‘Do you dare watch them all?’
Tales from the Other Side is a 2022 American horror anthology film with six scary stories as told by Scary Mary to three kids on Halloween.
Directed by Scotty Baker (5th Passenger) ‘Flicker’; Jamaal Burden (Elves) ‘Krampus vs. Elf, Petrified Boy’; Jacob Cooney ‘Crystal Ball’; Lucas Heyne ‘Either/Or’; Pablo Macho Maysonet IV ‘Scary Mary’; Frank Merle ‘Blood Red’; Kern Saxton ‘Either/Or’.
The JCB Pictures production stars Roslyn Gentle, James Duval, Vernon Wells, Brandon Thane Wilson, Michael Broderick, Chelsea Vale, Mike Silva, Blayke Rose and Nick Principe.
Plot:
Three kids sought to have the most legendary Halloween night ever. Their trick-or-treat adventure brings them to the home of the local town legend “Scary Mary”. Legends say that she is a woman of pure evil, but one thing is for certain – she knows just the right spooky tales to give these three kids the scare of their lives. Sharing six unique stories that will lead the children down a mysterious path to the unexpected…
Our review:
Petrified Boy: In the 19th century, a circus had a petrified boy as its main attraction. In the current day, it seems the boy still exerts his presence… Why anyone would let the Jamaal Burden, the director of the infamously awful Elves (2018) loose on any kind of story involving a similarly motionless little ‘monster’ is anyone’s guess. Combined with some poor acting, this is a weak start to the supposedly “scary” stories.
Flicker: Carter (Brandon Thane Wilson) reluctantly accepts an overnight job as a memorial video editor at a funeral parlour. However, the footage soon seems to have a life beyond the dead souls it shows… The presence of veteran fan fave Vernon Wells as a creepy funeral director adds slight gravitas to this tale but overall it feels like it goes nowhere.
Crystal Ball: A young couple (Chelsea Vale and Nick Navarro) steal a crystal ball from a carnival fortune teller (Paul Clough) who soon exacts his revenge… This is a very obvious morality tale with some reference to domestic violence to make it more relevant but again it feels as underdeveloped as the previous tale.
Either/Or: In an insane asylum, Elijah (James Duval) claims he’s hearing the voice of God himself who told him to kill his wife and child… Like religion itself, a bafflingly pointless tale that will leave most viewers shrugging their shoulders and/or shaking their heads.
Blood Red: Greedy Ruby (Cat LaCohie) blackmails an obsessive Terry (Hunter Johnson) into killing her artist husband (Michael Broderick), in the hope his paintings will be worth more after his demise dead… This is the first tale that seems aimed at an older audience with some lust and bloodshed involved and the best of the bunch.
Krampus vs Elf: A mother reads out a story of a Christmas battle between the two… Jamaal Burden strikes again and the editing ‘effects’ that show the swift conflab between Krampus and the Elf are truly pathetic. A terrible way to end the tales and very questionable to even include this throwaway entry at all.
Overall, Tales from the Other Side is one of the weakest horror anthologies to be released with two very weak opening and closing tales to compound the lack of impact. Furthermore, the Hansel and Gretel-themed wraparound is nothing new and has no bearing on any of the individual vignettes which could have been interchanged with any number of better contributions. There is nothing to tie any of the tales together thematically and the film feels like one of those compiled from previously shot short films.
Adrian J Smith, MOVIES & MANIA
Other reviews:
“While all of the stories don’t work — and some seem way too adult for the doomed children — when this movie does work, it works pretty well. That’s how most modern streaming anthologies work. The good segments are usually really good. As for the rest…” B&S About Movies
“Two-thirds are simply mediocre; the remainder, monotonous […] In the most creative segment, Krampus battles a Christmas elf in something I hesitate to call “animation” because the stop-motion elements cut too many corners, more resembling a stack of flipped-through drawings […] In total, the collection’s only surprise is that it holds none.” Flick Attack
“The narrative is so loose it feels like you could throw any five short films into the film, and it wouldn’t miss a beat. The overall narrative has no connection to the stories it tells, and while that doesn’t always work (see: Phobias; Nightmare Cinema), it does provide a better experience for the viewer.” Horror Obsessive
“Tales from the Other Side is simply okay but mostly disappointing, with at least one segment that just shouldn’t be featured at all (‘Krampus vs Elf’). If you really are desperate for a horror anthology maybe give it a go but otherwise, Tales from the Other Side is hard to recommend.” Nerdly
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