Trying to impose her teachings onto others, a woman who deals in the workings of various forms of magic shares the intricacies of various items she uses involving several clients.
The Good Stor(ies): The Bridge Partner-Simply interested in a fun game, a woman finds herself threatened by a partner's admission that she will eventually kill her which puts a strain on her life. Attempting to uncover the truth about the situation, she realizes too late about the intention behind the friendship. This is a pretty interesting start to the film which is quite enjoyable. The main setup here involving the fateful Bridge club and the intensity of the tournament that makes such a seemingly innocuous statement turn into such a threat is a fine starting point. This is greatly enhanced by the later statements and actions towards her that suggest something far darker than a Bridge game is at the center of it all gives this some chilling scenes here. Still, the abruptness of the ending keeps this one from really overwhelming since there's no clear-cut resolution, and with this one focused more on her belief the threats are real rather than outright targets some can easily be bored since nothing happens which hold this down.
Marian-Tired of being spooked by restless noises in her house, a young girl is told to get through the situation as best she can even though the hauntings continue to happen. Once she realizes the true nature behind the situation, she finds that the real haunting of the house may not be the source she expected. Overall, this one is one of the better segments in the film which has a lot to like about it. The setup with this one is fantastic involving the girl trying to stay out of her aunt's wrath which only incites further acts of violence towards her and fueling a far darker idea of a haunting than a simple ghost story which this easily could've gone down that route. The actual scares of abuse on display are far darker than the actual ghost that comes in later that has some shocking sense of violence towards it offers a lot to like here with the only drawback being the rather brief running time making the final feel rushed and unfinished which isn't that detrimental at all.
Wrap-Around-Trying to impose her teachings onto others, a woman who deals in the workings of various forms of magic shares the intricacies of various items she uses involving several clients. There's a lot to like with this one, as it serves the use of a genre wrap-around quite well. The interludes to show the purpose and intentions behind the various objects to be included in the next segment are far more involved than would be expected which makes it seem more realistic and believable as the ability to dive into their purposes and intentions is best. The warnings and explanations have a highly intriguing setup that appears authentic under the proper teachings and instructions offered which is what makes them so intriguing by setting up the potential to come in the upcoming segment, making this one of the best features of the film.
The Bad Stor(ies): The Disappearance of Willie Bingham-Starting up a new job, a supervisor at a local prison sees it fit to institute a program authorizing the butchering of criminals through surgery to recompense for their crimes. As he continually loses more of his body in the process, the toll of the situation starts to affect both of them. This one really could've been much better than it was. The idea of what's happening here is an exceptionally original and creative way to treat prisoners in a cruel warning matter by dismembering the prisoner for the crimes he committed. Trotting him out to warn others against others following in his footsteps is a great idea and the commentary on the situation is rather nice, but none of it's scary with all the focus on the wrong individual where we see it from the supervisor along for the case rather than the torment of what he's going through in the surgeries which is where the horror comes from. That's what holds this one down somewhat.
Violent Florence-Left with no one else in the world, a young woman and a tormented cat retreat to an abandoned building where she offers it shelter from the group trying to hurt it. Once inside, her behavior and intentions towards the creature offer a darker side to her personality than expected. This was a rather disappointing and underwhelming effort. The main aspect to like here is the sudden shift in behavior she exhibits here, as the shock of going from sweet and nurturing to outright brutal and aggressive is surprising and works rather well. However, the actual scenes of their confrontation are shockingly silly and just showing someone rolling around on the ground with a cat puppet on their face which looks just bad. Plus, the entire realization of her intent behind it is just laughably lame and stupid, and with little connection to the object she showed at the beginning or the rest of the shorts makes its inclusion seem rather curious.
The Son, The Father-Coming home to find his mother dead, a boy learns it's just a joke until he decides to play one himself, which has far darker consequences than he anticipated. This was a highly underwhelming effort that feels entirely out of place in this anthology since, much like the last segment, there's little actual connection to the purpose behind the anthology. Nothing supernatural or even remotely related to scares or even laughs as the premise is just bizarre and confusing without anything setup here. With the later scenes at the prison meeting just being equally underwhelming with the conversation playing off an uninteresting set up and just plain unlikeable situation the entire premise with this one falls flat with very little in terms of twists or excitement to be had here. The gore in the kill is graphic and looks good but that's all that really holds this one up.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.
