[there are spoilers in this review]
Anthology movies are always risky, because there's always one segment that's better than the others, so instead of having a great movie, you've got a third of one (everyone remembers the killer doll in 'Trilogy of Terror', but not much else). This flick, from the legendary Coffin Joe, is uneven as well, but is bursting with talent, ideas, great imagery, and excellent production values that it holds your interest the whole way through.
Coffin Joe introduces the three tales of life and death. After robbing an old guy's doll store, some ne'er-do-wells attempt to rape his daughters. The whole thing goes on a little too long, and the villains' fate is way too predictable and silly- their eyes are cut out and put in the doll's heads, which really doesn't work, as the eyes would be too big. But I'm nit-picking- there are some great decapitated head shots, and there's the great scene where the old guy shoots each bad guy one by one, and they all make hilarious faces.
In the next segment, which has no dialog, a creepy balloon vender follows a young gal around, and after she dies he opens her casket to give her some shoes she dropped. Although this story is really slow, it looks beautiful and has great style. It's kind of out of place with the others, as there's no gore on screen (just some creepy necrophilia).
The last tale is the kicker, with Coffin Joe debating his view that love is dead. He invites his nemesis to his home (which is done up like a Halloween haunted house) to prove his point- through torture, mutilation, and decapitation! The gore in these scenes is totally convincing (most of it looks real, mondo-style) and the many scenes of rats, bats, snakes, lizards, and spiders are effectively creepy. Throw in a Lurch-like butler and tons of biblical references, and you've got a movie!
Anthology movies are always risky, because there's always one segment that's better than the others, so instead of having a great movie, you've got a third of one (everyone remembers the killer doll in 'Trilogy of Terror', but not much else). This flick, from the legendary Coffin Joe, is uneven as well, but is bursting with talent, ideas, great imagery, and excellent production values that it holds your interest the whole way through.
Coffin Joe introduces the three tales of life and death. After robbing an old guy's doll store, some ne'er-do-wells attempt to rape his daughters. The whole thing goes on a little too long, and the villains' fate is way too predictable and silly- their eyes are cut out and put in the doll's heads, which really doesn't work, as the eyes would be too big. But I'm nit-picking- there are some great decapitated head shots, and there's the great scene where the old guy shoots each bad guy one by one, and they all make hilarious faces.
In the next segment, which has no dialog, a creepy balloon vender follows a young gal around, and after she dies he opens her casket to give her some shoes she dropped. Although this story is really slow, it looks beautiful and has great style. It's kind of out of place with the others, as there's no gore on screen (just some creepy necrophilia).
The last tale is the kicker, with Coffin Joe debating his view that love is dead. He invites his nemesis to his home (which is done up like a Halloween haunted house) to prove his point- through torture, mutilation, and decapitation! The gore in these scenes is totally convincing (most of it looks real, mondo-style) and the many scenes of rats, bats, snakes, lizards, and spiders are effectively creepy. Throw in a Lurch-like butler and tons of biblical references, and you've got a movie!