Leofwine_draca TRAPPED ASHES is a very low budget anthology horror made in the same style as DR TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS or CREEPSHOW. It has an admirably old-fashioned feel to it, but unfortunately the constraints of budget and general cheesiness of the execution means that it disappoints rather than innovates throughout.Unusually enough for a horror anthology, the best part of the film is the wraparound segment. This is directed by Joe Dante, who can't resist throwing in some old timers like his beloved Dick Miller and Henry Gibson (THE BURBS), who acts as a tour guide showing a group around an old haunted house. The stories that take place are as follows: The first, THE GIRL WITH GOLDEN BREASTS, is an awful bad taste joke about a woman whose breast enlargement operation goes awry. This one's directed by Ken Russell, who also cameos, and it's terrible from beginning to end. The second, JIBAKU, is directed by Friday THE 13TH's Sean S. Cunningham and is a Japanese-set ghost story. Sadly, the events that play out are entirely predictable, although Ryo Ishibashi (SUICIDE CLUB) bags a small role.The third story, STANLEY'S GIRLFRIEND, arouses some mild interest by tackling the weighty subject of Stanley Kubrick, but it turns out to be routine despite the welcome presence of old-timer John Saxon. The final story, MY TWIN, MY WORM, is another bad taste story and the title tells you everything you need to know about that. I only really enjoyed TRAPPED ASHES for seeing the three old-time actors on-screen but the young cast members are very poor here and the directors appear to be slumming it. It's a pity.

movieman_kev Six people are taking a tour of Ultra Studios when they get trapped in a haunted house (that's not usually on the tour, but they have VIP passes). They.along with their tour guide, have some horror stories to tell in the hopes of breaking free from the house somehow.Phoebe is first and opts to tell the story of how she got implants from a human cadaver in order to help advance her movie career. But these tits are hungry for flesh. Directed by Ken Russell, this segment was slightly over the top and fun (in a rather stupid way), but didn't really go anywhere and had a non-ending. It came off like a disregarded idea from that Playboy awful "Inside Out" series from the '90's.Next up is married couple, Julia and Henry, who tell the tale of their trip to Japan and an ill-fated painting that leads to a Buddhist monk who possesses the wife, driving her crazy. Aside from some nifty animation toward the end of this Sean S. Cunningham directed short, I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed by this one.Leo (the great John Saxon) gets to tell the third story, of him and his friend, Stanley. With parallels to Stanley Kubrick's early career (not the supernatural tinge to it obviously) this was the most interesting of the quintet of stories that comprised the film. But it's a bit on the dry side and doesn't really fit in with the other four stories in the least. Also since this tale can be seen apart from this film in other places, I'd recommend that rather than sitting through this whole film merely for this one part.Lastly, a tale is told of Nathalie and her 'twin', a parasitic worm, whom she has a strong bond with. The saved the worst for last it seemed (excluding the lame endings to each tale provided at the end of the film) as this story is trite, boring & uninteresting. The less said of it the better.This sad little anthology concludes with the lame wraparound that can be guessed from the start it's so predictable.Eye Candy: Rachel Veltri gets topless; Lara Harris provides the T&A My Grade: DDVD Extras: 'filmmakers & cast' commentary; 13 & a half minutes of deleted scenes;the director's cut of 'Staneley's Girlfriend'; the original cut of 'girl with golden Breasts'; A look inside featurette (divided into 5 parts) and trailers for the Midnight Meat Train, Bone Eater, Side Sho, the Bank Job, the Eye, & Rambo

Backlash007 ~Spoiler~ I couldn't help getting a little bit excited for Trapped Ashes. It was an anthology horror film bringing the likes of Joe Dante (The Howling), Ken Russell (Altered States), and Sean S. Cunningham (Friday the 13th) together. But something told me not to get too excited because it would only lead to disappointment. Disappointment does not even cover the feeling. Trapped Ashes was a complete waste of time and talent. Really, is this the best they had to offer? Stories about vampire breasts, Asian sex demons, and a little girl that hordes food? The script is terrible and I can't understand what drew these once great directors to this project. Actually, the same can be said after watching Masters of Horror season 2 and Fear Itself. I know there are short stories out there begging to be filmed, but I think the horror anthology might be a hard sell in the future. I can't urge you enough not to see this film.

dbborroughs Tales from the Crypt like anthology of a group of people on a studio tour who get trapped in a "psycho" like house and tell ghost stories to escape. Of interest mainly for the directors involved-Joe Dante, Ken Russel, Sean Cunningham, Monte Hellman the film itself is a mixed bag. One story has to do with an actress getting her breasts done, another has to do with a Stanley Kubrick like director and an actor friend, Another has to do with a couple who go to Japan and discover a hanged man and the last has to do with a young woman and her twin..or something. Three of the four stories aren't bad, if over long. One (the girl and her twin) is just fair. The problem is the films don't really add up to much, more so that the sting in each tale is left for the very end of the film where we are told what really happened. Its a weird way to do it, and it almost works, but not quite since any tension from the stories are long gone by the final revelations (There is also a couple of lapses of internal logic as a result of the breaking apart.) Worth a look on a slow Saturday on cable. I do have to say that the Ken Russell "Girl with the Golden Breasts" tale is very amusing and a vast improvement over his direct to video home movies. I especially loved his cameo.