Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		1.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.0

Scary Tales Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 11, 2020

The American Genre Film Archive continues to curate a completely gonzo collection of releases, and Scary Tales, while certainly nowhere near the most provocative of AGFA’s titles (that “honor” may — emphasis on may — belong to Bat Pussy), is certainly among the “lowest” in terms of basic technical merits of the lo-fi efforts fans have seen from the label. Counterbalancing the fact that this shot on video outing certainly looks pretty scraggly (more about which in the assessment of the technical side of things), and the fact that both writing and acting are arguably not quite ready for prime time, is the fact that co-writer and co-directors Doug Ulrich and Al Darago actually manage to craft some rather well done gore effects, which in at least a couple of cases are decidedly more impressive than effects seen in films budgeted exponentially higher than Scary Tales (cheekily, Ulrich and Darago called their production entity No Budget Films).

Were mullets still a thing in 1993? I ask only because some of the hair styles for the men in Scary Tales seem to suggest this is a "period piece", albeit only back a decade or so. Scary Tales is a basic portmanteau of three stories, each introduced by a specter with (supposedly) glowing eyes who is relaying the tales to an assembled semi-multitude. The first piece involves a hapless shlub who finds "Satan's necklace," decides to put it on, and then of course transforms into the Devil (or at least a willing acolyte). The second tale is the goriest of the three and involves a cuckolded husband who goes Grand Guignol on his wife and her lover, and then several others. The third story depicts a videogame lover who is so obsessed with his game that he ends up entering it, a la Tron (though with a complete lack of high tech special effects).

Scary Tales Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scary Tales is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of the American Genre Film Archive and Bleeding Skull with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.34:1. The back cover states that this "has been meticulously pieced together" in a new transfer from the original S-VHS master tapes. The age and lackluster quality of the source material combine to make this a pretty ragged looking affair a lot of the time, though that said, some of the outdoor material in particular offers a decent looking palette and at least reasonable general detail levels. Much of the interior material is rather drab looking, and the darkest scenes are riddled with crush. There are a number of baked in video anomalies, including slight tracking problems and some pretty serious ghosting (look how the supposedly "glowing red" eyes of the specter are displaced to the side in screenshot 9). The darkest moments here look pretty noisy and even some of the more brightly lit scenes come close to pixellating.

Scary Tales Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scary Tales features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that in some ways falls victim to the same lo-fi deficits hobbling the video presentation. Either by design or inattention, there are some curious prioritization issues here, as in a bar scene where the music pretty much drowns out all of the dialogue. Moments that only feature dialogue fare a good deal better, and for the most part everything is delivered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

Scary Tales Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary Track with Director Doug Ulrich


• Scary Tales (1987 Demo Version) (1080p; 22:04)


• Scary Tales Outtakes (1080p; 00:53) suggest everyone knew how ridiculous parts (all?) of this film were, judging by how much unbridled laughter occurs.


• Vintage TV Promo Appearance (1080p; 6:46) stems from what looks like a morning show on 13 WJZ. My only question is what is the anchor on the left doing (he seems to be grooving to some secret music only he can hear).


• Early Horror Shorts (1080p; 45:05) offer some youthful Super 8 outings by Doug Ulrich. Video and audio quality is pretty severely compromised.


• Bonus Movie: Darkest Soul (1080p; 1:03:21) is billed as the "1994 follow up" to Scary Tales, though the connection might seem kind of tangential to some.

For those who like packaging info, this has a reversible sleeve and a rather nicely embossed slipcover.

Scary Tales Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I've said this before with regard to some AGFA's releases, and it's certainly true vis a vis this film, but if you're already attuned to the weird offerings of this label, Scary Tales will probably suit you to a tee. Otherwise, this is a weirdly charming but obviously very low budgeted affair that comes off as a bunch of friends banding together to make a glorified home movie. As with many AGFA releases, source elements mean a lackluster technical presentation, but also as with many AGFA releases, some of the supplementary material is goofily enjoyable, for those who are considering a purchase.