Presented by some organization calling itself The October Society, Tales of Halloween makes a bid for annual play with an anthology of 10 stories, each by a director whose name is likely familiar to the horror faithful. More treats exist than tricks, and the whole party is hosted (although almost exclusively through a vocal performance) by scream queen Adrienne Barbeau in full Foggy DJ mode.
The Hills Run Red’s Dave Parker leads the parade with “Sweet Tooth,” relaying the urban legend of a child who was allowed to trick-or-treat, but never to consume his loot. The ending is predictable, but comfortable, and the segment houses one genuine scare. By contrast, Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II through IV) goes for straight comedy — complete with cringe-inducing cartoon SFX — in “The Night Billy Raised Hell.” Its highlight is Rocky Horror Picture Show alum Barry Bostwick’s game portrayal of a devil introducing a child to the wonderful world of All Hallows’ Eve prank-pulling.
Adam Gierasch (2009’s Night of the Demons remake) pulls a “Trick” of four adults under siege in the dead of night, while Grace’s Paul Solet reworks the Western into a modern-day BMX bike chase in the wanting “The Weak and the Wicked.” Tales creator Axelle Carolyn (Soulmate) gets things bouncing back with “Grimm Grinning Ghost.” It’s another urban-legend story, this of a dead woman who comes back to taunt the living — namely, Starry Eyes starlet Alex Essoe. Its final shot provides a welcome jolt.
Lucky McKee (May) goes “Ding Dong” with an equally amusing and confusing look at how a couple (Filth’s Pollyanna McIntosh and The Devil’s Carnival’s Marc Senter) unable to conceive copes with a constant stream of children at their door. (Spoiler: not well.) Splatterpunk pioneer John Skipp teams with Andrew Kasch (Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy) to declare “This Means War,” as neighbors James Duval (Go) and comedian Dana Gould do battle via their very different yard decorations; results are tragic for them, funny for us.
With “Friday the 31st,” Mike Mendez (Big Ass Spider!) pays tribute to Friday the 13th with a Jason Voorhees-esque slasher, Sam Raimi-style shenanigans and stop-motion animation — a winning mix. Abominable helmer Ryan Schifrin (son of the legendary Lalo, who composed Tales’ theme) reworks an O. Henry classic into “The Ransom of Rusty Rex,” in which two crooks kidnap the Tigger-masked tot of a wealthy man (played by An American Werewolf in London helmer John Landis) in hopes of scoring a $5 million ransom. The key word is “hopes,” as the tables so deliciously turn.
Finally, they’ve gone and saved the best for last: “Bad Seed.” It begins with a pumpkin carver making a real “monsterpiece” of a gourd … that somehow comes to life, chomps off its creator’s head and goes on to terrorize the town. Although we’re not used to seeing something this lighthearted from Neil Marshall (The Descent), perhaps we should start; it’s a well-concocted, good-humored riot that weaves in elements and characters from several of the nine previous chapters.
Even with nearly a dozen cooks, Tales of Halloween benefits from a cohesive look. Cameos abound, including such genre stalwarts as Sleepaway Camper Felissa Rose, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 final girl Caroline Williams, the ever-Insidious Lin Shaye, frequent Stephen King adapter Mick Garris (donning the iconic half-mask of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s operatic Phantom), Re-Animator director Stuart Gordon (dressed as Sherlock Holmes!), that film’s Barbara Crampton and Hatchet man Adam Green. And that’s just for starters! So much footage of George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead is here and there that it practically merits a cast credit itself.
This Halloween love letter — written in a tube of fake vampire blood, one assumes — ends with the credit, “Animals were not hurt during the production, but we sure killed a lot of pumpkins.” Normally I detest these “cute” disclaimer jokes, but here, it’s 100% in the project’s celebratory spirit. As with Michael Dougherty’s similarly enthused Trick ’r Treat goodie bag of 2007, seasonal repeatability is assured. —Rod Lott