Deadtime Stories Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Deadtime Stories Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 19, 2017

One can appreciate what co-writer/director Jeffrey Delman is trying to do in 1986’s “Deadtime Stories,” looking to fairy tales to inspire a horror anthology that hunts for the thin line between frights and silliness. The vision is there, but the execution leaves much to be desired, confronted with three tales of various tonalities and production polish, with the worst one oddly chosen to close out the picture. “Deadtime Stories” is meant to be a thrill ride of genre surprises, with plenty of gore, some nudity, and broad antics out to entertain its intended audience. However, Delman is hanging on by his fingernails with this endeavor, never establishing consistency between the segments, losing concentration on the essentials of storytelling to play as messy as possible with dismal ideas that fail to tickle or terrify.

All Uncle Mike (Michael Mesmer) wants to do is sit down and watch topless women on television, but his young nephew, Brian (Brian DePersia), keeps demanding his presence, fearing monsters are inside his room. Requesting a bedtime story to help fall back asleep, Brian is treated to Uncle Mike’s strange spin on known fairy tales. In “The Black Forest,” Peter (Scott Valentine) is stuck helping witches Hanagohl (Phyllis Craig) and Florinda (Anne Redfern) with their plan to resurrect sister Magoga from the dead, requiring a special female sacrifice to complete the process, forcing the young man to pick up a comely stranger. In “Red Riding Hood,” young Rachel (Nicole Picard) is caught in trouble when a mix-up at a pharmacy sells her drugs originally intended for Willie (Matt Mitler), a werewolf, and one who’s ready to terrorize the girl and her grandmother to retrieve his goods. In “Goldi Lox and the Three Baers,” telekinetic dim-wit Goldi (Cathryn de Prume) encounters the volatile antics of the bank-robbing Baer family, including Mama (Melissa Leo), Papa (Kevin Hannon), and Baby (Timothy Rule).

The highlight of “Deadtime Stories” is found right away, with Uncle Mike’s night of exasperation conjuring frustrations with the demands of a little boy too afraid to go back to sleep. Uncle Mike just wants a night of cheap titillation, but his nephew needs the comfort of storytelling to get him through the night (in the first of many oddities, Brian’s room is lit for daytime, likely contributing to his sleepless status). Uncle Mike concocts three macabre tales to entertain his young charge, commencing “Deadtime Stories” with the all the possibilities fairy tales provide, especially the gruesome kind.

Delman swings wildly with “Deadtime Stories,” which opens with the relative severity of “The Black Forest,” which handles with genuine evildoing, tracking Peter’s awareness of his witch bosses and their plan to trade one life for another. They concoct potions to manipulate their victims and force Peter to collect a blonde victim by using his boyish charms, with the end game being the complete reanimation of dried remains, unleashing a new threat. Out of the three chapters that make up “Deadtime Stories,” “The Black Forest” is the most considered and technically advanced, offering some crude but effective special effects as a severed hand crawls away from its owner, hearts explode, and Magoga is restored through the magic of reverse photography. It’s as close to exciting as the picture gets, and it’s not thrilling.

“Red Riding Hood” is the first sign of trouble, with campiness sneaking into the picture, while Delman’s pursuit of padding to get the endeavor up to a feature-length run time is maddening, often lingering on absolutely nothing of note. It’s “Goldi Lox and the Three Baers” that breaks the viewing experience entirely, watching “Deadtime Stories” suddenly become a John Waters effort, trading mood for cheap laughs and visible mistakes (at one point, Goldi uses her powers to drop a tree on Baby, but de Prume is also hit by the prop), altering the mood of the film entirely.

Deadtime Stories Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.84:1 aspect ratio) presentation does a successful job refreshing "Deadtime Stories" for its Blu-ray debut. A few issues remain, including some warping that "bends" the image for a few frames at a time, and wear and tear remains, including speckling and minor scratches. Overcall clarity is impressive, achieving an inviting level of detail to help inspect low-budget production achievements, including wobbly sets and costuming. Facial particulars are textured, along with gore zone visits, showcasing craftsmanship. Colors are sharp and true, handling bold primaries, monster hues, and lush greenery. Skintones are natural. Delineation is secure. Grain is fine and filmic.

Deadtime Stories Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't working with much when it comes to the sonic reach of "Deadtime Stories," but the essentials are handled carefully. Dialogue exchanges are crisp and clean, exploring some wild performances and a few rare moments of quieter composure, preserving human and monster speech. Scoring retains its synth-based presence, with electronic fullness and support, and soundtrack cuts are acceptable, if a bit too chaotic at times. Atmospherics are adequate, and splattery sound effects are appropriately juicy.

Deadtime Stories Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Jeffrey Delman.

• "I Like the Grotesque" (15:42, HD) is an interview with Delman, who walks viewers through the production experience on "Deadtime Stories." A piecemeal effort shot partially in 1982 and 1985, the feature was put together by a group of college friends, with Delman trying to expand short film ideas into an anthology endeavor. The helmer explores creative origins, casting, location, special effects, and music achievements, which he ended up concocting, leading him into a songwriting career he never expected. Low-budget craftsmanship is emphasized, perhaps as a way to explain the movie's dismal appearance, but Delman is proud of the work, or least comfortable examining what he managed to pull off.

• "A Band of Gypsies" (15:35, HD) focuses on casting efforts, with Cathryn de Prume, Scott Valentine, and Melissa Leo sitting down to discuss their participation in "Deadtime Stories," with their connection dating all the way back to college, where they all met Delman, joining his filmmaking vision. There's a lot of love for the director shared here, with the trio pouring on the tributes thick, communicating a family atmosphere to the shoot, where conditions weren't always ideal. Valentine also describes his casting story, coming into to audition for a role after being hit by a truck, leaving him with a limp Delman used in the feature. There's plenty of pride on display, especially from Leo, who was delighted to graduate to movie acting.

• "The Black Forest" (29:49, SD) is the full segment that was shot in 1982, before it was reworked and reshot in 1985 to fit into "Deadtime Stories."

• Deleted Scenes (2:32, SD) provide a moment of conflict between Rachel and her mother, and a series of security camera photos from a Baer Family bank robbery.

• Still Gallery (4:14) collects poster art and VHS covers, storyboards, publicity stills, and BTS snaps.

• And Two Trailers (3:12, SD) are included.

Deadtime Stories Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

What begins as barely tolerable becomes unwatchable once "Deadtime Stories" really sinks its teeth into broad antics and bad writing, losing the point of the anthology entirely. It's understandable that a strict diet of horror isn't appealing to the filmmaker, but there has to be some consistency, even for an anthology effort. Delman simply chases whims throughout "Deadtime Stories." Couple easily distracted storytelling with low-budget limitations, and here's a movie that doesn't know what it wants to be, failing at almost everything it sets out to do.