Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is now 30 years old, as the classic horror anthology film was first released into theaters on May 4, 1990. Directed by John Harrison, the film features three separate horror tales as well as a wraparound story, containing four spooky shorts in total. Each are very memorable in their own way, but fans of the film will always have their personal favorites. Now, three decades later, all of the tales found in the film are still holding up very well.
Tales from the Darkside originally began as a television series created by horror pioneer George A. Romero. The show ran for four seasons between 1984 and 1988, with each episode telling a new short story often ending with a macabre plot twist. While the similar horror anthology series Tales from the Crypt only told one story in each of the Tales from the Crypt movies, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie perhaps felt more like its source material by featuring multiple stories, keeping that anthology feel of the TV series.
In the Tales from the Darkside movie, Blondie singer Deborah Harry plays a witch masquerading as a suburban housewife who’s planning a large dinner party. She has kidnapped a young boy named Timmy (played by Mrs. Doubtfire star Matthew Lawrence) with plans to serve him as the main course. To buy himself some time, Timmy regales to the witch three horror stories from a book he read called Tales from the Darkside, setting up three spooky shorts to play out like they had on the TV series. Let’s go through them, shall we?
Lot 249
Based on a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle, this star-studded tale features the likes of Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, and Christian Slater. In this tale, a graduate student loses his scholarship chances when he’s set up for a crime he’s innocent of, leaving him thirsty for revenge. To get even, the student summons an ancient but murderous mummy to kill the students who wronged him.
What might be most memorable about this particular tale is a scene with the mummy removing a victim’s brain through his nose with a wire hanger, something that stuck with me for many years after first seeing it as a young horror fan.
Cat from Hell
This is another classic story that horror fans should appreciate, as it was adapted by George A. Romero from a short story by Stephen King. That makes this tale the most Creepshow-esque story of the bunch. In fact, word is that this story was originally supposed to be a part of Creepshow 2, but budget restrictions led to its removal from that sequel. I guess Creepshow 2‘s loss was Tales from the Darkside: The Movie‘s gain, as it really is a creepy yet compelling little story.
In “Cat from Hell,” an elderly man living in a wheelchair believes his pet black cat to be a murderous force of evil after the kitty murders his sister, friend, and butler. The old man says his company had killed thousands of cats while testing a new drug on animals, and believes that the cat is out for revenge. Determined to stop the wicked feline, the old man hires a hitman to kill the cat, but you can probably guess how this brawl plays out. Let’s just say the what happens to the hitman in the end is rather grotesque.
Lover’s Vow
In this strange story, struggling artist Preston (James Remar) is terrorized by a stone gargoyle that comes to life at night. After witnessing the gargoyle murder a man, Preston promises not to tell anyone about the incident, thought he creature brandishes him with an X on his chest as a reminder to “cross his heart.” Preston keeps his promise for years, though the memories of the gargoyle continue to torment him all the while, even after he starts a family.
After ten years, Preston feels weighed down by these memories and eventually confesses to the love of his life the things he saw. Of course, breaking this promise just seals Preston’s fate, and what happens next is both shocking and bizarre. It brings about an ending that’s just as sad as it is horrific, and the final shot is still something many can remember vividly, even after three full decades.
Like Creepshow, Romero wanted to see a sequel to Tales from the Darkside: The Movie made as well. In 1990, it was announced that a sequel was in the works, with Romero penning the screenplay alongside Michael McDowell and Gahan Wilson. This sequel would have included an adaptation of the Stephen King story “Pinfall” (also planned to be in Creepshow 2 originally, like “Cat from Hell) along with another King story, “Rainy Season.” The Robert Bloch tale “Almost Human” would have been included in Tales from the Darkside: The Movie 2 as well.
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For whatever reason, the sequel fell through, leaving us with only Tales from the Darkside: The Movie and the original television series it was based on. Still, the film remains one of the finest horror anthology films from years past, even if it seems to often get overlooked compared to the first two Creepshow movies. If you ask me, the Tales from the Darkside film is still a fun but freaky film all these years later, and even as it reaches its 30th anniversary, it remains a very enjoyable watch for horror fans.
Happy 30th anniversary, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie!
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