PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I’ve always been a fan of horror anthology films. Heck, I even wrote segments for some recent ones (I know, I know, shameless plug) and think that there are some great ones out there – like Creepshow and After Midnight – that most horror fans will dig. I watched Screamtime on VHS when I was in the sixth grade and thought that it was quite awesome.
My wife had never seen it, so we watched it over the weekend. I hadn’t seen it in years, so I went into it hoping that it held up as well as I remembered it. Was it just as great as I thought it was the first time I saw it, or did I walk away feeling extremely disappointed?
Keep reading to find out…
Two losers steal some video tapes from a store and head over to a friend’s house to watch them. The videos include stories about a killer puppet, a woman seeing horrible things that aren’t there, and a tale about a couple of old women who have some unique creatures protecting them.
I thought that Screamtime was just as good this time around as it was when I initially saw it all those years ago. It has some fun little stories and a cool wraparound that was interesting and entertaining. Directed by Michael Armstrong (Horror House, Mark of the Devil) – who also wrote it – and Stanley A. Long (Naughty!, Bread), this movie has little something for everyone and is just a blast in general. To give you a better idea of the stories featured in the movie I thought I would break each one down for you.
The first segment, Killer Punch, is the best in my opinion and helps open the film on a strong note. It revolves around a puppeteer who must deal with his horrible wife and even worst stepson who treats him like garbage. His beloved Punch doll finally has enough and decides he’s had enough and goes on a killing spree, taking out anyone who ever mistreated the poor puppeteer. This segment is just all sorts of awesome and is creepy as Hell. The Punch doll scared the crap out of me when I was a kid, and I still think it is unsettling (that voice… ugh… pure nightmare fuel). It’s nice and violent and has a neat little twist at the end that most people won’t see coming. This is my favorite of the three segments, and I think that a lot of people out there who have seen it would agree.
The second entry, Dreamhouse, is just as good as the first. It is about a woman who moves into a new house with her husband who starts seeing things there that no one else can see. These visions get increasingly violent and disturbing as each day passes, and before you know it, things get bloody and people start dying. This segment will keep you guessing and has a cool reveal at the end that took me by surprise when I first saw it back in the day. It was remade back in 2010 as a full-length film called Psychosis, and it is just as good as the short that it was based on. Of all the segments, this is probably the best written as it is creative and original, and it keeps you guessing until the final scene (and the payoff is worth it).
The final story is probably the weakest, but I still enjoy it regardless. It is called Do You Believe in Fairies? and revolves around a young man desperate for money who takes a job doing handyman work for a pair of odd old women. When he discovers that the women have a ton of money hidden in the house, he makes the mistake of talking his brother and a friend into robbing them and soon regrets it when he realizes that the old women aren’t quite as defenseless as he thought and have some dangerous forces looking out for them. While it isn’t as good as the other two stories and is a little cheesier than I remember (that guy dressed like a garden gnome attacking someone is a little goofy) it’s still a decent segment and works for the most part.
I also dug the wraparound as well and think that it is fun. It shows the guys watching the segments that are on the tapes that they stole and while it is short and the characters are not fleshed out in the least, it is still good. It’s simple but effective as the guys learn in the end that stealing the tapes was a bad idea and they are both punished for it in the end. It’s a fun wraparound and I remember being surprised by how it ends when I was a kid because I didn’t see it coming. I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say that they get what they deserve after everything is said and done.
I think that Screamtime is a wonderful little British horror anthology and if you ask me, it is a hidden gem in a lot of ways. The segments are interesting, and the cast does a great job in each of them. If you are in the mood for an anthology and want to see one that works that you’ve never seen before then I highly recommend this movie as it is nothing short of awesome. I guarantee you will never look at the Punch puppet from Punch and Judy the same way ever again after watching this movie. He was already creepy enough in general, but this movie cranks his creepiness level up to an eleven.
