Sam Panico The success of Creepshow led to thoughts of making it into a TV series. Warned Brothers owned some aspects and Laurel Entertainment, who produced the film (its George Romero's company) opted to create their own version. Two episodes of the show, "Word Processor of the Gods" and "Sorry, Right Number," were based on King stories.Starting with the intro "Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality. But...there is, unseen by most, an underworld, a place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit...a dark side," and ending with "The dark side is always there, waiting for us to enter - waiting to enter us. Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight," the show was a dark journey into the supernatural. It was followed up by Monsters, another anthology show of somewhat lesser quality (although several of the episodes are great fun and there's a King written episode, "The Moving Finger").Several people, including Tom Savini, think that this movie is the real Creepshow 3, but his quote may be referring to the similar nature of the movies and the involvement of King and Romero.The movie begins with Debbie Harry of all people, playing a housewife who is preparing the main course for a dinner party - Timmy (Matthew Lawrence, brother of Woah! Joey). As the film progresses, they will be our framing device as Timmy reads from the actual book Tales from the Darkside.In Lot No. 249, based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story and adapted by Beetlejuice writer Michael McDowell, a grad student named Edward (Steve Buscemi has never looked so young!) has been framed for a theft which ruins his scholarship. He wants revenge on Susan (Julianne Moore in her screen debut) and Lee (Robert Sedgwick, brother of Kyra) and gets it by reanimating a mummy to kill them both.Susan's brother Andy (Christian Slater, Untamed Heart, Robin Hood) kidnaps Edward and brings the mummy to kill him. At the last moment, he can't do it and releases him. He probably shouldn't have done that, as Edward soon sends the reanimated versions of Susan and Lee to kill him!The next story, The Cat from Hell, is based on a King story and was adapted by Romero. A black cat is bedeviling Drogan (William Hickey, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation), a pharmaceutical owner whose latest drug has killed over 5,000 cats in testing. One by one, the cat has killed everyone in his house, so he hired a hitman named Halston (New York Dolls frontman David Johansen, who is also Buster Poindexter).After a comical battle, the cat goes down Halston's throat (seriously, this special effect is insane and kudos to the special effects crew, which includes KNB) and then emerges to kill the old man.The third story is also written by McDowell and is based on the Yuki-onna, a spirit in Japanese folklore. Preston is a drunken and depressed artist played by James Remar (Raiden from Mortal Kombat: Annihilation) who witnesses a gargoyle kill a man. The monster swears to not kill Preston as long as he never tells anyone what happened.Starting with that night, his life changes for the better. He meets and marries the gorgeous Carola (Rae Dawn Chong, Quest for Fire) and they have two children. He becomes a famous artist. He even wins back Robert Klein as his agent. All is well, but he can't forget the monster.On their tenth anniversary, he decides to tell his wife, which was the wrong idea. She was the monster all along and their children are also monsters (!). At the end, they all fly away after she kills him.Finally, Timmy escapes by throwing the woman into the oven, then looks directly at us and says, "Don't you just love happy endings?"There was an announced sequel to this movie that was never filmed. A screenplay was written by McDowell and Romero, along with Gahan Wilson. Segments would have included an adaptation of Robert Bloch's "Almost Human," as well as Stephen King's "Pinfall" (originally planned for Creepshow 2) and "Rainy Season." Sadly, it never was filmed.This is a pretty well-done film. I miss the Creepshow framing device, but it's a great way to get more stories into one film. I remember catching the end of the third film as a teen and being freaked out by it. It's still pretty powerful nearly thirty years later.

Phil Hubbs The alternative (competitor?) to the Twilight Zone movie but not quite in the same league in my opinion. The film consists of three stories within a wrap around story told by a boy who is going to eaten by a witch of all things.First tale see's a man use a 3000 year old mummy to kill a few select people (an adaptation of a Arthur Conan Doyle short). Not a bad story and handled reasonably well with good makeup on the mummy and some bloody deaths dealt out. Big cast names in this story with Buscemi and Christian Slater and a nice ending make this tale the second best of the three.Second tale is an adaptation of a Stephen King story and the weakest of the three, an old man is sure he is cursed by a cat which is trying to kill him after it supposedly killed his sister. The reason behind this being the old mans pharmaceutical company killed many thousands of cats in testing a new drug. Pretty lame story really which isn't particularly spooky in the slightest. The cat is obviously some sort of demon which is cool and this is shown in the way it kills the hit- man who has been hired to get rid of the cat, I just think it could of been more scary or eerie basically.Third and final tale stars James Remar and is about a guy who witnesses the death of a man by a gargoyle type creature. The creature lets the witness live if he promises not to tell anyone of what he saw. Easily the best story even though its not explained too well and leaves you asking various questions by the end. Some great makeup and effects in the finale as we see a transformation similar to finale in 'The Fly' with Jeff Goldblum, really nicely done without the use of CGI, no surprise with Dick Smith being involved.Overall not as good as 'Twilight Zone: the Movie' and a bit more adult with its content, more blood 'n' gore on show and some creepy monsters lend itself to some light scares. Still two of the stories are solid and quite sinister which I'm sure fans will enjoy if you like these type of horror anthologies. The overall quality just doesn't quite match the Twilight Zone standard that raised the bar originally.6/10

utgard14 Horror anthology movie spun-off from the Tales from the Darkside TV series. It features three stories plus a bookend piece. The first story is "Lot 249" about a nerd (Steve Buscemi) who is cheated out of a scholarship by an evil girl and her boyfriend (Julianne Moore, Robert Sedgwick ). He seeks revenge by using an ancient scroll to send a mummy after them. Christian Slater plays Moore's brother and is an inconsistently written character. Buscemi is enjoyable though and it's nice to see an old-school mummy.The second story is "Cat from Hell" about an elderly millionaire (Wiliam Hickey) who hires a hit-man (Buster Poindexter) to kill a cat. This is the weakest story of the bunch. Hickey and Poindexter are fine but it's kind of obnoxiously dark and I didn't really care what happened to anybody, including the cat. The third story is "Lover's Vow," about an artist (James Remar) whose life is spared by a gargoyle as long as he never reveals he saw the monster. He falls in love with a woman (Rae Dawn Chong) and after many years together the temptation to share his secret becomes too great. This story pretty much rips off the "Woman of the Snow" story from the superior horror anthology film Kwaidan (1964) but is still well done and probably the best story in the movie.The bookend linking story is a take-off on Hansel & Gretel, with a witch (Debbie Harry) preparing to cook a little boy (Matthew Lawrence). To stall for time, the boy tells her stories from his favorite book, which leads into the three other tales. This is an amusing and enjoyable part of the film, though nothing exceptional. Overall, it's a surprisingly enjoyable film, helped in large part by a good cast. The stories aren't particularly strong, but somehow it manages to keep you entertained. The acting, directing, and special effects are pretty good and make up for the writing as much as they can.

FlashCallahan The first segment features a mummy stalking selected student victims, the second tale tells the story of a "cat from hell" who cannot be killed and leaves a trail of victims behind it.And the third story is about a man who witnesses a bizarre killing and promises never to tell what he saw, and the wraparound story is of a woman preparing to cook her newspaper boy for supper.....It's an enjoyable anthology of horror short stories, but if you'd come into the film just at the start of the final story, you really wouldn't be missing a lot.The other two stories are just okay for seeing stars slum it a little and star in decidedly dodgy stories. Slater, Buscemi, Moore and the bloke from Die Hard 3 look glum as a mummy stalks them, and Hickey and the ghost of Christmas past try and kill a cat.The final story is pure gold, and almost makes up for sitting through the other two lame stories. Remar and Chong are great as the ill fated couple, and as the narrative progresses, you do sort of forget the main connotation of them getting together.And the twist knocks you for six.The wraparound story is quite enjoyable, but the first two stories really drag the whole film down and really make it a little mundane.