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Tales from the Crypt: The Complete First Season Directed by: Various Starring: Various Reviewed by: Scott West |
| Final Score: Movie:   DVD Extras: Overall Score: |
| I grew up reading comics. Most of these collected from yard sales and from gifts given to me by older relatives. Over time, I amassed quite a collection of horror comics. I had Werewolf by Night, Creepy War Tales, The Tomb of Dracula and Alan Moore's take on Swamp Thing among others. Suffice it to say, I was extremely excited to hear that there was going to be a cable show based on old horror comic tales. I watched every episode I could catch. As the years passed, this little show grew into a cult phenomenon with episodes still airing in syndication (albeit edited for content). The host, a little ghoul called the Cryptkeeper became synonymous with gory fun horror. Now, with the popularity of TV shows on DVD, it was only a matter of time before fans were able to open the crypt and dig up a few old friends. This two-DVD set features the first season. It's rather brief as it only contains six episodes, but it's enough to whet the appetite and it does contain a few great classic episodes. The episodes presented are... "The Man Who Was Death" - This episode stars Bill Sadler (Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight) as Niles Talbot, an executioner who's put out of business when his state government outlaws the death penalty. Niles decides to continue his job in his own way. This first episode is a classic and really got the ball rolling. "...and All Through the House" - This holiday episode is regarded as one of the best episodes in this or any other season. It's Christmas eve and there is an escaped maniac on the loose. The twist? In the home he decides to terrorize, a woman has just murdered her husband. So, it's either alert the police and risk having her own crime exposed or deal with the maniac herself. Ho! Ho! Ho! What fun! "Dig That Cat...He's Real Gone!" - This episode, starring a pre-Matrix Joe Pantoliano, as a man who's genetically acquired the nine lives of a cat is a real comedic treat. Using his newfound ability to survive death, he joins a circus sideshow and becomes a popular attraction. With each act of death and resurrection, he loses a life and comes closer to his final death. Will he make it out alive? "Only Sin Deep" - A hooker (Lea Thompson) decides to get out of the business. She murders her pimp and tries to pawn his gold chains at a local shop. When the shopkeeper turns down the obviously hot loot and offers her a ton of cash for her beauty, she thinks him crazy and agrees. She makes a new life for herself but when her time comes due to reclaim her pawned looks, she finds out that the shopkeep might not be as loony as she thought. "Lover Come Hack to Me" - A con-man marries a shy rich girl (Amanda Plummer) with plans to kill her on their honeymoon and claim her inheritance. When their car breaks down and they're forced to stay the night at an abandoned mansion, he finds out that he might not be the only one with murder on his mind. "Collection Completed" - Upon retirement, Jonas is forced to come home to a wife who's obsessed with animals. There are dogs, cats, a tub full of fish and even squirrels. It's either go crazy in the virtual zoo or find an escape of his own, so Jonas takes up a hobby...taxidermy. This set, while short, is a solid collection of the type of episodes that made this series great. To top it off, the second disc is a 50-minute documentary on the history of Tales from the Crypt from comics to the screen. This treat, complete with interviews with horror legends like John Carpenter and George Romero among others, is worth the price of admission on it's own. Note: This documentary was originally released on DVD (along with a second set of bonus features) as Tales from the Crypt: From Comic to Television about a year before this set came out. Back to Reviews |
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