• Straight to Video
• Director: Tim Boxell, Stephen Hegyes, Ken Mandel, Greg Middleton, Roger Nygard, James Salisbury, Rod Slane
• Written by: Jeff Copeland , Roger Nygard, Tim Boxell, Greg Middleton, Stephen Hegyes
• Running Time: 90 minutes
• Language: English
• MPAA Rating: UNRATED
• Cast: Tom Kenny, Bill Peck, Jess Sherman, Michael Minton, Tim Choate, Alan York, Jason Minton, Kevin McKim, Kerry Gammill, Mack Hayes, Edwin Mullins, Walter Weaver, Molly Todd, Marilyn Prince, Darrell Hyde, Jules Takashi, Cole Takashi, Mariano Elias, Kay Bonner Nee, Frances Marshall, Jennifer Barlow, Christopher Prestia, Peter Ortell, Scott Hanson, J. Renee Gilbert, Bill Haslick, John Kozak, Karl Krause, Bill Orten, Greg Roach, Marty Stone, Todd Toon, Shawn Wilson, Mark Weatherby, Mitch Funk, Sam Hall

As with most anthology pieces, there are some shorts that work and some that don’t. In the case of Ken Mandel’s “Creeptales”, a collection of six unconnected short films, the inconsistency is evident but forgiven simply because when the shorts work, they really work.

It’s ‘Halloween Night’ and a group of rowdy ghouls, werewolves and hunchbacks have gathered around the old boob tube to watch, what else, “Creeptales”. It’s a tradition handed down from their Uncle, or that’s what we gather from the events to follow. Since nobody at the party actually has a copy of the film, it’s up to a pair of hunchbacks to make a late night dash to the local videostore to retrieve a copy. Sadly, the manager, Bill Peck (1982's "Honeymoon Horror"), is closing up for the night and has little time for the pair. Well, determined as they are, the two next venture out to a local graveyard and, under the light of the moon, proceed to dig up old Uncle Munger (yes, it says that on the gravestone). It seems our good Uncle was buried with the tape, which looks rather pristine despite where it’s been. Arriving back at the lair, the group rejoice and then gather around the television to view the film, thus setting in motion a series of short horror pieces.

The first story is titled ‘Warped’ and is directed by “Trekkies" auteur Roger Nygard. Emerging from an asylum, a young woman, Elizabeth, Jennifer Barlow (1990's "Grim Prairie Tales: Hit the Trail... to Terror") arrives from the big city to stay at her aunt Viola’s (Frances Marshall) until she gets things straightened out in her life. Living with Viola in this peaceful homestead way out in the country is her eccentric bird-chirping senile mother, played by Kay Bonner Nee. Right away, Elizabeth suspects that Viola is hiding something and, after a tour of the upstairs attic, it isn’t long before the beautiful tranquility of the countryside is disturbed and old family secrets and grudges are revealed – shocking secrets that Viola will go to great lengths to preserve, lengths that include killing. Despite some shoddy cinematography and bad video to DVD transfer, the tale remains interesting thanks to some good performances and a story that unfolds in such a way as to maximize suspense. However, it fails to fully explore Elizabeth’s past or why she was institutionalized, I think that has more to do with time constraints than a lack of ambition. Also, there’s some unique editing here, and the piece jettisons with an interesting opening shot, only to double back onto itself Tarantino-style. Frances Marshall (1992's "Unbecoming Age") offers an interesting bit of work here, and her character, easily construed as a wild-eyed psychopath early, eventually shifts out of focus during a heartbreaking admission inside a squad car.

The next story is called “Snatcher” is directed by visual effects artist Tim Boxell, who did the monster design for the cult hit movie “C.H.U.D.”. Looks can be deceiving, something Tom Kenny, (yes, ‘Spongebob Squarepants’) as a lowly fifties-looking greaser type, soon finds out. Kenny plays a smalltime thief, earning a modest living robbing little old ladies and unsuspecting women. In a funny montage, set to some hilarious 80’s punk-rock song Party in the House of Souls, sung by Kenny himself, we learn that he’s quite proficient at his job – that is until he runs into a sweet little old woman played by J. Renee Gilbert (1984's "The Devil's Gift"). The woman’s warning, “You’ll be sorry,” chases Kenny into an alleyway after he snatches her snakeskin bag in broad daylight and makes a break for it. Her words seem to hang there in the air, as does the underlying moral message that karma will bite you in the ass, comes full circle and Kenny is swallowed up by his most recent swag. Taken from an old comic book, this piece unravels as both comedic and chilling, and the final paused shot of the old lady as she reasons with a cab driver to help her, is just unsettling enough as to leave a viewer smiling.

Greg Middleton directs the next tale “The Closet”. As a thunderstorm rocks an upper suburban neighbourhood, a young child, Jeremy (Sam Hall) thinks he spots something coming from the shadows of the darkened interior of his bedroom closet. His sardonic older brother, Andy, played by Mark Weatherby, answers his shrieks for help with some interesting results. Playing out as childish nightmare gone bad, the piece feels like a condensed, better version of Stephen T. Kay’s “Boogeyman”. This is probably the shortest piece of the bunch, but it does manage to be effective, providing a nice scare – a perfect entry point for the next short.

That short, which fits in perfectly with the Halloween theme of the film, “Groovy Ghoulie Garage” directed by James Salisbury (1998’s “Dead by Dawn”), is easily the best of the lot, defining itself as both funny and scary. There’s a certain affable intelligence at work here in the way it unfolds in a mysterious Hitchockian fashion. Two college-age drifters, the nerdy Ed (Christopher Prestia) and the punked out, Marvin (Peter Ortell), stop at an all-night country diner on their way to pick up Marvin’s sister in Tower Springs. They quickly raise the ire of the locals when they ask directions to the strange little town, which is coincidentally, not on any map. With little assistance from the community, the pair head off down the darkened highway in search of the town and it isn’t long before they are experiencing car troubles. Thankfully, a local mechanic who just happens to be driving by, offers to help. Interestingly, he’s dressed as a clown, something of which throws them off until he reminds them that it’s October 31^st. While waiting out the repair on their vehicle, the kindly residents of Tower Springs invite the boys to head on over to the highschool, where the Halloween dance is well underway. At first it doesn’t bother Ed that the locals all look like zombies because, hey, it’s Halloween. What confuses him though is their insistence that they have yet to put on their make-up. This confusion evolves into outright shock as Ed notices some very peculiar things about the locals – namely a timeline which seems out of place. This is further exemplified when a teenager maintains the newspaper, touting ‘man’s first landing on the moon’ is only three months old. At that point, Ed senses it’s time to leave. I cannot recommend this piece enough.

"Howling Nightmare" directed by Steve Hegyi (who wrote the earlier “Closet” segment), is probably the least inspiring short film of the bunch, standing in stark contrast to the last one. In a series of opening shots that harkens back to John Landis’ “An American Werewolf In London”, a group hunters chase a werewolf through a forest under the light of the moon. There is some great atmosphere here but that’s not enough to sustain the piece. Segueing into a forgettable dream scenario, the piece meanders around like a drunken hunter trudging through a swamp until finally arriving at its junky conclusion – a conclusion that wants us to laugh but fails miserably. About the only thing going for this are the werewolf make-up effects, also by Steve Hegyi. The sequence where the Bill Haslick, as one of the earlier hunters, awakens in an abandoned cabin in the woods just as a full moon rises above the darkened forest, made me nostalgic for Paul Naschy. I guess that’s a good thing.

The last piece Rod Slane’s “Sucker” fits neatly into the karma theme -- something prevalent throughout – feels like a re-worked ‘Tales From the Darkside’ episode, and it involves a very unhappy crusty-looking middle-aged housewife, Donna, played by Melanie Fry, being visited in the middle of the night (during an ominous thunderstorm, no less) by a humble looking vacuum cleaner salesman, Feldom Broom (Bill Orten). At first Donna isn’t interested in what he has to say but after a demonstration of his vacuum -- a vacuum with no bag that promises to suck up anything and everything dirty, Donna eventually relents. In the ultimate sales pitch, Feldom gives her a one day test run, with a word of warning to never use it for more than 30 seconds, and to never point it at another person, as she might not like what she finds. With 24 hours to go, it isn’t long before Donna is using it to suck up everything in her life she deems dirty. When her nerdy passive hubby Roy (Greg Roach) arrives home later that night, she decides to point it in his direction in order to see what happens. There’s an underlying message at work here about karma and how happiness begins from within, but I’m not about to delve into that for I don’t have the time or the energy. Bland and lacking in energy, the piece simply unfolds, never rousing much enthusiasm or interest. The last shot of a Jabba the Hut looking Donna is as shocking as it is silly. Interesting side-note; Rod Slane is best known to cult movie fans as the director of “Blood Cult’ and “Revenge” Blood Cult 2”, two films which are regarded as the first SOV productions to be garner straight to video market distribution.

In closing, I have to say that "Creeptales" is an absolute Halloween night favorite of mine. Ranking alongside "Creepshow", "Satan's Little Helper", "Hallow's Eve" and the often maligned "Halloween 3", this is one of those films that I couldn't imagine not having as Halloween draws near. I highly recommend this.