Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

John Harrison

Writers (WGA):

Michael McDowell (written by) (segment)
Arthur Conan Doyle (short story "Lot 249") (segment)

Release Date:

4 May 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Brace yourself for some KILLER stories.

Plot:

In anthology style, a child tells three stories of horror to keep from being eaten by a witch.

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Anthology | Mummy | Gargoyle | Wheelchair

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Deborah Harry	...	Betty (wraparound story)
David Forrester	...	Priest (wraparound story)
Matthew Lawrence	...	Timmy (wraparound story)
Christian Slater	...	Andy (segment "Lot 249")
Robert Sedgwick	...	Lee (segment "Lot 249")
Steve Buscemi	...	Bellingham (segment "Lot 249")
Donald Van Horn	...	Moving Man (segment "Lot 249")
Michael Deak	...	Mummy (segment "Lot 249")
Julianne Moore	...	Susan (segment "Lot 249")
George Guidall	...	Museum Director (segment "Lot 249")
Kathleen Chalfant	...	Dean (segment "Lot 249")
Ralph Marrero	...	Cabbie (segment "Lot 249")
David Johansen	...	Halston (segment "Cat From Hell")
Paul Greeno	...	Cabbie (segment "Cat From Hell")
William Hickey	...	Drogan (segment "Cat From Hell")

Also Known As:

Creepshow 3 (International: English title) (informal title)
Darkside Movie (USA) (informal English title)
Tales from the Darkside (International: English title) (informal English title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) (1991) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Germany:(Banned) | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Bronxville, New York, USA

Company:

Darkside Movie

Trivia:

"Tales from the Darkside: The Movie" is considered by many fans and Tom Savini himself to be the 'official' "Creepshow 3". Following the success of Stephen King and George A. Romero's Creepshow, Laurel Entertainment (Creepshow & Creepshow 2's production company) toyed with the idea of a Creepshow television series. After several negotiations and changes (due to rights holders etc.), the decision was made to change the title for the series to "Tales from the Darkside" (to be helmed by none other than Creepshow director and Creepshow 2 screenwriter, George A. Romero). After the series' great success, just roughly three short years after Creepshow 2 hit theatres, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie came to fruition in 1990 as the successor to the original two Creepshow installments, sharing many of the same crew as the Creepshow installments.

Goofs:

Continuity: The position of the groceries in Betty's bag change between shots in the first segment of the wraparound story.

Quotes:

Wyatt: Judith says she hasn't moved anything of yours in months. She says if it isn't out by tomorrow it gets junked.
Preston: Wyatt, you've got to convince her that...
Wyatt: I can't convince her of anything.
Preston: Wyatt, come on. You're my agent!
Wyatt: Well... not exactly. Preston, your artistic vision just isn't a marketable commodity.
Preston: Wyatt, I'm broke. I can't live on nothing.
Wyatt: And I can't live on ten-percent of nothing.
Preston: [pause] You're a monster.
Wyatt: I'm an agent. For an agent, being a monster's just credentials.

Movie Connections:

Spin off from Creepshow (1982)

Soundtrack:

THE WAY OF ALL FLESH

The fact that this movie was originally supposed to be another Creepshow sequel helps me understand.

Understand what you ask? Why this movie to me just does not have the feel of the television series it is named from and does seem to have more of a Creepshow feel to it. None of the three stories seems like it would ever have played on the television show with the introduction story of the little boy being held by the crazy woman probably being the most like it came from the show. The first story seems straight out of the HBO series "Tales from the Crypt" with the second one having more of the "Creepshow feel and the final one almost having more of a Twilight Zone quality to it. The first story has one guy killing people with the help of a mummy, not really much to it, but it does have the most stars in it as you will recognize quite a few of the people featured in it. The second one is my favorite, but not really going to garner to much mention as a hit-man is requested by a rather eccentric old man to exterminate a rather strange target. The target in question is that of a cat. The final story is about a man who witnesses a strange killing and is told to keep it a secret, his life seems to be going well, but he is still haunted by what he saw that evening. This story is really to tame with the exception of the beginning and the end. Then of course the story of the boy and his captor is wrapped up. It has a few ups and is far from awful, it just is not that good either as the show had much better stories.