Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

A young boy tells three stories of horror to distract a witch who plans to eat him.

Director:

John Harrison

Writers:

Michael McDowell, Arthur Conan Doyle (short story "Lot 249")

Stars:

Debbie Harry, Matthew Lawrence, Christian Slater

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Debbie Harry	...	Betty (wraparound story) (as Deborah Harry)
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")

Storyline

This is really three shorter movies, bound together by a fourth tale in which the other three stories are read. The first segment features an animated mummy stalking selected student victims; the second tale tells the story of a "cat from Hell" who cannot be killed and leaves a trail of victims behind it; the third story is about a man who witnesses a bizarre killing and promises never to tell what he saw, and the "in-between" bit is the story of a woman preparing to cook her newspaper boy for supper.

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Plot Keywords:

hitman | based on tv series | secret | gargoyle | mummy | 

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Taglines:

Four Ghoulish Fables in One Modern Nightmare

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie

Filming Locations:

Bronxville, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$16,324,573

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Laurel Productions, Darkside Movie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marks the big screen debut of Julianne Moore.

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Goofs

When the kid is going through the Tales From the Darkside book in his cell you can clearly see that the pages in the book are blank.

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Quotes

Preston: Carola. I loved you.
Gargoyle: And i loved you, too. But you broke your vow, and that sealed our destiny.

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Connections

Spun-off from Creepshow (1982)

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Soundtracks

The Way of All Flesh
Composed and Performed by Jim Manzie
Produced by David J. Holman (as D.J. Holman) and Pat Regan (Manzie Music)

User Reviews

solid first story

In a seemingly normal upper middle class suburban home, Betty (Debbie Harry) is revealed to be a witch holding Timmy (Matthew Lawrence) prisoner. She's preparing to cook him for her dinner party. He tells her three stories from "Tales from the Darkside" to hold off the inevitable. In the first tale, Andy (Christian Slater) is a friend to the underhanded arrogant rich college guy Lee. Lee is using Andy's sister Susan (Julianne Moore) to do his work and steal a scholarship from Edward Bellingham (Steve Buscemi). Edward has purchased Lot 249 which is a mummy he's looking to resell. A hidden parchment helps him take revenge. The first part is solid. The horror could be done scarier and more gruesome. It does have Slater going against Buscemi. It's solid work.

The second story is less compelling. It's a story told by Timmy about an old guy who tells stories. The best thing about the second story is William Hickey but that's about it. A cat is not scary (at least not here) and it's flat. It tries to be funny and fails. The third tale is a great short story. As a cinematic endeavor, it suffers from a flat middle. James Remar plays an artist who is forced to keep quiet about his encounter with a gargoyle. The gargoyle animatronics is not the best. It looks fake which keeps it from being scary. The surprise twist is great but the story needs more tension in the middle. In total, the movie is an up and down affair.