Michael_Elliott Deadtime Stories (1986) ** (out of 4)Brian is staying at his Uncle Mike's (Michael Mesmer) house and wants to hear some bedtime stories. Mike agrees to tell him some as long as he goes to sleep after. The first story has a couple witches using a boy to lure a woman into their home so that they can kill her in exchange for their long dead sister. The second story deals with a Little Red Riding Hood theme as Rachel (Nicole Picard) is taking grandma some medicine but she's sidetracked and soon a wolf show up. Finally, Goldi Lox (Cathryn de Prume) escapes from a mental hospital when she ends up at the Baer's home and they too have just recently escaped.After the success of George A. Romero's CREEPSHOW several anthology films popped up with this one here being one of the weaker ones. It's really too bad that this film isn't better but there are all sorts of problems throughout the three movies. It should also be stated that it appears the MPAA got their hands on the picture because a lot of the death scenes have weird jumps, which is usually a clear sign that something had to be cut.As far as the three stories go, each of them deal with a familiar subject but writer-director Jeffrey Delman was obviously wanting to do something different with them. As is the case with any anthology, the quality varies from story to story but I'd say the first two are the best but even they are flawed. Both the tale with the witch and the werewolf have great conclusions but sadly everything leading up to the endings are pretty bland and boring. It's really too bad because the first story has some terrific special effects and especially during the sequence where the dead sister is coming back to life.The third story is a complete misfire as they're going for some camp and it just doesn't work. The idea for the spin on the story is a good one but the execution just isn't there, although you've got a young Melissa Leo playing Mama Baer. The performances throughout are above average and as I said there are some good special effects but it's too bad some of them were trimmed. Still, DEADTIME STORIES tried to do something different but the end result isn't as good as you would have hoped for.

Coventry The quote in this comment's subject line illustrates a beautiful example of what the dialogues sound like in this oddball and ultimately cheesy 80's horror anthology based on fairy-tales and children's bedtime stories. The sequence involves an elderly lady trapped in her house with a werewolf outside. She tries scaring him away by assuring him she has a meat clever and she knows how to use it! No offense granny, but meat cleavers usually don't come with manuals and everyone knows how to use them! You just pick them up and chop! Anyway, we're rambling off the subject… "Deadtime Stories" has a fairly ingenious basic idea but it's incredibly poorly elaborated and it ends up being more of a comedy instead of a horror film. A stereotype thirty-something bachelor, with only TV and naked models on his mind (in other words, someone you'd NEVER allow to baby-sit your children), is looking after his 8-year-old nephew and faces huge difficulties getting him to sleep. He tells him three bedtime stories that are all very personal interpretations of famous fairy-tales, namely Peter & the Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks & the three Bears. The first story is really dull but contains a handful of decent gory make-up effects. A young man is enslaved by two sibling-witches that live in the forest and command him to lure people to their house where they'll be sacrificed in order to resurrect a third sister. Trust me, it's a lot lamer than it sounds. The second story starts with totally gratuitous (but nonetheless weak) masturbation sequence! Little Red Riding Hood is a hot teenager who loses her grandmother AND her virginity in one day! What an exciting day! Her long-anticipated "first time" impresses her even less than the death of her granny. The werewolf-transformations look ridiculous and the acting is terrible, still this segment offers a couple of chuckles and a nice looking young actress. The third & final story is arguably the best but certainly the most original one. The "Bear"-family is a trio of lunatics escaped from an asylum and Goldilocks herself is a supernaturally gifted serial killer that impales horny young men for fun. The two parties combine forces and do more crazy stuff, like…um…going out for pizza! This story lacks in the blood & gore-department, but it bathes in an atmosphere of genuine black comedy and the performances are actually quite good. Especially gorgeous Cathryn de Prume is great. "Deadtime Stories" is irredeemably bad but fun and there are far worse ways to spend 90 minutes of your life.

Tikkin Freaky Fairy tales just doesn't work as a film. When using a format such as this you need every story to be well written, but sadly things were lacking in that department. The first story is kind of weird and creepy, and has some good parts when the corpse comes alive. But that's about it. The second tale is about a werewolf and is only saved by the unintentionally hilarious lines from the old woman, such as when the man demands she open the door, to which she replies "I will not!" and then declares "I have a meat cleaver and I know how to use it!" I didn't see the third story because I was falling asleep by then and turned the TV off. That's how interesting Feeaky Fairy tales was. No self-respecting horror fan should bother with this, unless you're a die-hard collector.

Joseph P. Ulibas Deadtime Stories (1987) was an omnibus of tales. A very cheaply made film "starring" Scott Valentine. The tales aren't all that (two of them reek whilst the other was trying to hard to be a black comedy) and the wrap around segments felt as if they were hastily put together. Maybe if the writing was better and the acting wasn't so mediocre, it could have been something (i.e. entertaining). As it stands, it's an okay movie. I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it. However, if it's showing on t.v. late at night and you're having a hard time trying to catch some zzzz, give this one a chance. A hit or miss film. You'll either enjoy it or curse me the day I ever mentioned it. Fair. C Check out red riding hood. She's a real hot number!