The Bribe (23 Nov. 1994)

Newly appointed fire marshal Inspector Martin Zeller aims to shut down the strip club that his daughter Hilery works as a dancer at. However, Zeller finds out Hilery isn't getting a ... See full summary »

Director:

Ramón Menéndez

Writer:

Scott Nimerfro (teleplay)

Stars:

Terry O'Quinn, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Benicio Del Toro

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Terry O'Quinn	...	Inspector Martin Zeller
Kimberly Williams-Paisley	...	Hiley Zeller (as Kimberly Williams)
Benicio Del Toro	...	Bill
Hal Williams	...	Nick Ciola
Max Grodénchik	...	Bic
Esai Morales	...	Puck
John Kassir	...	Crypt Keeper (voice)
Ron Carlson	...	Ron
Wayne Grace	...	Fire Chief

Storyline

Newly appointed fire marshal Inspector Martin Zeller aims to shut down the strip club that his daughter Hilery works as a dancer at. However, Zeller finds out Hilery isn't getting a scholarship for college, so he takes a bribe from sleazy club owner Puck to pay for her tuition. Nonetheless, Zeller still decides to go through with his plan to close down the club.

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Plot Keywords:

pyromaniac | strip club

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 1994 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), Tales From The Crypt Holdings

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Dark thriller themed tale from the crypt.

Tales from the Crypt: The Bribe starts as new fire marshal Martin Zeller (Terry O'Quinn) threatens to close Los Angeles strip club 'The Naked Experience' & put it's owner Puck (Esai Morales) out of business. Puck offers Zeller a substantial monetary bribe but Zeller refuses. Back home & Zeller learns that his daughter Hailey (Kimberly Williams) is about to lose her place at college due to not being able to afford the fees. As a lowly fire marshal her dad can't afford the money either but suddenly the bribe offered by Puck becomes very attractive & he intends to use the $60,000 to pay for Hailey's schooling. However Zeller's conscience get the better of him & plots revenge but his plan goes tragically wrong...

All the sixes episode 6 from season 6 this Tales from the Crypt story was directed by Ramón Menéndez & is an alright way to pass just under thirty odd minutes but I must say The Bribe doesn't particularly feel like a Tales from the Crypt in the sense there are no noticeable supernatural, occult or horror themes present. The script by Scott Nimerfro is based on a story from the comic book 'Shock SuspenStories' which backs up my assessment that The Bribe is more of a dark thriller where by a series of coincidences the story turns out very bad for certain character's in a very terminal, worst case scenario sort of way. There's nothing wrong with that except that The Bribe just doesn't feel like a Tales from the Crypt episode, there's no horror, nothing supernatural, no monsters or creatures or special effects & just feels like a run of the mill thriller with a notably dark twist ending which to be fair does work quite well & ends things on a suitably downbeat tone but it's not horror, it's not Sci-Fi & it's not what I or the majority of viewers would consider good source material for a Tales from the Crypt episode. It's worth watching for sure but in regard to the rest of the series it's forgettable & doesn't really stand out in any way.

Not being particularly horror themed there's no special effects, there's no gory set-pieces or make-up or monsters or whatever. There's a dead body in a pool of splattered blood & a burn person but nothing else. There's a nice opening montage set in a strip club featuring some bare breasted ladies you might like if that sort of thing turns you on. There's a really stylish moment in The Bribe when Hailey goes into her room & talks to her dad Martin & the wall between her bedroom & the living room turns transparent so both Hailey & martin are seen in the same shot despite being in different rooms next to each other. Veteran film & telly actor Terry O'Quinn stars while Hollywood star Benicio Del Toro has a fairly small role despite near top billing. The funny opening & closing Cryptkeeper sequences features him dressed as 'Uncle Sam' campaigning for office!

The Bribe is alright for what it is & is well worth a watch if you can catch it on telly for free but it doesn't really feel like a Tales from the Crypt episode & the lack of any horror or supernatural elements doesn't endear it to me at all.