‘Tales From The Other Side’ Review
Stars: James Duval, Vernon Wells, Ros Gentle, Michael Broderick, Rafael Delgado Jr., Chelsea Vale, Anna Harr, Hunter Johnson, Andreas Rodriguez | Written by James Cullen Bressack, Zack Ward, Gordon Bressack | Directed by Pablo Macho Maysonet IV, Jamaal Burden, Scotty Baker, Jacob Cooney, Lucas Heyne, Kern Saxton, Frank Merle
Every month there always seems to be a new horror anthology released and Tales From the Other Side is one of the latest. A very low budget one but that is something I’m used to and anthology horror is something I generally enjoy so I was happy to give this a go.
Featuring one wraparound segment and six ‘tales’ there’s plenty to see here. So let’s get straight into the first proper tale. ‘Petrified Boy’ at least starts off with some kind of creepy story about a touring circus and its main attraction – the petrified boy. The problem is the boy might as well be a doll because he doesn’t move and there’s a hilariously bad CGI ending.
Next up is ‘Flicker’. Although predictable I at least liked the story here as we see an amateur filmmaker get hired to make and edit funeral videos at a funeral home. It had a bit of a (Netflix show) Archive 81-vibe to it and it felt like something that could make a good full feature. Also features a brief appearance from Vernon Wells.
The third tale ‘Crystal Ball’ shows a troubled married couple stealing a crystal ball from a fortune teller. The husband isn’t keen on the idea and as things unfold, he was probably right. It’s another short which has some good ideas but doesn’t quite fulfil its potential.
Number four is called ‘Either/Or’ and is one of the more interesting segments. Elijah is in an asylum and believes God told him to kill his family. The filmmakers have the clinical white asylum look down very well and I thought it went in an interesting direction (there are similar ideas in the new season of Stranger Things) but ultimately it feels like the beginning of something just as it ends.
Fifth in the line-up is ‘Blood Red’. The ‘creepy artist/painting’ seems like a sub-genre all on its own and Blood Red does have an air of familiarity to it. There’s murder involved in making an upcoming artist’s work more lucrative. Although it’s a little predictable, it does feature the only notable blood and gore in the whole movie but I just didn’t find it very interesting.
‘Krampus Vs Elf’ is the final segment and the less said about it the better! I love Christmas horror but it doesn’t get much worst than this. Do not expect some epic battle between these two Christmas foes because what we get is literally a collection of photos of a ‘fight’. It is hugely disappointing and I wasn’t expecting much.
The wrap-around segment is decent, if (like much of the movie) a little predictable but it features three children out trick-or-treating when they come across the local house that everyone fears. The lady living there invites them in and tells them horror stories (each tale) and it all ends in a creepy enough way.
Tales From the Other Side is simply okay but mostly disappointing, with at least one segment that just shouldn’t be featured at all (Krampus Vs Elf). If you really are desperate for a horror anthology maybe give it a go but otherwise, Tales From the Other Side is hard to recommend.
Tales From the Other Side is out now on DVD and Digital from Uncork’d Entertainment.
