Review by Peter Syslo
SCARY TALES (2009) is the latest work from Massachusetts-based filmmaker, Geno McGahee. The picture is kind of an homage to the anthology film, in the vein of CREEPSHOW, TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, etc. Five separate “tales” are unified by the common thread of the wraparound story (six stories in all), yet each individual tale retains its own unique identity. To me, this seems like it would be a huge undertaking for an independent filmmaker - it is like creating six short films. However, Geno and the crew at Xposse Productions (www.xposse.com) have done a fine job and they have created an entertaining and engaging film, with SCARY TALES.
SCARY TALES is written, directed, edited, and partly filmed by Geno McGahee (he does sound too). The film also features a story, “The Bridge”, which was written by Geno's sister, Melissa McGahee. The cast of SCARY TALES includes: Ricardo Casper, Anthony “TNT” Brown, Michael Lane, Leeann Aubuchon, Josh Tienson, Steven Joseph Adams, Mark Scarborough, Jeff Gouse, Rachel Reardon, Cedric Howard, Rick Caride, and Tony “TNT” Ellis (Brown).
To give you an idea of the film, I will give a brief summary of each story within and I will go into more detail later in the review. “The Movers” is the wraparound story; it is about two movers (trying to avoid their boss) who find a mysterious book and who start reading the “scary tales” within – they are almost the narrators, in a way. Next, there is “The Bully”, which is a story about a tough-guy who unknowingly makes a deal to fight a demonic entity. “The Bridge” follows and it is about a group of four friends who explore a creepy bridge where a recent suicide has taken place. “Curiosity Kills” is the next tale (and also my favorite); it is about a teenage girl who kills her abusive stepfather and hides out in a seemingly abandoned house in the woods, with her cousin. The two quickly realize that they are not alone. After that there is “Majority Rules”, about a hustling game of cards which goes terribly wrong and causes some living-dead revenge. The final tale, “Crazy Tom”, is basically an epilogue and it shows how the book “Scary Tales” travels from person to person.
I do enjoy anthology films because they offer up several stories in one batch and I like the fact that there is always some interconnecting thread, throughout. SCARY TALES demonstrates that format and I thought that the solid writing, from Geno and Melissa, provided a very strong foundation for the film. Each story is set up in a way which flows very well, provides some character growth, and gives you something familiar and something not-so-familiar in the climax of each tale. As I have been saying lately, in my various reviews, an interesting and well-written story can “make” a film great and it can save it from the many pitfalls that can plague a film (acting, pacing, effects, etc.). Sure, I like cheap thrills, T&A, and gore as much as anyone else. But most of the time, I want to see horror films that engage me with the story and that entertain me with a little originality. I feel that Geno wants to see these types of films too and it is very evident in his work. That's one of the things that I like most about his movies – he is a fan of horror, he knows the genre well, and he puts passionate effort into creating a good film.
Getting into the specifics of SCARY TALES, “The Movers” was a very effective story/device for pacing the film and structuring it all. Brown, Casper, and Lane were very entertaining with their banter and their comic relief was a nice contrast to the more serious portions of the movie. The only thing that I didn't like about this tale was that I felt that it was wrapped up very quickly and (at first viewing) I wasn't quite sure what happened in the end. This is a criticism that I have about this tale and about the film in general. The whole film moves in and out of “The Movers” but sometimes the transitions from “The Movers” to the other tales were not as smooth as they could have been. I think that each story could have used another minute or two to “settle” in the viewer's mind, before jumping right in to the next tale.
Regarding “The Bully”, I thought that it was an entertaining tale. Gousse did some pretty believable acting as the bully; he really came across as an a—hole. Also, Alex Pierpaoli was very genuine and likeable as the bully's boss (he was also very good as the perverted step father in “Curiosity Kills”). I enjoyed the whole direction of the tale and I liked the use of effects in this one. Geno seems to have experimented with some different camera effects and those effects added an interesting element to each story. In one scene, you see the demonic man growing into a larger entity and the visual effect was very unique. Moving on to “The Bridge”, it is a tale that will be understood by anyone who has ever explored scary/haunted places in their hometown. Again, I liked the story, but I felt that some of the performances in this one were not as strong as in the other tales. Each character was well-established by each actor, but their emotional responses to the suicides didn't seem as “emotional” as they could have been (you would expect them to be devastated, but I didn't get that). Of course, maybe I missed the point. You could interpret it differently, by implying that the power of The Bridge was affecting them or altering their perceptions. I have to mention that this tale did have a very positive affect on me, because a very nice scene was established at the end, where the four friends are walking together (as when they were alive and happy). That was an emotional moment and the musical cue was perfect. That is another thing I want to say about Geno: he has definitely mastered musical cues and he uses them to great effect, throughout the film.
“Curiosity Kills” was my favorite tale, as I said before. I thought that it was a multi-level story which had that exploitative edge to it and a definite surprise ending – this tale could have been a full-length feature. The tale seemed to contain parts of the familiar films from the 1970s/1980s but all of those parts were combined in an fresh, original way. It was part exploitation film, part ghost story, and part slasher. It was good acting all-around and I liked the cut-away shots of the gore (very effective technique). “Majority Rules” was my second-favorite tale and I will say that Mark Scarborough gave the best performance in this tale and in the overall film. He played a street-wise card hustler who was bested by three amateur card sharks. Scarborough, like Cedric Howard and Anthony “TNT” Brown, is just a natural actor – he is very genuine and he also played a zombie very well. “Majority Rules” also starred Steven Joseph Adams, who is always interesting to watch because you never know what to expect from him. I like his unpredictability and he is kind of like the William Zabka of Geno's films (I've been dying to use that 1980s reference). Lastly, “Crazy Tom” is the final story; it is a humorous end to the film and displays McGahee's propensity for the quirky character.
Gnawing through the flesh: SCARY TALES is an anthology film which is fun, entertaining, and fulfilling. Geno and the Xposse crew have a lot of potential and they are constantly honing their skills, with each subsequent production. This is one of those cases, where you are watching and you think, “I wonder what Geno can do with a large budget?”. I think that he would do great things. Passionate filmmaking, solid writing, and attention to detail are the key elements here and this is an important lesson that Hollywood can learn from the microbudget, independent film world. SCARY TALES is a solid film and I give it an 8/10.