Deadtime Stories (1986)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Admirable film.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

This cheap and cheerful horror anthology might lack star power and some of the technical benefits that a decent budget can bring but it proves a reasonable enough way to pass the time, it's tongue-in-cheek approach complementing the very silly nature of its three twisted fairy tales, as told to irritating brat Brian (Brian DePersia) by his exasperated Uncle Mike (Michael Mesmer).Tale one revolves around a pair of wicked witches who, with the help of their slave Peter (Scott Valentine), try to resurrect their long dead sister; tale two has pretty cheerleader Rachel (Nicole Picard) pay a visit to her grandmother's house where a werewolf is waiting; the final story features a family of escaped psychos (the Baers) who arrive home to find psychic homicidal maniac Goldi Lox (Cathryn de Prume) living there.Boasting impressive special effects courtesy of Ed French, surprisingly good performances from its no-name cast, confident direction by Jeffrey Delman, and even a welcome shower scene with hot blonde de Prume, this intentionally daft compendium is pure '80s cheeze that, while unlikely to beat Creepshow to the top spot of anyone's list of '80s horror anthologies, should keep all but the most joyless happy with its hour-and-a-half of mindlessly diverting silliness.5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for the innovative opening credits sequence and the terrible theme song.

Fairy-tales gone bad, devilishly bad, in this total "B" cheese-fest anthology movie from obscure 80's horror heaven! It's an oddball flick, adding a lot of absurd and black humor. Bad actors and very low budget but still some cool & gory special effects (one scene in the first segment even had me thinking about the resurrection of Frank in "Hellraiser", of course a little less impressively staged this time). The last segment is as retarded as it is genius. And it's got Goldilox showing some upper nakedness. I just cannot flunk this bad boy; I had way too much fun with it. And regardless the painfully low production values, it does manage to be fairly original & spirited. Die hard horror anthology lovers should check this out some time.

Sleazy Uncle Mike (a perfectly cranky Michael Mesmer) tells his bratty nephew Brian (the supremely annoying Brian DePersia) a trio of macabre variations on classic fairy tales. First and most ghoulish yarn, "Peter and the Witches" - Hapless nice young guy Peter (a likable performance by Scott Valentine of "Family Ties" fame) has to abduct sweet fair maiden Miranda (the lovely Kathy Fleig) so she can be used as a human sacrifice by a pair of ugly, bickering old hag witches (broadly essayed by Phyllis Craig and Anne Redfern) who want to resurrect their long dead sister Magoga. This segment offers plenty of creepy atmosphere for the audience to relish. Second and trashiet tale, "Little Red Runninghood" - Nubile young lady jogger Rachel (delectable brunette hottie Nicole Picard) gets stalked by predatory werewolf Willie (a pleasingly smarmy Matt Mitler). The punchline for this one is obvious, but still uproarious just the same. Third and funniest vignette, "Goldi Lox and the Three Baers" - The deranged Baer family -- Grouchy dad Beresford "Papa" Baer (an amusingly cantankerous Kevin Hannon), screwball mom Judith "Mama" Baer (the hilarious Melissa Leo) and their doltish son Wilmont "Baby" Baer (affably goofy Timothy Rule) -- escape from an asylum and join forces with daffy psychic murderess Goldi Lox (luscious blonder looker Cathryn DePrume). This episode goes for broke with the hysterically over-the-top lowbrow silly humor. Director/co-writer Jeffrey Delman maintains a steady pace throughout and does a solid job of creating an enjoyably campy tongue-in-cheek tone. Daniel B. Canton's plain, but acceptable cinematography, the groovy opening credits theme song, Ed French's shoddy, rubbery make-up f/x, and Taj's funky score round off the schlocky goodies to be savored in this entertainingly tacky treat.

I too, paid to see this stink bomb, made as video slowly ate the Movies as we knew them. Like the other poster, I remember the oddly talkie theme song, easily the most interesting thing about the movie. I think the advantage of this kind of low budget film was that they could do one story, and shut down if they were out of money. I remember one with Vincent Price made around the same time that looked like it had been flung together over quite a few years. Anyway, these god awful "Anthology" films were a drive in filler stable for many years. In my humble opinion, the king of bad is "Dr. Terror's Gallery Of Horrors" , a must for bad movie fans. "Deadtime Stories" as noted here, was a cheapo video staple for a long time.