David Parker, Darren Lynn Bausman, Adam Gierasch, Paul Salet, Axelle Carolyn, Lucky McKee, John Skip (director)
Epic Pictures Group (studio)
R (certificate)
92 (length)
16 October 2015 (released)
14 October 2015
Tales of Halloween will be a very exciting experience for the horror genre aficionados.
The film is set in an American suburb where crazy things always happen on Halloween night. Throughout the film we move through 10 different settings, follow different narratives and meet multiple characters across the town’s map.
The extremely catchy opening theme guides the spectator through each story accompanied a female voice over on the radio which functions as a children rhyme.
Each tale is directed by a different director (each of them renowned for their contribution to the horror genre) and each of them plays with different genre conventions, humour, cameos and lots of blood.
The tales are: “Sweet Tooth” directed by David Parker, “The Night Billy Raised Hell” directed by Darren Lynn Bausman, “Trick” directed by Adam Gierasch, “The Weak and the Wicked” directed by Paul Salet, “Grim Grinning Ghost” directed by Axelle Carolyn, “Ding Dong” directed by Lucky McKee, “This Means War” by John Skipp and Andrew Kasch, “Friday the 31st” by Mike Mendez, “The Ransom of Rusty Rex” by Ryan Schifrin and “Bad Seed” by Neil Marshall.
The film’s style and themes are clearly a homage to the genre as a whole. The opening and closing themes are reminiscent of Tim Burton’s cartoonish and fantastical settings, the horror trope of repetition makes the spectator aware of how the story may go while still surprising him, the fast-paced montage accompanied by the soundtrack gives each story a different rhythm and children play a central role as well as the character of the Final Girl.
The mise-en-scene elements are also very cleverly used. For instance we see the Carpenter chocolate bar in homage of John Carpenter, the guest appearance of director John Landis and the multiple references to Carpenter’s Halloween.
The film’s humour and uncanny moments make the spectator joyful and scared at the same time, in the best Halloween spirit.
Nicely keeping its continuity intact, despite the multiple storylines, Tales of Halloween is a must-see for any Halloween lover.
