TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE: THE MOVIE

US, 1991, 89 minutes, Colour.
Deborah Harry, David Forrester, Christian Slater, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, James Remar, Rae Dawn Chong.
Directed by John Harrison.

Tales from the Darkside is a compendium of popular horror stories, American style. It is reminiscent of the portmanteau films of the 60s and 70s, so popular in Britain. These tales have always been popular on television, Hitchcock's stories, amazing stories etc. Two of the these stories were adapted by Michael McDowell?, Lot 249 being inspired by a Conan Doyle story. The Cat from Hell screenplay is by veteran horror writer director George a Romero (Night of the Living Dead) from a story by Steven King.

The film has a cast of character actors, the thread story being a tongue in cheek comic horror story as Debra Harry comes home, prepares for a dinner party? with the main course being her young son chained in a caged cell in the home. He tells her stories to delay her cooking him with an ironic happy ending. The films have a number of gory touches - and also play in some ways with the supernatural. It is the kind of film that horror fans really enjoy.

1. Interesting and entertaining collection of horror stories? The overall impact for a feature film?

2. The technical qualities: writers, director? The stars? The importance of special effect and stunt work?

3. The title, the psychological implications of the human psyche, evil, the repression of evil, its coming to the surface?

4. The continuing story: the mother coming home with the shopping, the very ordinary setting, the telephone call about the dinner party, the irony of the young son chained in the cell in the kitchen? Her perfectly normal chatter? Preparing to cook him ? and her conversation with him? His trying to stall with telling tales from the darkside? Her enjoyment of these stories? The irony of his tricking her at the end, his escape with the key, her finally being impaled and going into the oven? His comment on the happy ending? The flip ironic tone for this kind of horror story telling?

5. Lot 249: the university setting, Andy and his friendship with Lee his sister? Lee winning the prize? The clash with Bellingham? His bringing the lot into his apartment? The opening up of the casket, the mummy? The incantation and the mummy coming alive? The brutality of the killing of Lee? The confrontation with Susan and her death? The gory aspects? Bellingham and his satisfaction of revenge for Lee getting the prize and Susan framing him and reporting him to the authorities? Andy and his coping with the disasters, confronting Bellingham, making him destroy the parchment? The irony of Bellingham going off in the taxi (and the non-comprehending taxi driver)? The incantation, Lee and Susan coming alive to threaten Andrew? The implications of the story: honesty, cheating, academic research, the abuse of power, violence?

6. The Cat from Hell: The killer and his taxi ride, meeting the old man, the sinister aspects of the house, the flashbacks - and the visualising of the cat's point of view? The contract on the cat? The old man and his household, his sister and her companion and the servant? His hatred of the cat? The background of his drug company, the testing of the drugs on animals, the death of 5000 cats? Their revenge? His sister falling down the stairs at midnight, the cat taking the life out of the companion, the car crash with the servant? The confrontation with the killer, his fearlessness, offhandedness, the clashes with the cat, the cat clawing him, the blood, his becoming scared? Defying the cat, playing pool? The cat's attacks? His knife, his high-tech guns ? and missing the cat? The cat killing him and going inside him? The old man returning, the daylight? The irony of the clock stopping just before midnight? The stroke of midnight, the cat immerging and killing the old man? The implications of the story for murderers - be they contract killers or owners of companies making drugs?

7. The Lovers' Vow: the dreary New York setting, the gargoyles and statues on the roofs? Preston as an artist, his failure, his selfish agent? His going to the bar, ditched by his agent? The fellow artist? The bartender? Drunk, in the slums and the squalor? The appearance of the devilish monster? The death of the bartender? Preston promising never to tell the truth? His being allowed to live? The sudden presence of the girl, the attraction, his helping her out, taking her to the apartment? Their falling in love? The passing of the years, the happy family and the children, Preston's success? The retrospect exhibition? The effect of the girl on his life? Everything happy? His wanting to show his devotion to her by telling her absolutely everything? His telling her the truth about a demon - her reluctance, her being ~transformed into the demon? The children as demons regretting what had happened? Their going back into stone on the top of the building? The destruction of everything the artist loved? The implications of the story of too much happiness and the unhappiness lurking beneath?

8. How satisfying a collection of horror stories: visually, verbally, special effects, moral implications?