Tales of Poe (2014)

   

Produced & Directed by: Bart Mastronardi & Alan Rowe Kelly

Written by:

Bart Mastronardi, Alan Rowe Kelly & Michael Varrati

Starring:

Debbie Rochon .... The Narrator / Night Nurse
.... Evelyn Dyck / Woman in black
.... Miss Lamarr / Gogo Montresor
.... Nurse Malliard
.... Fortunato Montresor
.... Marco Lechresi / Demon of Dreams
.... Sarah Whitman
.... Morella

Amy Steel .... Mother of Dreams / Poetic Narrator
.... Angel of Dreams

.... Kharon
.... Queen of Dreams / Private Nurse

Special Appearance:

Joe Zaso .... Gravedigger


Release Dates: NOLA Horror Film Festival: August 2014; The Dark Horror Film Festival: 2014; NYC Horror & Exploitation Film Festival; Macabre Faire Horror Film Festival; Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival; Terror Film Festival; Killer Valley Horror Film Festival: 2015; Chicago Horror Film Festival: 2016  

Rating:

 

Based on the classic works of Edgar Allan Poe - a unique spin on three of Poe's popular stories:

Tell Tale Heart - A Night Nurse (Debbie Rochon) is sent to a psych ward and tells her other mental patients as to how she got there and how she lost her sanity.

Cask of Amontillado - A newlywed husband Fortunato Montresor (Randy Jones) takes everyone to his wine cellar but slowly gets sick and passes out and when he awakens his wife GoGo (Alan Rowe Kelly) has deadly plans for him.

Dreams - A teenage girl Morella (Susan Adriensen) falls into a deep sleep in a hospital and in her dreams encounters some wicked fantasies as some are happy moments but turn out to be deadly later on.

 

At first the film looked like an almost no budgeter anthology judging from the opening credits but while watching the stories unravel it looked well done so as long as it has a good plot and performances the budget doesn't really matter.

The first chapter The Tell Tales Heart is probably my most favourite one in which it leaves a mysterious feel with a bloodied looking Night Nurse with a nice shot on her as well as her then going into some psych ward with an eccentric Nurse Malliard being in charge which looked perfectly twisted and well done.
Also the Night Nurse is encountered by a crazed bully Evelyn Dyck who gets in her face which also looked interesting to watch as I wondered if a fight will break loose or not and then even this chapter goes into a story as this was cleverly done indeed.
We have the Night Nurse taking care of a sick woman whom is Miss Lamarr constantly dinging her bell to get her attention in which this leads to a psychological moment wondering if she will kill her in which this looked well drawn in and it was done in a great fashion with nice shots on all of this.
Also in the story this nurse gets in a lustful mood which adds a strange type of vibe watching the story as it made me wonder if it was a different type of story allotgether and she comes on strong towards a police officer which looked out of the ordinary.
The situations turn zany in a good way for horror fans who likes weird shit in which this officer starts cackling and there's echoey and blurry moment in which this nurse you could tell was hallucinating as I'm convinced that we are entering her psychotic mind as well as boards starting to bump up as this leaves a clue as to what happened to someone she murdered all in all it was weird but at the same time very well done.

After that story was told Cask of Amontillado is the next tale as at first it looked mildly dull spotting a newlywed couple Gogo and Fortunato mingling and one of the guests discussing something negative about them which is supposed to leave a clue that something deadly is going to happen later on but it needed a bit of a push as it looked a bit stale to watch.
Yet we spot Gogo hacking and coughing at times as this brought to my attention that he is slowly being poisoned which seemed to be in good shape as him and the other goes down to take a look at their wine cellar.
Then the story gets rolling in a good fashion as there's creepy shots on the surroundings showing that a cellar can be convincingly creepy as well as to what unravels there. Alot of nice creepy lit up moments during these situations as well as a guest going crazy smacking her hands towards a brick wall and screaming as this leaves things very mysterious to the point to watch on what else will happen next.
Perfect psychological situations when Gogo is weak and sick in his bed when both Gogo and Marco Lechresi tells on what they plan to do to him and he is too helpless as this made me watch in suspense as to what goes on here.
The terror piles up in the next scene when both Marco and Gogo wall him up with bricks as this is a common horror story by Poe and done in great taste for this low budgeter which entertained me greatly and this poor man is still helpless as well as neat firey effects at the end of this scene adding a great touch to everything.
Then there's moments on these two making out as well as a dispute with something going wrong woth Marco himself showing that this Gogo woman is truly evil and greedy as this was nicely put in. What's even better is seeing some steam behind those bricks as well as good lighting since I hinted that Fortunato is going to escape from his death trap but not the same person he was and that's exactly how it goes in which this is another traditional moment for a Poe story plus it reminds me on watching an episode of Tales from the Crypt too. This chapter was done in great style.

The third and final one Dreams is my least favourite one but I didn't dislike it. Just didn't have as much as the same chemistry as the first two.
Perfcet shot on Mother of Dreams standing next to her daughter Morella lying in a hospital bed and things aren't great which looked impressive as well as creepy and twisted moments with a private nurse putting her to sleep with a needle which looked like a wicked and dark moment.
Then some dazzling effects start to occur and a spot of someone looking like a demon approaching her as well as good circling camera shots on tall trees as well as Morella wandering in the wooded area in which this all looked crafty for a fantasy type of horror story.
Morella meets the Queen of Dreams as this looked enjoyable to watch when she follows her in which there's beauty everywhere which looked uplifting and well done.
Later on we spot some strange types of characters doing something tortureous which was also done in a good horror fashion as well as more hallucinations leading to crazy moments and violent actions too along with some strange bizarre encounters too with characters unmasking themselves and moments like that making the story come out in an artisitc type of fashion along with some upsetting and emotional situations with these characters.
Morella also encounters some strange woman screaming and pointing a finger at her with Morella's hands a nd dress looking bloodied as well as her having a plastic bag over her head and getting buried which adds alot of good psychological moments.

Bottom line is that this is a horror anthology done right. Sure it was low budget but there's worst budget flicks. This one had a good solid cast and plotline and can entertain the horror fans a great deal. It was enjoyable all the way through as it was well done with the effects and the psychological moments too. Worth checking out for any fan of Edgar Allen Poe or for fans of those retro horror films we all remember too.

Wow we have alot of horror celebrities in this one from mainly slasher flicks that we all know of and did a great job in this one.
I must say that scream queen Debbie Rochon (The Narrator / Night Nurse) was the best out of the whole cast in which she shows off a great versatality into her part of the chapter which is Tell Tale Heart. Does well acting like a basket case at first as well as having an expressionless cold speaking. Plus she knew on how to act tough whenever necessary. Was great narrating her life story as well as acting flirtatious as well as psychotic which was another nice pointer to her role.
(Evelyn Dyck / Woman in black) was terrific as a bullying mental patient in Tell Tale Heart by knowing on how to get in your face and coming across as a threat in which she shines off greatly. Was good with her growly voice too. Had the right looks and motive too.
Drag queen (Miss Lamarr / Gogo Montresor) was marvellous in his roles as at first the nagging sick woman in Tell Tale Heart in which she knew on how to portray a basket case and giving all he got in this and then the decevingly charming and wicked one in Cask of Amontillado offering a perfect wicked behavior in which he portrayed a great backstabbing attitude. He comes clearly well as a woman indeed.
(Nurse Malliard) on whom we all remember as the whacked Aunt Martha in Sleepaway Camp and she played a whacked one in Tell Tale Heart having the exact same voice as I enjoyed her performance in this one which was a real treat. She was very sharp in her presence.
(Fortunato Montresor) knew his stuff in Cask of Amontillado as he does well getting slowly sick to the point where's he's weak and hopeless in which he made all of this turn out as perfectly believeable. He also does well coming off as a resurrected type of crazed zombie later on. Seemed to be really into his part.
(Marco Lechresi / Demon of Dreams) does his job splendidly in Cask of Amontillado in which he offers a nice charming type of behavior only to turn out to be a real creep in which he does well with his cold attitude. Also does well with his aggressions later on in his role showing off some good energy.
(Morella) didn't really have any lines in Dreams but really got into her part in a good fashion with her reactions to what was happening to her as well as showing nice excitement and intensity whenever she had to act this way.
Amy Steel (Mother of Dreams / Poetic Narrator) does her job greatly in Dreams as a concerned parent as well as having a nice still and serious tone in her voice. Seemed to get into her characteristics in a well fashion which was nice to see.
(Angel of Dreams) really flowed through smoothly in Dreams as she was convincingly angellic as well as showing a nice happy type of behavior. She fit the role in nicely and still has the kack for portraying different characteristics.
It's nice to see Adrienne King (Queen of Dreams / Private Nurse) back in the spotlight after her long absense from Friday the 13th by appearing as a mysterious one in Dreams portraying someone mysterious and somewhat untrustworthy as she knew on how to come across this way as well as portraying someone different in a dream sequence lashing out and acting violent as she showed off great energy into all of this.

Eye is stabbed in.
Heart is torn out.
Tongue is ripped out.
Burnt off rotting flesh is revealed with a somewhat living dead person.
Insides are revealed in an artsy type of torture type surgery.

Tom Burns was terrific with his music such as having old fashioned horror organ music for the opening and closing credits which suits the style as to how it was all done. Also there's alot of hissing and dark sounds for the chapters as this showed great timing for what we spot in the story. The third chapter was the best with echoey noises and spooky synthesizer music as well as an odd bonging sound that tripped me out greatly while watching the story unravel.