Horror Movie Review: Tales of Halloween (2015)

Here at GBHBL we do love Halloween & we love a good horror anthology. Tales of Halloween combines the two with some slick, gory visuals & a tongue in cheek comedy approach to many of the shorts.

There are ten in total here all taking place in a small suburban town on one fateful Halloween night.

Like many anthologies the ten stories here can be a bit hit & miss but with way more leaning towards the hits side of things. It opens with Sweet Tooth, where a pair of babysitters tells their charge a horrific tale about a young boy who was denied candy by his abusive parents even though they sent him out trick or treating. One night he sees them eating all of his candy so murders them in a rage. He has his first taste of candy & is instantly hooked so he rips out his parents guts to eat the undigested candy inside.

Now he come for kids on Halloween night who eat all theirs & leave him nothing…but it’s just a story, right?

Sweet Tooth is an excellent start that pulls no punches with its gore & when you get your first look at Sweet Tooth in all his glory it doesn’t let you down.

The Night Billy Raised Hell sees a young boy (Billy) encouraged to egg an old man’s house only to discover that the man is The Devil who decides to teach Billy a lesson. Short but not so sweet unfortunately, it’s a bit too slapstick with silly sound effects to accompany much of what happens. It does pick up for the finale with a fun reveal.

Trick is the darkest of the stories with absolutely no humour involved at all. A group of friends are terrorised & murdered by a group of children. It’s got all the hallmarks of a slasher flick but with a twist that is genuinely shocking.

The Weak and the Wicked is the worst of the ten telling a boring story of revenge. A young man summons a demon to get his revenge on the three bullies who burned his home down along with his parents inside. It really isn’t anything special even though it is well acted. The highlight is the demon reveal, this thing looks amazing!

Grim Grinning Ghost is a very short about a woman haunted by a nasty spirit. So forgettable especially when it is followed up by Ding Dong, a fantastic tale about a husband trying to cope with his wife’s desperation for children. She loves the trick or treaters that come to their door but mainly because she wants to eat them. You see, she also happens to be a witch.

This is such a great story, told with fantastic acting & amazing visuals. It’s the highlight of the entire anthology.

Another short, almost pointless one is This Means War. Two very different neighbours battle it out to the death over who has the best Halloween decorations. It’s very silly & hardly even worth a mention except for the final moments that see the duo kill each other.

Friday the 31st sees a Jason style killer finishing off his latest victim before meeting an Alien who just wants some candy. The killer doesn’t have any & after getting frustrated with its constant desire for candy, kills it….big mistake. A fun, very gory story that really plays around with the idea of just who is the bigger threat.

The second to last story, The Ransom of Rusty Rex, is probably the funniest of the bunch as two men get way more than they bargained for when they kidnap a wealthy man’s son. This is one of the best tales, actually amusing without bordering on silliness & has some of the finest acting of the anthology.

The final story, Bad Seed, sees a genetically engineered pumpkin go on the rampage killing everything it comes across. It’s up to a hard-nose detective to put a stop to its frenzy. It’s a strong finish especially in its final moments, the pumpkin looks amazing!

Tales of Halloween is an anthology well worth checking out, it’s mix of graphic horror, fun stories, interesting reveals & twists really make it stand out from the pack. Far from perfect, it has way more hits than misses.