![]() ![]() One might think, then, that another omnibus horror movie, Two Evil Eyes, from 1990, would function similarly well: Like Creepshow, it’s directed by Romero. Its makers more evidently luxuriated in the macabre pleasures of their product. But Creepshow, whose visual style handsomely evokes its pulp source material, finds a better middle ground between genuine terror and dark comedy. Tales from the Crypt is pretty fatless, straightforwardly cynical andįrightening. Didactic as this sounds, there is no sanctimony in Tales of the Crypt. Its imperatives are subtle throughlines its uniformly efficient stories keep them steady. Nonetheless, the feature leeches onto one’s fears of being caught, and of eternal damnation. A malicious act in real life is not likely to result in supernatural retribution. If there’s a unified “moral to the story” to be reaped from Tales of the Crypt, it’s probably that we should move about life treating others kindly, living selflessly as much as we can. But if there is even a semblance of one, it eventually manifests in the movie as a ghoul or a disembodied voice that will not slink back into the spirit realm’s shadows until the person who has sent them there in the first place has suffered as much as, if not more than, they have. It’s suggested the primary characters do not have an inner voice imploring them to act morally. Many of its segments involve the victims of the story leads seeking vengeance, sometimes from beyond the grave. Tales from the Crypt functions a lot of the time as a prismatic revenge movie. What happens to these people is indeed dark and scary - exactly as it should - but they would perhaps not be greeted with darkness, scariness, had they not beforehand brought the same two things to others, apparently doing so knowingly and, in effect, masochistically. The film’s terrors are designed to have a hint of gratification. That would teeter toward a genuine horrificness, which Tales of the Crypt isn’t going for. The movie wouldn’t have the same effect if it were populated by characters who have, to all appearances, done nothing wrong. ![]() Whereas in real life they might move with impunity, continuing to cut corners and suffer no immediate consequences for their ills, cosmic comeuppance comes swiftly in this universe - instant retaliation to a step too far. The bulk are in some kind of position of power most are very wealthy. We have fun with Tales from the Crypt because its horror stories star characters who have contributed significantly to, if not served as the very root of, the suffering of others. ![]() What can be said is that each one of the characters is almost deafeningly immoral, and that each segment forces them to pay for that. Comics might seethe if someone were to spoil the twists to enjoy in the latest collection they have not yet bought. It’s best to walk into Tales from the Crypt knowing as little as possible - the same way a devoted reader of the E.C. The morbidity is audacious and infectiously pleased with itself.ĭetailing exactly what goes on in each of the sub-narratives is, I think, a disservice. In fact, the finale’s nightmarishness is so neatly nightmarish that a viewer might be more inclined to laugh than reel back in horror. ![]() All in Tales from the Crypt concludes neatly, nightmarishly. This fivesome - all of whom will apparently die incredibly violently, partially as a result of what appears to be karmic interference - is encompassed by Joan Collins, Ian Henry, Richard Greene, and Nigel Patrick. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |