Another year, another horror anthology, and this time it's the turn of 5 SENSES OF FEAR which unsurprisingly contains five short tales each based around one of the human senses. Like SCARY OR DIE or the V/H/S/ movies, this is acceptable stuff for horror fans, although it lacks the quality of something like TRICK 'R TREAT.The problem with 5 SENSES OF FEAR is not the production values, because they're actually decent for a change; although the stories were shot on the cheap and in a very short space of time, they look good and the calibre of both acting and direction is of an acceptable standard. There are no big names here, but then you don't go looking for them.The problem is that all of the stories are focused on delivering gore rather than true scares so that the scope ends up being rather limited. The first one, SMELL, is about a guy who comes into possession of a new and experimental perfume; this has a classic outcome and was my favourite of the five stories. The second one, SEE, involves some predictably nasty eye violence and very little else. The third, TOUCH, is about a blind kid who has a car accident and is the most atmospheric of the quintet, although the story is very slight. TASTE is an all-out gore effort set in an office, while LISTEN goes down the found footage route and isn't too shabby. All of the stories are acceptable, but I found them lacking in delivering proper horror themes or scares; is gore all the genre has to offer these days, I wonder?

I came away from this with a good over all feeling; at least a feeling of liking the movie, as a whole, not so much from the gore that was just a bit too syrupy. So you get one over all story told in five parts without the usual arc to pull it together. Instead of that usual arc you get a "Wolfram & Hart" almost Umbrella Corp if somehow it had the Brazil twist running through the whole movie that works nicely, and has some nice little payoffs throughout, and upon re-review you see things from the new angle. Sadly the first story is just so slow, and dry that it really bogs the rest of the stories down from the start, so when Touch ends so very suddenly it sort of makes more sense. I wanted more from the blood effects, I just find making blood look like syrup is just cheap, it doesn't get like that till it has had some time to set, so the fresh stuff should look more like fresh blood. But I do pick. In the end I found that I really did Enjoy this movie, and would think that anyone not afraid of a little fake blood, and vomit (lots, of both) then you will to.

I loved this horror anthology, but I can understand how some people might not. It's not jump-out-of-your-seat horror. If anything, I'd characterize it as a series of unsettling and disturbing scenarios. I'd equate it with an episode of Tales from the Crypt or maybe season one of Fringe. Each section of the anthology starts with a natural sense and ties it to something very unnatural. With maybe one exception, this doesn't end well for anybody!SMELL tells the story of a man who's given the chance to change his pheromones to get sex and success. Our protagonist fails to realize that something about that offer smells fishy.SIGHT deals with a lonely eye doctor who can see what his patients see. Unfortunately, he sure lacks foresight when he tries to help one of them out.TOUCH starts with a blind boy and his family getting into a car accident. As the only one able to walk, the blind boy wanders through the woods to find help. As I'm sure he would agree, something doesn't feel right here.TASTE is about an unusual job interview. When the interviewee turns down the offer, he's met with a biting critique.LISTEN breaks with the rest of the short films and is in "found footage" format. It tells the story of two young men trying to piece together the recording of a song that is rumoured to kill all those who listen to it. In the end, our protagonists try to offer some sound advice -- but is it already too late?

Saw this at The Art of Brooklyn Film Fest's Dark Side program. A great, original anthology. It's refreshing it see a horror movie that focuses on characters and story and not just blood and guts (although there are some great squirm-inducing moments in this that made a few audience members quite queasy). Also, the stories are all loosely tied together, but it's not easy to pick up all the connections on the first viewing. I'm excited to go back and watch this again to look for more details.I'm hoping this gets a DVD/BluRay release, because it definitely deserves multiple viewings.My only complaint is that I would have liked a bit more of a wrap-up at the end. It seems to finish pretty abruptly. But, maybe we'll get more in a sequel!