Director: Jack Dignan, Ian Kyle, Frank Merle, Jason Sheedy, Thomas Simon, Michael Squid
Year: 2025
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Anthology
Plot:
Taken from a disturbing grimoire, a ghoul reads a series of short, shocking horror tales.
Review:
Bowlhead-Stalking random people near a bowling alley, a man sets out to find a suitable figure to base the perfect bowling ball around. This was a fairly simple but still enjoyable stat to get this going. The idea is incredibly formulaic and doesn’t really do anything new with the formula, especially with the whole idea missing the best part, as the torture and dismemberment parts are missing completely. Still, his persona is creepy enough and off-putting to the point of getting some thrills from it, all keeping this one going against the few downbeat sections on display.
Friends Forever-After receiving a strange doll from an ex, a woman learns that her old friend has gotten more dangerous in keeping tabs on her. Overall, this one is intriguing enough but suffers from some disappointing elements. The idea of getting a creepy doll in the mail from a friend and not knowing what’s going on, as the few attempts at exploring the mystic black magic ceremony at the center of everything bring about some chilling elements. This one is just so ill-suited for this short format that it feels underwhelming without the kind of build-up or immersion into the world where nothing makes sense, and it feels underwhelming when it’s all over.
Puzzle Box: The Glitch-Heading out into the woods, a man and his friend meet up with a shady drug dealer who sells them a special drug where they can glitch through time. On the whole, this was a generally fun segment. The early atmosphere in the woods, meeting up with the shady dealer and his bizarre instructions, gives this a great touch, then focuses on how they’re able to transport through time as they meet up with themselves in different aspects of the night. It gets light on exposition, especially with a brief running time that never allows for much explanation or why they’re in this situation, but that’s the main issue here.
The Reclaimers-Hoping to put her traumatic past behind her, a woman and her dog return to her grandparents’ house in a dystopian future, awakening something inside. This was a generally enjoyable enough segment with some minor missteps present. The setup to this is incredibly fun, working through the backstory in short order to get her out there and looking through the house trying to put the memories at ease, only to find the creatures inside, even though this skimps out on the backstory since the whole thing is so shorthand could’ve been fleshed out more. Still, the action and context of everything going on here make for a lot to like overall.
Janelle's Baby-Desperate for a baby, a man and his wife go to extreme lengths to create the perfect child by means outside of natural conception. This was a generally enjoyable and likable effort with a lot to like about it. The central setup involving her distraught and unnerving reaction to the condition she receives and how it all winds up in some unnatural behaviors gives this the kind of starting point that’s quite chilling. The interplay between them over wanting to get better is a great touch, and the full reveal at the end could’ve had a bit more build-up to get there, but otherwise, this was a fantastic segment.
Goodnight-Taking in a special night out, a woman arrives at a closed bar in a vampire-riddled city and tries to make due into the bartender’s influence. Generally, this was a sluggish and not that thrilling way to end things. The majority of this one focuses on just inane dialogue filled with innuendo and general attempts at getting under his skin, making for a bland, dreary experience involving the obvious endgame that is so underwhelming in the brief running time in which this one takes place. That is quite bloody and generates some great make-up, but otherwise, this one is a bit of a letdown, especially for a final segment.
Overview: ***/5
A solid overall anthology even with some disappointing entries, there’s enough to like here that it manages to get brought down by those underwhelming segments into a bland overall air. Those with an appreciation for this style or who are big anthology fans in general will have the most to like while most others out there will want to heed caution.
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