Untitled Document

Tales From the Crypt (HBO Series)
review by Annoyed Grunt

If you were a fan of comic books and horror in the 1950's, the three comics you had to read were "The Haunt of Fear, "Vault of Horror" and "Tales From the Crypt", all published by Entertaining Comics (or EC for short). Each month they would feature several short horror stories that often had an ironic or shocking twist. They were all comics that were far before their time and still stand up to this very day. The only problem was that these comics were very violent. Sure, gore made for good reading, but it attracted unwanted attention from parental watchdog groups. Led by Dr. Frederick Wertham, the outcry against inappropriate comics reached a fevered pitch. It wasn't just the EC titles that were deemed a corrupting influence, but traditional superhero comics as well. In 1954 the US Senate began investigating the effects of comic books on juvenile delinquency and, as a result of their findings, a ratings board was created. Any comic that did not meet their standard would not obtain their seal of approval and therefore would not be sold in most stores. EC tried to adapt to the new standards by printing a toned down version of Tales From the Crypt, but they could not escape the negative stigma attached. They tried to change their format to short pirate and medical stories, but they failed and EC ceased publishing comics in 1955. Ironically, they soon achieved greater success because of the comic code. When the ratings board was put in place, they took their comic "Tales to Drive You Mad", shortened the title to "Mad" and became a magazine to escape the board's jurisdiction.
For a comic that hasn't been published in almost 50 years, "Tales From the Crypt" is one of the most influential comic books ever published. It has spawned dozens of imitators, four feature films (Tales From the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood), a game show and a cartoon series (Tales From the Cryptkeeper). However, the finest 'Tales' spin-off was the HBO series of the same name. Debuting in 1989, the show took full advantage of the fact they were on a cable network. They were able to air whatever they pleased, censors be damned.
For those unfamiliar with the program, each episode was adapted from one of the comic book stories with varying degrees of faithfulness. Each episode was introduced by The Cryptkeeper, a rotting corpse with an endless supply of bad puns. He served as a link between each episode and provided some dark humor. One interesting thing about the show was the collection of talent involved. Big name directors and actors got involved on many occasions and the show also allowed actors to try their hand at directing without the fear of commercial failure.
The show came to an end in 1996, but it lives on in syndication around the world. There are also a number of episodes available on VHS and your best bet would be to buy the "Cryptkeeper's Dozen" box set. The tapes I'm reviewing are not a part of this set, but rather an out of print series that was only available in Canada. Many (if not all) of the episode on these tapes found their way in to the box set.

The first tape is titled "Tales from the Crypt: A Night of Horror" and it contains the following three episodes:

The Trap: Starring Teri Garr and directed by Michael J. Fox, this episode tell the tale of an abusive husband who fakes his own death to collect on his life insurance policy. However, he soon finds himself on trial for his own murder. Fox's directing is solid, but the episode relies too heavily on humor and there are several far fetched plot points. Not a bad episode, but nothing that deserved more that a **1/2 rating. (Think of the *'s as skulls)

Split Second: Set in a logging camp, this episode is about the camp's Forman and his new bride. He's possessive and jealous and she's in and out of beds faster than Joan Collins. When he catches her in bed with one of the workers, the boss attacks and blinds the man. Angered, the other lumberjacks set out to make things right. A good episode that starts off slow but finishes strong. Not to spoil anything, but there were elements that reminded me of "Fargo", but that's a good thing. Directed by Russel Mulcahy of "Highlander" fame. ****

On a Dead Man's Chest: Director William Friedkin tells the tale of a heavy metal band that is being torn apart by the bassist's new wife Scarlet (Tia Carrere). Looking to take his mind off his troubles, the lead singer gets a tattoo from a voodoo artist (played by Heavy D). The voodoo guy brings out "whatever is under your skin" and the singer soon finds himself with Scarlet's face on his chest. After trying everything to get rid of it the singer slowly goes insane. You would think that the director of "The Exorcist" would know how to craft a suspenseful tale, but it was not to be. The story is decent, but moves slowly and relies on gratuitous nudity. There is a nice, Argento-esque murder near the end, but the episode is buried by laughable special effects during the climax. **

The second tape is 'Tales from the Crypt, Volume III: Beyond Terror".

Abner Cadaver: A brilliant doctor (Beau Bridges) has made some startling discoveries about brain death, but is unable to complete his research before his brother cuts off his funding. In a fit of rage the doctor murders his brother. The brother soon discovers that although his body may be dead, his brain is alive and can still see and hear everything. An interesting episode made better by the fact the majority is seen through the eyes of the dead brother. ****

Carrion Death: An escaped convict (Kyle Maclachlan) tries to cross the desert and head towards a small Mexican border town. The only problem is that he's being followed by a determined lawman and a hungry vulture. Steven DeSouza directed this episode that I would rank among the best in the series. I left the synopsis a little vague to avoid spoiling anything, but this is a very interesting and entertaining episode with a great conclusion. ****1/2

None But the Lonely Heart: A handsome con man has made a very successful living by marrying old, wealthy widows, killing them and inheriting their fortunes. The police are on to him, but he is going to do one last 'job' before retiring. However, he soon begins to receive letters from somebody trying to blackmail him. Tom Hanks directed this episode and did a good job. The script was written as a dark comedy and Hanks wisely emphasized the dark aspects. He also has a small role as the owner of a dating service. The script itself has several plot holes and logic gaps, dragging the rating down to ***.

Volume III is far better than Volume I, but both tapes represent the series well. Like these tapes demonstrate, the series is often good, but it has a few duds has well. It is worth sitting through the duds to see the heights that the show could hit. For what it's worth, my all time favorite episode was "All Through The House", a very suspenseful story about a psychotic Santa. The ratings at the side of this review are for the series in general, not any specific episode or tape.
My only complaint about the two tapes reviewed is that while they include the Cryptkeeper's introductions, they only show his conclusion for the final episode of the tape. Never the less, the segments they do show are great bits of dark comedy.

"I love a girl that gives you head... And lets you keep it !"

Great stuff.