A review by Brooks Rich
Let's talk about the anthology horror series. The best one of all time is the original Twilight Zone. Rod Serling's masterpiece influenced not only science fiction but also horror, thrillers, and drama. Recently the anthology series has made a comeback with Black Mirror on Netflix and CBS All Access doing a revival of the Twilight Zone, which like the two other Twilight Zone revivals pales in comparison to the original. Honestly if you want more Twilight Zone then Rod Serling's Night Gallery is far better than any of the Twilight Zone revivals.
But today I want to talk about the anthology series that was on HBO from 1989 to 1996. Tales from the Crypt was a tribute to the EC comics of the 1950s, similar to what George Romero and Stephen King did with Creepshow. This show was a major deal and had not only an impressive slew of guest stars but was produced by guys like Robert Zemeckis, Walter Hill, Joel Silver, and Richard Donner. That's an insane pedigree for a campy show like Tales from the Crypt. Hosted by the Cryptkeeper, who is no Rod Serling but is easily mysteriously seconds favorite horror host, the puns, the puns, the stories were more tongue in cheek then Twilight Zone and the show was always kind of winking at the camera. They usually dealt with a bad guy getting their comeuppance in some way. There was this strange morality that the main characters had to follow. If you sinned you were punished, usually by losing your life. That was very much in the vein of EC comics.
Tales from the Crypt had three movies come out and Demon Knight is hands down the best one. This one went away from the usual type of story the series told. This was a straight up battle of good and evil. The plot centers around a ragtag group of people who are under siege from a demonic force from Hell, who are after an artifact. Yeah Tales from the Crypt's first movie is a siege film. The creature design is great and the cast gives it their all, which was always a staple of the show. The casts always had fun with it.
I am not saying this a great film. This is a straight up popcorn horror film. Get a bunch of friends together, watch this film, and have a good time. The creature effects work and the film tells a good story. This is campy but it is never overly cheesy. There's stakes and the horror elements work. William Sadler is fantastic as the leader of the group under siege and it's great to see him playing a good guy for once.
Anyone who has seen this film is waiting for me to talk about Billy Zane in this film. Most people will recognize Billy Zane as Rose's boyfriend/fiance (I forget which) in Titanic. Some of us '90s kids will know him as the purple condom clad Phantom in The Phantom. For me personally you say Billy Zane and I instantly think of Demon Night. Oh my God Billy Zane as the Collector in Demon Knight. This guy knew exactly what kind of movie he was in and the role he was playing. He is having so much fun in this film it's infectious. This film is worth it for Billy Zane's performance alone.
See this film if you think it's something you will enjoy. Absolutely track this down if you were a fan of the show and somehow missed it. I always watch Demon Knight once a year around Halloween. It's perfect for this time of the year and it's always a fun ride.
But today I want to talk about the anthology series that was on HBO from 1989 to 1996. Tales from the Crypt was a tribute to the EC comics of the 1950s, similar to what George Romero and Stephen King did with Creepshow. This show was a major deal and had not only an impressive slew of guest stars but was produced by guys like Robert Zemeckis, Walter Hill, Joel Silver, and Richard Donner. That's an insane pedigree for a campy show like Tales from the Crypt. Hosted by the Cryptkeeper, who is no Rod Serling but is easily mysteriously seconds favorite horror host, the puns, the puns, the stories were more tongue in cheek then Twilight Zone and the show was always kind of winking at the camera. They usually dealt with a bad guy getting their comeuppance in some way. There was this strange morality that the main characters had to follow. If you sinned you were punished, usually by losing your life. That was very much in the vein of EC comics.
Tales from the Crypt had three movies come out and Demon Knight is hands down the best one. This one went away from the usual type of story the series told. This was a straight up battle of good and evil. The plot centers around a ragtag group of people who are under siege from a demonic force from Hell, who are after an artifact. Yeah Tales from the Crypt's first movie is a siege film. The creature design is great and the cast gives it their all, which was always a staple of the show. The casts always had fun with it.
I am not saying this a great film. This is a straight up popcorn horror film. Get a bunch of friends together, watch this film, and have a good time. The creature effects work and the film tells a good story. This is campy but it is never overly cheesy. There's stakes and the horror elements work. William Sadler is fantastic as the leader of the group under siege and it's great to see him playing a good guy for once.
Anyone who has seen this film is waiting for me to talk about Billy Zane in this film. Most people will recognize Billy Zane as Rose's boyfriend/fiance (I forget which) in Titanic. Some of us '90s kids will know him as the purple condom clad Phantom in The Phantom. For me personally you say Billy Zane and I instantly think of Demon Night. Oh my God Billy Zane as the Collector in Demon Knight. This guy knew exactly what kind of movie he was in and the role he was playing. He is having so much fun in this film it's infectious. This film is worth it for Billy Zane's performance alone.
See this film if you think it's something you will enjoy. Absolutely track this down if you were a fan of the show and somehow missed it. I always watch Demon Knight once a year around Halloween. It's perfect for this time of the year and it's always a fun ride.
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