Tales from the Crypt-
The First Season
(Warner Bros. Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(1989)
review by Head Cheeze

The eighties, in hindsight, weren’t nearly as bad as some folks make them out to be, especially in terms of entertainment. Back then, MTV still had a reason to be called music television, slasher movies ruled the Cineplex, and a little show called Tales from the Crypt made its debut on American pay cable channel, Home Box Office. I remember tuning in weekly for each new episode (which ran alongside the more sexually charged anthology series, The Hitchiker), consistently entertained and amazed by Crypt’s take-no-prisoners approach to comedy/horror, as it brought the four colour world of the classic EC Comics imprint to gruesome life. It was like The Twilight Zone as performed in the style of Grand Guignol, and pushed even HBO’s fairly generous boundaries. The series, (produced by genre faves Joel Silver, Richard Donner, Robert Zemeckis, and Walter Hill) ran from 1989 to 1996, spawned two feature films, and edited versions of the episodes still thrive in syndication. Still, there’s nothing like the uncut original series, and, finally, it has come to DVD with Tales from the Crypt-The First Season.

Featuring a star-studded cast of actors and directors, the boxed set contains the six first-season episodes, including, The Man Who Was Death, And All Through the House, Dig That Cat... He's Real Gone, Only Sin Deep, Lover Come Hack to Me, and Collection Completed.

In “The Man Who Was Death”, Niles Talbot is an executioner who suddenly finds himself out of work when the state repeals the death penalty, so he decides to take the law into his own hands. Starring Bill Sadler and directed by Walter Hill, this creepy episode set the tone for the series.

Robert Zemeckis would follow up with the Holiday themed “…And All Through the House”, which tells the tale of a devious wife who murders her husband on Christmas Eve. However, when an axe-wielding maniac in a Santa suit (played by Darkman’s Larry Drake) threatens her life, she must deal with him on her own, lest she expose the police to her own nefarious deeds!

In “Dig That Cat…He’s Real Gone!” the ubiquitous Joe Pantoliano plays a homeless man who is surgically gifted with the nine-lives of a cat, and becomes a popular sideshow attraction. However, with each show, he gets closer to his final act! Directed by Richard Donner, and featuring the hilarious Robert Wuhl as the carnival barker, this is Tales’ first full-fledged comedic episode, but is no less gruesome.

“Only Sin Deep” stars a young Lea Thompson as a call girl who murders her pimp, steals his jewelry, and seeks to sell it in a local pawnshop. However, when the owner offers to “buy” her beauty for $10,000, she accepts the strange offer, and starts a new life, only to see that new life slip away as her face suddenly starts to age.

In “Lover Come Hack to Me” A man marries a shy, naïve women for her inheritance money, and plans to stage her death to cash-in. When the newlywed couple’s car breaks down, they are forced to spend the night in an abandoned mansion where the husband’s devious intentions are exposed, as is the wife’s manic and violent family history!

Finally, in “Collection Completed”, Jonas, a newly retired salesman, must cope with his wife’s obsession with animals; from a virtual army of dogs and cats, to goldfish in the bathtub, her hobby has completely gotten out of hand. So Jonas takes up a hobby of his own; Taxidermy!

The series first season is a short one, as HBO wasn’t certain what it was getting into with Tales from the Crypt, but the show proved to be a hit with audiences, and subsequent seasons featured at least twice as many episodes (or more). Still, these six episodes provide more than enough entertainment for fans of anthology horror, and the bonus 50-minute featurette, which focuses on the phenomenon of EC Comics in general, includes interviews with horror greats like George Romero, John Carpenter, and more is a welcome extra.

The set also features an all-new introduction from the Crypt Keeper, himself, as well his own look back over season one.

This is a great set, featuring five really solid episodes (and one stinker. I never liked "Only Sin Deep"!) and a nice assortment of extra goodies. Fans of the series don't need me to tell them to pick this one up, but those of you who've never seen this classic series in all of its uncut glory owe it to yourself to add this one to your collection!