Tom Holland’s Twisted Tales (DVD)
Staci Layne Wilson
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Starring Danielle Harris, William Forsythe, AJ Bowen, Noah Hathaway, Sarah Butler, Angela Bettis, James Duval, Ray Wise, Jose Pablo Cantillo
Directed by Tom Holland
Distributed by Image Entertainment
Most horror anthologies, whether they be in movie or TV series form, are a mixed bag. Mainly because each one is written and directed by a different person. In the case Tom Holland’s Twisted Tales, it’s all Tom, all the time: he writes, directs, and hosts each episode. That’s a quite an undertaking! Even Rod Serling and Alfred Hitchcock did not take it that far in their own anthology stints.
For those who may not know, Tom Holland is an old-school horror film director. He brought us such icons as Chucky in Child’s Play, and Jerry Dandrige in Fright Night. He also wrote screen- and teleplays for Tales From the Crypt, Thinner, and The Langoliers. To name a few. Suffice to say, he knows his horror – and we know his. That’s why it seems Twisted Tales, though a web-series on a limited budget, couldn’t possibly go wrong.
For the most part, it doesn’t. Yet, as with all anthologies – it is a mixed bag.
The first little morality play on the DVD stars AJ Bowen and is called ‘Fred and his GPS’. In it, he’s mostly driving around and arguing with his navigation unit, but he delivers the dialogue with acerbic acuity, making an otherwise crazy setup believable. Next up is ‘To Hell With You’, starring Danielle Harris as a scorned woman and William Forsythe as the devil with a deal. My favorites include ‘Cached’ (a humorous entry about a haunted tablet), and ‘Boom’ (about a jealous husband who just happens to be an expert bomb-maker), mainly because of lively performances from unknowns (to me, anyway).
As expected, the name actors – including Ray Wise, Angela Bettis, and Marc Senter – are all good. However, they are as good as some of their lesser costars are bad… and so, this leads to unbalanced and awkward-feeling scenes at times.
Still, it’s a fun series and you certainly can’t go wrong if you pick the disc up and give it a spin – in the amazing array of stories, setups and situations, you are bound to find something you will enjoy.
Special Features
- Behind the scenes featurettes on select episodes
Film:
3 out of 5Special Features:
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