By Staci Layne Wilson
@StaciWilson

Just in time for trick or treat season comes Tales of Halloween, a 10-story horror-comedy anthology. Made by “The October Society” – a (mostly) California clique of film directors and genre actors – it’s one of the most cohesive anthologies I’ve seen in some time.

While other recent omnibus style flicks serve up a heaping helping of variety from all over the world (namely, The ABC’s of Death and Theater Bizarre), Tales of Halloween is made by straight white guys (with the exception of the sole female, producer Axelle Carolyn) who were all weaned on the movies of the 1980s. And it shows. In a way, that’s good because there’s no one story that feels jarringly different from the others. But personally, when there’s ample opportunity, I prefer to see more racial and gender diversity.

What I did find jarring was the initial presentation of the film – straying from the tradition of the anthology, whether it be a book or a film – all of the stories’ titles and their directors are named back to back in the very beginning. So, by the time you get to the fourth or fifth story, you’ve forgotten who directed it. Also, it makes for a very long opening credit sequence – an animated affair, which looks thrown together. But the musical theme, by the great composer Lalo Shifrin, is excellent.

The John Carpenter Halloween (1978) influence is in full force as the film is introduced by Adrienne Barbeau, basically reprising her radio-DJ role from The Fog (1980). There are also some musical flourishes that are very Carpenteresque, as well as a few nods to his films of the 80s, which are fun for sharp-eyed fans of that bygone era.

My Tales of Halloween review would be very long indeed if I went through each and every segment of this ten-piece thriller, so I’ll just write about my very favorites.

Friday the 31st is a parody on the enormously successful Friday the 13th film franchise. It opens as one might expect: a masked murder wielding an array of weaponry closes in on a pretty young thing. She struggles, and she gets away. He chases her into the woods. He catches her, and just as he’s about to deal the killing blow… he’s blinded by the beaming lights of a Mars Attacks! type saucer. It lands and drops off a Little Green Man who wants to play “trick or treat” with the killer.

Ding Dong is a kooky live action cartoon in the style of Natural Born Killers – in this case, the crazy couple are a childless pair whose sad status comes to a head every Halloween. The endless parade of children knocking on their door sends the couple into a murderous tailspin, with hilarious results.

This Means War is one of the more straightforward entries in the anthology, and its simplicity is refreshing – there’s no twist. Ala Deck the Halls, the story shows neighbors plummeting into a violent battle over competing lawn decorations; one is a fussy traditionalist, while the other is a goth gorehound. Their argument escalates to the point the police have to be called, and the whole neighborhood gathers to see how the spectacle will unfold.

Bad Seed is the one more effects-heavy stories in the series, and it’s about a pumpkin uprising – these gourds have had it with being carved up for our entertainment, and they’re not going to take it anymore!

Tales of Halloween is solid fun, and its release is perfectly timed. I do wish it was less comedic, but it’s been awhile since we’ve had any good Halloween themed anthologies at all – so I deem it a treat!

Epic Pictures will release Tales of Halloween in theaters, on VOD and iTunes on October 16th.

Not rated

1 Hour 32 minutes

Get times and tickets at Fandango.com.

TALES OF HALLOWEEN Review — Trick or Treat?