User Reviews

Distraught mother Janice Perry (well played by Patricia Tallman) suspects that her husband Robert (the always excellent Stephen McHattie) has abducted their son Bobby (a solid performance by Daniel Terrence Kelly), who as of late hasn't been himself due to a mysterious illness.

Director Tom Savini keeps the compelling story moving along at a snappy pace, generates a good deal of tension, does a sound job of crafting a spooky atmosphere, and pulls out the stirring stops for the exciting violent conclusion. Edithe Swanson's clever script astutely pegs the sinisterly seductive appeal of being a werewolf and comes through with a nifty surprise twist ending. Robert Draper's stylish cinematography provides a neat noirish look. The werewolf makeup is pretty cool, too. A worthwhile show.

Robert Perry(Stephen McHattie)has a major problem on his hands..his son Bobby(Daniel Terrence Kelly)is a werewolf who turns at the fullness of the moon and has escaped numerous times from his room killing innocents in the night. On the run and sweating out Bobby's lycanthrope tendencies, Robert must also deal with his wife, Janice(Patricia Tallman)who is following after them, calling on a professional from an abuse center, Trudy(Marilyn Rockafellow)to assist her in finding them. But, Janice might not be who she appears, and there is indeed a reason why Bobby is going through his lycan transformations..

Tom Savini gets a chance behind to camera thanks to producer George Romero's influence behind the show, Tales from the Darkside. Lots of cool things in this episode for horror/Savini buffs, such as little Bobby's monstrous creations and his reading from Fangoria magazine, posters of Romero movies on Bobby's wall(specifically "Creepshow"), Tallman as the ferocious mother who'd later be cast as the lead heroine in Savini's version of his mentor's "Night of the Living Dead", Stephen McHattie, who'd become a staple in B-movie horror throughout the 90's, and some cool werewolf make-up add much to this particular episode. Creepy little effort from the make-up/gore master.

And, in typical fashion for the show, it ends in a terrifying fashion(ye one can almost find it oddly touching) leaving open the idea of something grave towards others.

Tales from the Darkside: Family Reunion starts as Robert Perry (Stephen McHattie) has been on the run with his young son Bobby (Daniel Terrence Kelly) for six months, after a recent spate of gruesome murders the local community lives in fear. Every night Bobby changes into a Werewolf & only his loving father can prevent him from hurting other's & find a cure, however Bobby's mother Janice (Patricia Tallman) is desperate to find her son for an emotional is somewhat sinister family reunion...

Episode 16 from season 4 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during May 1988, directed by special make-up effects man Tom Savini at least Family Reunion is a straight horror themed episode. The script by Edithe Swensen could have been expanded to fill a longer time slot & wouldn't have looked out of place as an episode of Tales from the Crypt (1989 - 1996), the only real problem with Family Reunion is that the title gives the twist ending away & in that sense it's a touch predictable. At only twenty odd minutes in length it moves along at a decent pace, the story has a point & actually builds up to a twist ending that isn't the most original or surprising but does round the programme off nicely enough.

Director Savini has fun with a few horror film references, Bobby is seen reading an issue of Fangoria with Day of the Dead (1985) as the cover story while there's a Creepshow (1982) poster on his wall both of which were directed by Goerge A. Romero & for which Savini provided the special make-up effects. Here there's some pretty good Werewolf make-up effects although as usual for this show there's no gore or extreme violence. The acting is alright & the cast do OK.

Family Reunion is a good solid horror themed Tales from the Darkside episode that is actually worth watching, it's nothing amazingly original or surprising but it passes twenty odd minutes harmlessly enough.