Released by: Millennium Entertainment
Released on: 7/12/2011
Director: Jeff Monahan, Michael Fischa, Tom Savini
Cast: George A. Romero, Amy Marsalis, Marty Schiff, Jeff Monahan, Nick Mancuso, Bingo O'Malley, Maryann Nagel, Jason Hoehnen
Year: 2011
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The Movie:
Deadtime Stories is a noble effort on the part of Millennium Entertainment to bring back the EC Comics/Twilight Zone anthology horror vibe of shows like Tales From The Darkside, so who better to host and executive produce than George A. Romero? Well, it probably wouldn't be too hard to think of someone better, actually - George has made some pretty creepy movies in his career but as a horror host (he provides introductions to each of the three stories), which is really his main role here, he's too kindly looking and grandfatherly to scare us, even if he is shown through some retro style filters that make it look like he's talking to us out of an old TV.
Regardless, what we get with this first volume of Deadtime Stories are three short horror films (roughly twenty-twenty five minutes each) from three different directors - Jeff Monahan, Michael Fisha and Tom Savini respectively, with each story having been written by Monahan. Here's a look:
Valley Of The Shadow:
A pretty dark haired young woman (Amy Marsalis) finds herself way out of her element when she leads a rescue team deep into the heart of a jungle somewhere in Africa in hopes of finding her husband who was there looking for a rare fruit. They arrive and start digging around but soon after they've landed they realize that there are strange things afoot - primarily that someone or something is hunting them!
Chock full of bad prosthetic effects and some even worse CGI (especially during the 'shocking' finale), this one is pretty goofy. It's not particularly well acted nor is it all that original, but it does get bonus points for plentiful gore and a fun premise. The locations used aren't in the least bit convincing as any sort of African locale but the filmmakers make do with what they have reasonably well here. A bigger budget probably would have helped this one on a lot of levels, but if you're in the right frame of mind for some schlocky horror and don't mind a seriously heaping helping of 'goofy' to go along with it, this is kind of fun.
Wet:
An hard drinking middle aged single man (Jeff Monahan) goes for a walk along a beach and completely by chance finds a strange box buried just below the sand. He takes it home and investigates it, curious as to what it could be, only to find out after consulting with an acquaintance (Nick Mancuso) that opening this box was a horrible mistake and that it was to remain closed for a very good reason.
Better than the first story, this second entry actually manages to conjure up a bit of atmosphere and suspense. The props and effects work a lot more effectively here than in the first entry, and the acting and locations seem more suited to the story. It's not going to send you into a panic from sheer horror or anything but it's entertaining and has a good sense of mystery to it. It builds nicely, it's very well shot and makes great use of shadow in the interior scenes and it finishes up nicely with an appropriately ridiculous conclusion at which point the filmmaker's make up for the lack of gore and take things completely over the top. Not a classic, no, but entertaining and fun.
House Call:
When a concerned mother (Maryann Nagel) calls a strange doctor (Bingo O'Malley) to the family home to find out what is wrong with her son (Jason Hoehnen) and to make a diagnosis as to the cause of his increasingly bizarre behavior, she finds out that sometimes it's best not to know why things happen as his diagnosis unleashes… evil!
This one is a period story, set in what looks to be the early twenties if the furnishings are anything to go by. This one is shot in a distractingly jittery style which doesn't help things at all and it's given a faux-old film look by way of windowboxing things on the left and right with a soft frame. The intentions were probably good, but it conflicts with that fact that this was very obviously shot on digital video and the effect is in turn completely undone.
Story and acting wise, this isn't bad. There's some good suspense here, the story pulls us in and keeps us guessing and the performances are decent enough that we can accept the actors in their roles. There's a sense of sadness that is effective in distracting us from where the story is heading, so when the twist ending hits us, we don't really see it coming.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Deadtimes Stories Volume 1 was shot on digital video and it looks pretty good in this 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen presentation. Colors are a bit on the warm side in a few scenes during the first story and intentionally dark looking in the last story, but this was obviously done on purpose. Detail is fine throughout and there are no problems with any dirt or debris on the image as this was obviously a digital to digital transfer. Some mild compression artifacts pop up in a couple of darker scenes but aside from that, the picture quality here is good.
The only audio option on this DVD is an English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix, with optional subtitles provided in English SDH and Spanish. The quality of the track is pretty good, with some well placed directional effects heightening tension in a couple of the murder set pieces and the score adding a little bit of emotional depth to a few key scenes. Levels are well balanced and bass response is pretty good, offering a solid low end without burying the dialogue.
There are no extras on this disc, just a menu and chapter selection, though a few previews for unrelated releases play before you get to the menu.
The Final Word:
George A. Romero Presents: Deadtime Stories Volume 1 isn't on the same level as better horror anthologies but despite the low budget and varied performances and despite the quirks of the camerawork and the effects work, these are actually pretty fun. The DVD doesn't have any extras, which is unfortunate as it would have been interesting to be behind the scenes on some of this stuff but the quality of the presentation is fine. This stuff is schlocky and cheesy but entertainment value is what matters and it does deliver that.