Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)
Alas, despite having a fine cast including Christian Slater, Steve Buscemi, Debbie Harry and Julianne Moore the film doesn't really cut it compared to the more celebrated likes of Creepshow and the many Amicus anthologies of the 70's.
It begins well with the excellent killer mummy on the loose, first segment, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Lot 249, with it's glorious cast of Slater, Buscemi and Moore and it does deliver with it's dusty chills but the other two tales are lacking a little.
The main thing i took from second story The Cat From Hell is how it must have persuaded Tim Burton to cast William Hickey as Doctor Finkelstein, the wheelchair bound mad scientist in A Nightmare Before Christmas because it's exactly how he is here. Wheelchair bound and cackling.
The third segment Lover's Vow stars James Remar as a struggling artist who unwittingly falls for a girl he meets in a back alleyway, as played by the always decent Rae Dawn Chong, who turns out to be a demon.
The wrap-a-round story starring Debbie Harry is ****ing tragic.
There are some pretty cool late 80's style gore FX courtesy of the ever reliable guys that had just formed the fledgling KNB EFX Group but the majority of the film lacks that sprinkle of magic that the best anthologies have.
I do admit i'd probably have rated this higher had my dvd from Prism Leisure not looked so dark and crap.
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