Customer Reviews

Tales from Beyond

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fun film! Not my usual cup of tea, but my husband borrowed it from a friend for Halloween and I actually enjoyed it quite a lot. Adam West is really great! Impressive production values for such a low-budget movie--lots of cool effects and some great locations. Acting and directing varies in quality; the first story is kind of weird (I didn't really get it), but the second and third stories (Nex's Diner and Life Replay) are excellent (as are the Adam West sequences). Overall, though, thumbs up!

That sound you hear is Rod Serling's grave rattling!

A mild-mannered bookstore owner (Adam West) has a few surprises for a couple looking for a gift for their Aunt Harriet.

They are led to a secret bookshelf in the back of the store and this is used as a device to introduce each "tale from beyond." Four mystery/sci-fi style stories and the final one that tells us the fate of our couple.

The first is about a guy who has wife troubles, seeks the advice of his friends and his psychologist. He keeps having these dreams of Abernathy. It turns out that Abernathy is a funeral home and he is dead, somehow. But how can he be dead if he's having dreams about it? This story was the worse of the bunch, made little sense and the acting was not much better.

The second tale was a bit more clever. Nick, a hotshot, cursing watch salesman drives up to a mysterious cafe that has no signs.

Inside, he meets Nex. (Like from a nexus in time, get it?) He meets people from different times and thinks it's a costume party at first. Turns out these are real people from history. Not famous people but people from other times: Viking, Victorian England, ancient Rome and Egypt, and a girl from a hundred years in the future. The ending was unexpected, but didn't really spark a lot of interest. The H-bomb ending was interesting though.

The third tale is another time travel-type story. A guy gets his new remote in the mail but when he turns it on, everything fast-forwards or rewinds to the past or future. He is not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree and just wants to get rid of it, especially when he finds out that he is dead that evening! He learned of his own death when he fast-forwarded to the 11 o'clock news!

The fourth tale, "Fighting Spirit", introduces us to a fighter with a lot of bad luck. His father died in the ring. His mom wants him to stay in the family pizza business. But he meets a bum who's willing to train him. It's very Rocky-esque in a way, but the ending is quite different and thought-provoking. Two dwarf actors play in this tale, which I found unusual.

Adam West then ends the story with two blank books he gives to the curious couple and, well, we see why West's tales are so darn authentic.

The overacting and college-style dramatics water down the potential of what these tales could have been. Lots of swearing, but no sex -- give it a PG-style rating. Tales from the Crypt? Twilight Zone? Nope. Worth a rental? Sure. From 2006. Oh, the special effects are a bit hokey which gives these stories a 1970s feel.

Better yet:

Twilight Zone: The Complete Definitive Collection

More grotesque still:

Tales from the Crypt: The Complete Seasons 1-7

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This is defininetly a I just dont have anything better to do movies.I thought it would be simular to tales from the crypt the stories drag,its not something to buy for a horror collection,it a B movie production..so save your money if your looking for action,thriller,or supense type of horror.