Stories from the world of shadows
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Stories from the world of shadows |
| Original title | Tales from the Darkside: The Movie |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1990 |
| length | 89 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK 18 FSK 16 (DVD, shortened) |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Harrison |
| script |
Michael McDowell , George A. Romero |
| production |
Mitchell Galin , Richard P. Rubinstein |
| music |
John Harrison , Chaz Jankel , Jim Manzie , Pat Regan , Donald Rubinstein |
| camera | Robert Draper |
| cut | Harry B. Miller III |
| occupation | |
| |
Tales from the Shadow World is an American horror film by John Harrison from 1990. The film is divided into three episodes and set in a framework. It is based on the TV series " Stories from the Shadow World ". The episodes were written by Michael McDowell ( Lot 249, The Lovers' Oath ), and George A. Romero ( The Infernal Cat ).
action
prolog
The witch Betty keeps little Timmy trapped in a dungeon behind her kitchen and wants to put him in the oven for a dinner party. In order not to end up as a roast, Timmy reads three horror tales from a book to the witch.
Lot 249
The first story is about Bellingham, a student who was cheated out of a scholarship by fellow students Susan and Lee. In revenge, Bellingham reanimates a mummy and uses it to murder the two. Susan's brother Andy lives in a house with Bellingham and was able to hear him bring the mummy to life with a spell. After his sister's funeral, Andy takes revenge on Bellingham and burns the parchment paper with the magic formulas. However, he cannot kill Bellingham and lets him go, provided that he never has to see him again. In the car, Bellingham takes out a scroll and reads from it. Suddenly the decomposed corpses of Susan and Lee are in Andy's apartment.
The hell cat
A rich old man named Drogan calls the hit man Halston into his house and offers him a lot of money for the murder of a cat. Halston at first thinks the old man is crazy, but accepts the job because of the money. Drogan drives into town and when he comes back wishes to see the cat dead. Little by little the killer has to find out that the job is not as easy as he thought. After a chase through the house and several attempts to kill her, the cat overpowers him. It eats its way into his body through his mouth and lingers there. When Drogan comes home he sees Halston's bloodied body lying on the floor. The cat now crawls out of his mouth and jumps onto Drogan's lap, who panics and dies of a heart attack.
The lover's oath
The unsuccessful artist Preston is at the bottom of his career and his agent is chasing him to hell. Frustrated, he gets drunk in his friend Jer’s bar and stays there until late at night. When he's too drunk to go alone, Jer decides to take him home. In front of the bar they meet a gargoyle that has come to life and that cuts off the head of the bar owner in self-defense. Preston pleads for his life and the monster has mercy, but only for a vow for life. Preston has to promise the monster never to talk about its existence, he does and the monster disappears. Shortly afterwards he meets the beautiful Carola, he offers her to call a taxi from his apartment because it would not be safe outside. She goes with him, takes a liking to him and finally spends the night with Preston. In the following time she gives his career new impetus and they have two children together, they get married and Preston is a happy man. Ten years later, Preston's life couldn't be better if it weren't for the terrible memory of that night. So he decides to tell his wife about it and shows her a statue of the monster. She reacts angrily and accuses him of breaking his promise. Then she turns into the monster in pain. The children transform too, and Preston breaks down in tears. The monster says he has sealed the fate of his family and bites his neck, causing him to die. Now the monster and his children return to the place on the roof and they freeze to stone.
epilogue
The witch has heard enough and finally wants to take Timmy out and put it in the oven. She unlocks the dungeon and pushes the trolley with the slaughtering utensils inside. When she approaches Timmy with the butcher's knife, Timmy throws a few marbles out of his pocket on the floor, the witch slips and lands with her back on the block with metal spikes on the serving trolley. This rolls back into the kitchen, Timmy can get the key ring and free himself from his chain. He pushes the bleeding witch, screaming in pain, into the body-sized roasting pan on the grate, which moves back into the oven. The flames blaze up and the witch suffers the fate intended for Timmy. He looks into the camera and says: "There's nothing like a happy ending".
background
The episode "The Hell Cat" is based on a short story of the same name by Stephen King from 1977, in which the cat kills the killer in his car, and "Lot 249" was originally written by Arthur Conan Doyle . The story "The Lovers' Vow" is by Michael McDowell; it refers to the character Yuki-onna from Japanese mythology .
Tales from the Shadow World was initially a television series. There are two short films based on a template by Stephen King, namely "The Message of Death (Correctly Connected?)" And "The Word Computer of the Gods".
The film was unindexed in September 2016.
production
The film was shot for 8 weeks in an old school building in New York City . The figure of the "Hell Cat" was in most scenes of a doll gedoubelt as this could not be expected of an animal. The wings of the monster in "The Lovers' Oath" weighed 50 kg.
The budget for the film was approximately $ 3.5 million. The film grossed more than $ 10 million in its first week.
Reviews
"Casting that is savvier than the horror norm, and [to] direction by John Harrison that is workmanlike and sometimes even witty, at least it's fun."
"Cast that is smarter than the horror norm, and directed by John Harrison that is expert and sometimes even witty, funny at least."
"In the style of" Creepshow ", director John Harrison staged three episodes of horror for the cinema, which were summarized under the title of the popular horror TV series" Tales from the Shadow World ". Connected by a framework, short stories are [...] entertaining, pleasantly old-fashioned and told with an emphasis on atmosphere. The spooky show, with pop star Debbie Harry, Christian Slater ("Hard on Air") and Rae Dawn Chong ("Soul Man"), also offers some drastic special effects. "
Web links
- Stories from the shadows in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- Stories from the shadows atRotten Tomatoes(English)
- Cut report for schnittberichte.com
Individual evidence
- ^ New York Times, May 5, 1990 , accessed October 3, 2013
- ↑ Kino.de , accessed on October 2, 2013