IMDb > "Tales from the Darkside" (1984)

"Tales from the Darkside" (1984) More at IMDbPro »TV series 1984-1988


Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   1,016 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 20% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Franco Amurri (writer) (episode)
Scott D. Jackson (writer)
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Tales from the Darkside on IMDbPro.
Seasons:
Release Date:
30 September 1984 (USA) more
Plot:
Each episode of this TV series depicts a short, strange tale...with a twist! With eerie stories vaguely... more
Awards:
2 nominations more
User Comments:
Even the credits were frightening! more (31 total)

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 2 of 22)
Catherine Battistone ... Telephone Voice / ... (8 episodes, 1984-1988)
John Marzilli ... Gad / ... (4 episodes, 1985-1987)
more

Additional Details

Runtime:
30 min (92 episodes)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
UK:15 (some episodes) | USA:TV-14 | Iceland:16 | UK:PG (some episodes)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Famed horror writer Stephen King contributed two stories to the series: "Word Processor of the Gods" and "Sorry, Right Number." Both have subsequently been reprinted in the author's anthology works. more
Quotes:
[opening narration]
Narrator: Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality. But... there is, unseen by most, an underworld, a place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit... a Darkside.
more
Movie Connections:

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
31 out of 35 people found the following comment useful.
Even the credits were frightening!, 2 March 2005
Author: Earl Roesel (Sanguinaire) from Northern KY, USA

The television horror anthology has a long and noble history. In the Fifties, Rod Serling blazed the trail with THE TWILIGHT ZONE; though the series mostly veered in the direction of what may be called "speculative fantasy", it did produce its share of horrific/macabre episodes. This was to be followed by THRILLER in the early Sixties, a much more overtly Gothic series hosted by Boris Karloff, and one of the first television series to catch flack for experimenting with graphic violence (one episode featured a man staggering down a flight of stairs with an ax buried in his head!). Serling struck again with NIGHT GALLERY in the Seventies, an often genuinely weird and experimental series that, like THRILLER, often drew from the great pulp horror tales of the past for inspiration. And, in the Eighties, came George Romero's TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE.

I vividly remember the show as a pre-teen; it would premier late at night, around 11:30 after the news and "normal" programming concluded. As that bleary witching hour approached, when the wholesome prime-time like of FAMILY TIES and THE FACTS OF LIFE seemed miles gone by, disorientation and apprehension would set in - the atmosphere was right for a kid to be scared! And nothing was scarier than DARKSIDE's opening sequence. What looked like pastoral postcard scenes of rural Vermont would give way to the ominous intonations of Paul Sparer, backed up by a prickly synthesizer score. The title card would then appear in dripping letters of crimson. It was, in a word, unforgettable.

For budgetary reasons, the episodes were shot on video; on the one hand, this gave them an air of cheapness, but on the other lent them a kind of creepy immediacy. The frequent appearance of veteran stars meanwhile, some of who hadn't then worked in years, provided some old-fashioned cachet. Eddie Bracken starred in one I'll never forget - A Case of the Stubborns, based on a story by Robert Bloch. Bracken plays a cranky old grandfather who refuses to accept the fact that he has died, much to the distress of his family. As the days pass, Bracken begins to decompose, to the point of literally sneezing his nose off. Another one that stuck with me was called Inside the Closet, which starred Fritz Weaver as a doctor with a horrible Tom Savini-designed secret locked in his doll closet. One of the (deservedly) best-loved episodes was a Christmas-themed affair called Seasons of Belief. This one had E. G. Marshall sadistically terrorizing his children with stories of The Grither, a sort of demonic Santa being whose name must never be spoken. Building to a truly spectacular conclusion, Seasons of Belief stands out as an endearingly bilious Yuletide classic. In addition to the old-timers, TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE boasted some up-and-coming talent as well - the aforementioned A Case of the Stubborns also starred Christian Slater. Another one I remember, called Monsters in My Room, had little Seth Green as a boy who faces the titular trouble. To further sweeten the package, horror masters like Romero, Savini, and Bloch frequently contributed behind the camera.

TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE looms large in the pantheon of Eighties horror (when the genre wasn't afraid to be bold and nasty), as well as in the hearts of those of us who remember it. As it's been off the air for some time, a DVD release may well be in order, so that a whole new generation might behold what gave many Children of the Eighties a pleasant little chill back in the day. As the show's closer immortally put it: "The Darkside is always there, waiting for us to enter, waiting to enter us. Until next time - try to enjoy the daylight."

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (31 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for "Tales from the Darkside" (1984)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
I don't really understand 'If The Shoe Fits...' classichollywoodstarlet
Episode Question StarroHeart
Name that episode jackiechad
Answer Me griddlecake2001
'Hush' episode, the Vacuum Cleaner monster mrmuggles
The World Needs A New Anthology Show SnacksForAll
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie Twilight Zone: The Movie Creepshow 2 "Tales from the Crypt" "The Twilight Zone"
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Episode guide Full cast and crew Company credits
External reviews News articles IMDb TV section
IMDb Fantasy section IMDb USA section Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.

You may add a new episode for this TV series by clicking the 'add episode' button