Deadtime Stories

source: Deadtime Stories

Deadtime Stories

I saw this back in 1989 and its 1 week long stint at a local multiplex. Me and my friend were desperate to see a horror film. Well--that IS what we got! This is an anthology film about some annoying uncle (horribly overplayed) telling his bratty nephew some fairy tales to put him to sleep. Naturally these are all turned into "horror" stories. None of them were interesting, scary or much of anything. The acting sucked and the special effects were VERY sub-par. The only relatively interesting part was seeing Scott Valentine strip * in the first segment. All you see is his butt and a VERY brief side view but he was young, handsome and in good shape. Also interesting to have male nudity in a horror film. That aside this was boring and just jawdroppingly stupid. In a way me and my friend sort of enjoyed it. It was so hopeless it was actually kind of fun! Seriously though a must-miss unless you want a textbook example of how NOT to do a horror film.

Deadtime Stories (1987) was an omnibus of tales. A very cheaply made film "starring" Scott Valentine. The tales aren't all that (two of them reek whilst the other was trying to hard to be a black comedy) and the wrap around segments felt as if they were hastily put together. Maybe if the writing was better and the acting wasn't so mediocre, it could have been something (i.e. entertaining). As it stands, it's an okay movie. I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it. However, if it's showing on t.v. late at night and you're having a hard time trying to catch some zzzz, give this one a chance. A hit or miss film. You'll either enjoy it or curse me the day I ever mentioned it. Fair. C Check out red riding hood. She's a real hot number!

I'm sure I saw this movie as a kid, and probably loved it. Rewatching it now, it's utterly ridiculous. It reminds me of movies I made in high school, with really bad acting. That being said, I still wanted to finish it. The last story had a lot of horror references that I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten as a kid. I almost gave this a lower score, but sadly, I have seen much worse than this.

The three stories were pretty wild. The first one was ok, I was hoping it would have had more of the spooky graveyard type stuff. Cool effects, though. The next story, of Red Ridinghood, was pretty normal, by horror standards. The last one rocked... I never saw anything like it before. Well worth the rental price.

Three stories, only one is good, the others are okay. The gimmick of twisted fairy tales is stretched a bit, but works well enough. Where it falls apart is with the framing device and the last story, which is so hokey and over the top that it almost ruins the movie. The middle one is the best with the first one being a solid meh. Still worth seeing as a whole, but there are far better anthologies.

To truly enjoy horror films I think you have to set other movie criteria aside. Let's face it horror wasn't created to win any Oscars, it is in a league of its own. Deadtime Stories is fun for what it is a b-horror movie with a cheesy, yet lovable twist. The whole idea of twisted fairy tales is intriguing and some of them are actually quite good re-telling in particular Little Red Riding Hood. Deadtime Stories is definitely not for the more serious movie watcher but if you enjoy gore with only the slightest bit of substance then buy it, you won't be sorry.

Three fairy tales are given ghoulish twists in what should have been a homerun for the horror genre. However, a slack production and a director who seems confused as to handle the stories sink it. Tale one, a romantic horror fantasy with attractive leads and a lush score is a moderate success compared to the other tales.

This 1986 horror anthology film tells of a scared kid who gets his uncle to tell him bedtime stories to help him sleep. He reads 3 bizarre tales based on Fairy tales like, "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Goldilocks & The 3 Bears. The first is about 2 witches and a peasant boy, the second is about a teenage girl encountering a werewolf and the third is about a family trio of criminals meeting a blonde psychopath. This was ok, but could've been better. The first 2 tales are kind of creepy and the third is goofy. You could give this a try at least once if you're into anthologies.