In Terror in Topanga, a lady goes out for cigarettes, despite warnings of an escaped murderer in the area.
In Bishop of Battle, a young man is obsessed with reaching the final level of an arcade game.
In The Benediction, a member of the clergy going through a crisis of faith is attacked by a truck during a desert drive.
And lastly, in Night of the Rat, a family is terrorized by a massive rat.
I've periodically heard of this movie for a long time, and I finally got around to finding a copy to watch. For an 80s anthology movie, it's pretty good. It's very tame - no real gore, only a modest amount of tension. Production values are moderate, which is about right for being taken from a TV series. The cast has some great familiar faces. Emilio Estavez stars in Bishop of Battle, and his little friend is Billy Jayne! Lance Henriksen stars in The Benediction, and he's a reliable performer.
The first story is simple, but it's a pleasing start. It's a common urban legend, but somehow, it doesn't play out the way I anticipated. After the reveal, I was surprised that it was that simple.
The second is campy, in the way that outdated impressions of video games are. The ending isn't scary at all, but I think this reminds me more of the quality that Tales From the Darkside had.
The third is really the weakest segment, but I don't think the story is at fault. It's mostly the sound quality. A lot of the dialogue is mixed very quiet, especially compared to the massive noises of the truck. It's very annoying.
The fourth story is actually one of the strongest ones, at least because it's unpredictable. The same sound issues bring it down a bit, but there's a lot of novelty to be had with a giant rat, and it doesn't go with an obvious ending. The effects are wonderfully dated, but they try to cover it up by doing some quick edits.
No comments:
Post a Comment