad- until he actually sees the cat, and never stands a chance against it throughout an intense, gory struggle (which of course the cat wins). The third and final story is the best- it is called Lover's Vow, scripted by Michael McDowell. This has a far more complex storyline than the other two, featuring an artist (James Remar) meeting a strange living gargoyle, who promises to let him live, providing that he never tells anyone about his encounter. The ending is somewhat predictable, but it is a decent story nevertheless.

Rating:
Summary: TOO BAD SHE JUST DID A WRAP-A-ROUND.
Review: DEBRA HARRY DID THE WRAP AROUND FOR THIS MOVIE VERSION OF THE OLD TV SHOW "TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE".THIS VERSION IS DEFINATELY NOT ONE FOR THE FAINT OF HEART OR THOSE WITH WEAK STOMACHES.THE SPECIAL EFFECTS ARE FANTASTIC,THE ACTING IS DONE WITH ALOT OF ENERGY BY SOME VERY TALENTED AND EXPERIENCED PERSONS.EVEN THE DIALOGUE IS GOOD AND THE STORIES ARE WELL THOUGHT OUT AND WRITTEN.IT IS A GENUINELY SCARY MOVIE OR SHOULD I SAY A SERIES OF STORIES WITH A WONDERFUL WRAP-A-ROUND BY DEBRA HARRY. I JUST WISH THEY COULD HAVE NEGOTIATED OR WRITTEN HER IN WITH A BIGGER PART-SHE IS WONDERFUL WITH HER PERSONA OF PLAYING SOMEONE THAT APPEARS ON THE OUTSIDE TO BE VERY NORMAL BUT ON THE INSIDE IS ANYTHING BUT.WATCH THE MOVIE IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent and underrated horror anthology!
Review: From the producers of " Creepshow 1 & 2" gives us another fine collection of bone-chilling stories, based on the popular 80's TV show that defined the era for Television fear. This movie is about a deadly wicked Witch ( played by Debraoh Harry) who plans on cooking a little boy ( played by Mattew Lawrence) but while she's preparing for the dinner, he reads her three horror stories. The first story is called " Lot 249" which is about a Mummy being resurrected by a Archeologist, the second story is called " Cat From Hell" which is about a hired assassin that has been hired by a old rich man to kill a cat that's really a murderer and the last story is called " Lover's Vow" which tells the story of a New York artist who saw his friend slaughtered by a winged monster and the creature spares the man's life by telling him a promise to not tell anyone about the creature or the murder. But then the artist keeps his promise, he suddenly runs into a woman and falls in love with her then marries her, but can he keep his promise forever?
Very entertaining, spooky and unique anthology flick from the minds of Stephen King, George Romero ( Creator of Night of the Living Dead, Creepshow and Dawn of the Dead), Michael McDowell ( Creator of " Beetlejuice"), Richard P. Rubenstein and Arthur Conan Doyle ( Author of " Sherlock Holms). A great cast such as Steve Buscemi, Rae Dawn Chong from "Commando", " James Remar, Julianne Moore, Christian Slater, Debraoh Harry, William Hickey, and David Johansen. And plenty of superb make-up effects by Robert Kurtzman, the third story however is basically a remake of the "Woman in The Snow" story from the Japanese horror classic " Kwaidan" and the ending to that story will scare the pants off of you.
This is a must see for anyone who loves " Creepshow", " Goosebumps", "Tales from The Crypt" or " Asylum".

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the TV show, but still ok
Review: I must say the TV show was much better. If you ever get a chance to watch the series, do it. I did like LOT 249 the best, along with Lover's Vow. I hate that one about the cat. Probably because I am allergic to cats and it bothers me. Well, if you never have seen this before, you should get it.

Rating:
Summary: Add 15 more stars
Review: I saw Tales from the DarkSide it was a very scary movie, but it was good.The 3 tales were as terrifick as terror.If you want to see a god movie this is the one.Make sure you see this great hit.

Rating:
Summary: Grusome Threesome
Review: I saw this movie in a theater when in first came out. I can honestly tell that it is full of gore and is generally disgusting. The movie has three horror stories that are set within a story of a boy about to be cooked by a witch (Debborah Harry). The stories, two of which are classics, are not connected to each others. They are good, but the movie is ruined by the excess of gore. It's an attempt to substitue too much graphic violence for the ability to tell a story. Know any other movies that do that?

Rating:
Summary: Superb, Really Imaginative Storylines
Review: I saw this once a few years ago and it was good enough to make me remember what it was called now, All three stories were brilliantly conceived. The last two more so than the first. A must buy for Fans of, Tales from the crypt and the Outer limits.

Rating:
Summary: let me explain the 5 stars
Review: I saw this one about 25 times and laughed pretty much the whole way through. The cat climbing down that gangster's throat was only second to Deborah Harry's death scene. She was great! I'm still laughing! Oh yeah, don't forget little Matthew Lawrence at the end: "Don't you just love happy endings?"

Rating:
Summary: Three equally great stories
Review: I've seen this movie a trillion times, and none of the stories stand out as my favorite. All three are marvelous, well told, and very well put together. The characters in each and every story are developed so nicely, and their lives (long or short) are an intricate piece to each story.

The first story stars two wonderful young actors (at the time) in Christian Slater and Steve Buscemi. Steve Buscemi's character is out for revenge, as he was framed for stealing artifacts from the school. What better way to achieve revenge then to purchase a mummy, who comes w/a old scroll that will resurrect him back from the dead. Then you use your newly purchased mummy to get back at the people who plotted against you. The story seems strait line, predictable, and over done. However, Christian Slater's character is cleaver, and tries to destroy Buscemi's plan.

Michael McDowell worked on both the first screenplay as well as the third screenplay. McDowell's credits include Thinner, a Tales from the Crypt episode (how appropriate), he worked on The Nightmare Before Christmas, and also Beetle Juice.

The third episode, stars the lovely Rae Dawn Chong, who is saved in the street by a broke, soon to be less then employed painter played by James Remar (The Warriors, Dream Team, and 48 hours). James Remar is on his way out the bar, and is told a secret he must keep for ever, in his escape he runs into Ms. Chong's character, falls in love, and they live happily ever after, or do they?

The story in between, Cat from Hell, was written by Stephen King himself, and the screen play was adapted by good old George A. Romero, so you know this is a can't miss story. David Johansen (Scrooged, Freejack) plays a hired hitman, assigned to kill a cat by William Hickey, a millionaire who has a cat out for him, and revenge.

In my opinion, this is a must have in your DVD collection. I know some will think I'm crazy, but I honestly believe this collection was better then either Creepshow, or Stephen King's Cats Eye. The best movie based on short horror stories. You can definitely feel comfortable purchasing before viewing. A must have for people who love ghost stories.

Grade: A