This 2015 horror anthology film features 10 tales taking place on Halloween night. What can I say? This had potential, but could've been better and only had a couple decent stories. Also, it seems like there's more silly than scary moments. Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog), Barry Bostwick (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), Lin Shaye (Insidious), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Robert Rusler (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London) and Joe Dante (The Howling) make appearances. I'd view this at least once only if you're into Halloween or horror.

Saw this advertised on IMDb a while back & kept meaning to get it on DVD as it look great & me being a Die-Hard Fan of not only Horror Films, but of Halloween alone! I had to have it & did when it suddenly appeared on the shelves in HMV!The film is an anthology of 10 Chilling Stories by 10 different directors, not too dissimilar to the likes of the VHS Franchise, Trick 'r Treat & of course The All Hallow's Eve Films. It was a great watch of a film, very impressed with the visuals here & there it had a very strong Halloween vibe about it! I found it to be one of the Halloween Horror Greats! These Halloween Themed Horror Films need to be done more often! They're that great!So, here's a run down of each story in the film I liked & disliked.1. Sweet Tooth - A teenage babysitter and her boyfriend pay the price for eating all of her charge's candy. Written and directed by Dave Parker.Really liked this one, was very gory & fear ridden! Reminded me of Krampus & Halloween (1978) a bit & was all round an epic tale!2. The Night Billy Raised Hell - A young boy is about to egg an old man's house. The man turns out to be The Devil himself and teaches the young boy a lesson. Written by Clint Sears, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman.Another great tale with a twist! Bloody, gory & out right nuts! Only thing I was confused about was why the boy at the end got shot for pi$$ing his trousers? Lol.3. Trick - A group of friends are terrorised by vigilante trick-or- treaters. Written by Greg Commons, directed by Adam Gierasch.Wasn't too sure about this one to begin with but ultimately loved it afterwards! It was another bloody, gory roller-coaster ride!4. The Weak and the Wicked - A young man summons a Demon to exact vengeance on 3 bullies who burned down his home along with his parents in it. Written by Molly Millions, directed by Paul Solet.Another dark revenge tale that was sinister & overall epic!5. Grim Grinning Ghost - A young woman (Alex Essoe) is haunted by a malevolent spirit. Written and directed by Axelle Carolyn.This was an alright kind of tale, not as good as the previous 4 but good.6. Ding Dong - A man learns that his wife is a child hungry Witch and tries to put a stop to her. Written and directed by Lucky McKee.Another one which wasn't the greatest, but an alright tale with a sinister twist!7. This Means War - A man battles his new neighbour to the death for the best Halloween decorations on the block. Written and directed by Andrew Kasch and John Skipp.This one was also alright, not great but a funny & good watch overall!8. Friday the 31st - A deformed Serial killer meets his match when a trick or treating extraterrestrial gets upset when he doesn't have any candy. Written by Mike Mendez and Dave Parker, directed by Mike Mendez.Actually quite liked this one despite the stupid Sci-Fi part being added in. It was bloody & gory! Nuff said!9. The Ransom of Rusty Rex - Two bank robbers kidnap a wealthy man's son only to discover that the child is a deformed creature that doesn't ever want to leave anyone's side. Written and directed by Ryan Schifrin.This one was alright being honest, not great. But it was a unique tale on how things can backfire!10.Bad Seed - A detective tries to put a stop to a genetically engineered man eating pumpkin that's terrorising the town. Written and directed by Neil Marshall.What better way to end a Halloween Anthology with than having a live pumpkin eat people alive! This was funny, bloody & f**ked in all the right ways!This film was overall a great watch! I give it a 9/10!

It seems that I review more and more horror anthologies all the time. Open up the reviews section in your favorite horror mag, scroll through the options on a site like Netflix or just surf through social media and it feels like the indie horror world is inundated with anthologies right now. Though this format has long existed, I look to the success of the V/H/S franchise mostly as the impetus in the modern boom. It makes perfect sense when you consider the restrictions of indie horror. After all, these movies offer young film makers a perfect chance to get their name out there, work on a short film and be seen by a sort of wide audience, without having to worry about the burdens of character development and script enhancement. The problem with most of this wave of anthologies is the consistency of quality. This movie, like most before it, have a few decent short surrounded by a bevy of forgettable moments, then a few outright duds thrown in as well. The thing that makes it so appealing is, also, its' downfall for the serious horror fan because the time constriction just doesn't allow for any development, especially in tone, which for me is so important in horror.This is, also, pretty low budget, all things considered, which is not a negative for me, but probably will be for many others. You can expect painfully average acting, bad dialog and some elementary creature designs, but for me that's all part of the fun. I can go along for the ride and enjoy the ideas.The "wraparound" framing in this movie is that it all takes place in the same town on a crazy Halloween night. Sound familiar? Yes, the biggest thing working against this movie is a comparison to the far superior TRICK R TREAT. Our host for the evening is Adrienne Barbeau, essentially, riffing off her famous role in THE FOG playing a radio DJ here who is hosting us for the evening.One personal note. I attend a LOT of horror conventions and had a lot of fun seeing con regulars all over this feature. A good portion of these actors spend their weekends at fan conventions which made it feel like I was seeing old friends, which made it more favorable for me.SWEET TOOTH is the first short, which sees some actors known for roles in WEIRD SCIENCE and TCM2. The movie does an admirable job of trying to create a new urban legend, based on a monster who just wants his share of the treats. It has some good indie horror gore, but is brought down by a terrible creature design.THE NIGHT BILLY RAISED HELL sees Barry Bostwick as The Devil, enticing a young lad into his first evening of Halloween pranks. It's that sort of low budget comedic horror that just doesn't work for me.TRICK sees a group of partying adults terrorized by trick or treaters. It goes for a typical TALES FROM THE CRYPT twist ending, that is a little too predictable. The acting is flat and the story is flatter.THE WEAK AND THE WICKED is a revenge tale with a post-apocalyptic feel to it. It suffers from the brevity of the short as it isn't able to elicit the empathy the audience needs to have in any character for it to truly have impact, but it's not bad.GRIM GRINNING GHOST is entirely forgettable. A woman hears a scary story, gets followed by a ghost, sees the ghost. The end. There is no attempt to flesh it out really to anything more than that. The only redeeming point is a cast of familiar horror faces.DING DONG proves to me that Lucky McKee continues to be one of the most overrated directors in indie horror today. It's a tale of a couple dealing with the loss of their child. It tries so hard to mingle allusions to fairy tale mythology with some surrealist imagery, but just feels so forced and plays as annoying.THIS MEANS WAR was one of the better shorts. It uses two neighbors warring over their Halloween decorations as a playful exploration of the clash between old school Gothic terror and new school gory horror. It's fun and never tries to be anything more than an amusing little short.Friday THE 31st sees a cliché slasher killer coming up against an even bigger threat from another world. It features claymation and comedy to accomplish a short that is amusing.THE RANSOM OF RUSTY REX has two guys (including a second-rate WALKING DEAD star) kidnap Meep from American HORROR STORY, believing him to be the rich son of John Landis. They end up getting far more than they bargained for when the kidnap victim turns out not to be your average kid. Again, it's a little more funny than horrific and doesn't completely work, but it knows what it is and stays within the limits of a 10 minute short to present a story.Finally, Neil Marshall brings us BAD SEED, a riff on HALLOWEEN 3 (it would seem) that also features some cheesy good claymation effects, along with an appearance from Joe Dante. It's not one of the better shorts in the movie, but has an ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES feel to it.The movie delivered exactly what I wanted, which was 90 minutes of fun entertainment, a lot of mindless gore and some laughs along the way. Given the format and the budget, I'd say that all did a good job. By no means an exceptional film, I will give it another spin come Halloween season.

Tales of Halloween... Campy as Hell!! OK, you do not want to watch this if you are looking for an actual Halloween/scary movie. The dialogue is horrible, the acting is horrible, the special effects were horrible. Yet, overall, the movie wasn't bad. Some of the stories had me laughing like crazy, some were really silly and some had me thinking ""What the heck am I watching?? Truth is, I like ridiculous stories. It even got the 7/10 rating because one of the tales reminds me of Evil Dead (the original and Best with Bruce Campbell, not the crap they called a remake). Watch a couple of the stories before you dismiss this movie entirely. You never know....