Tales from the Darkside: The Movie 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie brings together an anthology of four horrifying fables for audiences. Produced by Mitchell Galin (Pet Sematary, Thinner) and Richard P. Rubinstein (Dune, The Stand), Tales from the Darkside: The Movie adapts work by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story "Lot 249") (segment "Lot 249") and Stephen King (short story) (segment "Cat From Hell") for a ghoulish nightmare of a time. The production brings the cult favorite Tales from the Darkside horror television series about nightmarish fables to life in a cinematic way. Featuring a cast that includes Debbie Harry, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, Christian Slater, Matthew Lawrence, David Johansen, William Hickey, Alice Drummond, Dolores Sutton, Mark Margolis, James Remar, and Rae Dawn Chong.

It’s time for story-time. As the story begins, a young paperboy must manage to tell some tales in order to avoid being eaten alive by a witch, Betty (Debbie Harry) (segment "The Wraparound Story"). The storytelling begins. In “Lot 249” Bellingham (Steve Buscemi) is a college student working on a new project: bringing an ancient mummy back to life. Using science as his resource, Bellingham wants nothing more than to use the mummy uprising to teach an important lesson to some of the other students, Susan (Julianne Moore) and Andy (Christian Slater). Can the student body survive the wrath of a mummy?

In "Cat From Hell" a man finds himself being hired to take-out (assassinate) a feline cat – one that apparently cannot seem to be killed because of his nine lives (while the cat is taking out the lives of those that cross in his path). Lastly, in “Lover’s Vow,” Preston (James Remar) finds himself started by the reawakening of an ancient stone gargoyle. The gargoyle turns into a demonic monster with long and sharp claws that could kill anyone in an instant. After encountering the gargoyle, the gargoyle decides to let the man leave alive – as long as he promises to never tell anyone about his encounter. Trouble arises when someone special enters the man’s life: the beautiful Carola (Rae Dawn Chong). When their tenth anniversary arrives, a sense of dread builds. Can Preston avoid telling Carola about the mysterious gargoyle and still have a happy ending?

The production has a great ensemble cast and far better performances than one might expect for a genre film bringing to life a television series. The cast is special and with actors like Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, and musician-turned-actor Debbie Harry, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is impressively realized in the acting department – certainly more-so than some might think for an anthology production. The effort in this arena is noteworthy and these actors help to make the storytelling far more imaginative.

The production is well implemented and walks a fine line between the television world and cinematic landscape of a bigger production. Tales from the Darkside: The Movie brings the series to life with the production design by Ruth Ammon (Heroes, Station Eleven) and art direction by Jocelyne Beaudoin (Runaway) adding to the aesthetic of the storytelling. The designs look great and fit the style of the fabled universe perfectly.

The costumes by Ida Gearon (Army of Darkness, Mindwarp) add a lot to the film and the imagination inherent in the production. The costumes are creative alongside the special effects work. There is a plethora of imaginative make-up effects work to go alongside the fantastic costumes and design elements. These elements of the film bring the entire production together in a fun way.

Edited by Harry B. Miller III (The Predator, Dune: TV Mini Series), Tales from the Darkside: The Movie feels like a feature-length episode of an anthology. The editing is tight – the concise editing makes everything flow in a natural and entertaining way. The pace is excellent and there isn’t a dull moment.

The cinematography by Robert Draper (Tales from the Darkside: The Series, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers) remains faithful to the anthology genre roots. The cinematography provides the type of dark, eerie, and mystifying visual style that horror fans appreciate. The film manages to create an aesthetic that suggests the fable element and the horror that resides within.

The score features contributions by a number of talented composers involved on the project. The music is composed by John Harrison (segment "Lover's Vow") (Tales from the Darkside: The Series), Chaz Jankel (segment "Cat from Hell") (Making Mr. Right), Jim Manzie (segment "Lot 249") (Red Blooded American Girl), Pat Regan (segment " Lot 249") (Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III), and Donald Rubinstein (segment "Wraparound Story") (Knightriders). The music plays a significant role in the film. The score provides the eeriness the film needs. The haunting fable quality. The compositions work well, adding something special to each segment in the film.

Written by Michael McDowell (segments "Lover's Vow" and "Lot 249") (Beetlejuice, Thinner) and George A. Romero (segment "Cat From Hell") (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead), the script is one of the most fun things about Tales from the Darkside: The Movie. The screenwriting is enjoyably strange, eerie, and mysterious. The anthology script provides the right ingredients that fans of the original series, Tales from the Crypt, and other horror anthologies expect to find.

The dialogue is entertaining and these stories have the right quirkiness and offbeat terror to make things entertaining. The first tale manages to start things off on the perfect note with the science-experiment quality giving great reanimation vibes, the second tale is the most unusually comedic of the tales – with the killer cat with nine lives making quite the impression, and the last tale finds the right eeriness to stay with audiences long after the feature-film has ended and the credits are rolling.

Directed by John Harrison (Tales from the Darkside: The Series, Dune: TV Mini Series), Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is more fun than expected. Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is enormously entertaining and the anthology finds the right notes for a fun and haunting thrill-ride. The film is experimental in the right ways with the director conjuring up fantastic visuals for audiences. A snowstorm of frights, the film showcases mummies, gargoyles, and witches – the film is a fun nightmarish terror and the result is a film that is well worth seeing for genre enthusiasts.

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on 4K UHD by Shout Factory, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is presented in 2160p HEVC / H.265 in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen. The release is sourced from a brand new 2023 4K scan of the original camera negative. The native 4K presentation provides high dynamic range with HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The transfer is an excellent one and the presentation benefits a great deal from the new 4K scanning. The 4K remaster offers outstanding clarity and detail in the film presentation. The native 4K imagery provides a more detailed presentation than what has come before and for viewers hoping to eek out every little detail from the film, Shout Factory has provided exactly what fans are hoping to find. The transfer is even sharper and more detail – naturally and cinematic. Grain is readily apparent and the scan looks faithful to the roots. This is far preferable to transfers burdened with too much enhancement. Tales from the Darkside: The Movie looks great and the presentation certainly delivers. The HDR is another nice component of the presentation and the implementation feels true to the aesthetic – showcasing the brightest brights and darkest darks as inherent within the film. Though I don't own the previous Shout Factory Blu-ray edition, I imagine fans will be thrilled to upgrade to 4K to get the best possible version as provided on this release.

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The 24-bit high- resolution lossless encoding provides the most genuine presentation available for the original master audio elements. The lossless audio presentation enhances the feature presentation and provides wonderful clarity and depth to the audio. The soundstage is immersive and engaging with the surround sound option. The sound effects are well mixed with the surrounds active and fun. A quality lossless encode by Shout Factory. Though some might wish for a Atmos audio sound mix, the DTS-HD Master Audio presentation is an excellent one and it certainly gets the job done.

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary with Director John Harrison and Screenwriter George A. Romero

Audio Commentary with Co-Producer David R. Kappes

Audio Commentary with Film Critics Emily Higgins and Billy Dunham

Tales Behind the Darkside – The Making of Four Ghoulish Fables:

Chapter One: From Small Screens to Big Screams (HD, 16:20)

Chapter Two: Rising Stars and the Walking Dead (HD, 17:41)

Chapter Three: That Damn Cat! (HD, 16:51)

Chapter Four: A Vow to Keep (HD, 25:42)

Chapter Five: The Order of Things (HD, 14:02)

Chapter Six: The Test of Time (HD, 13:11)

Behind the Scenes Footage Compilations (SD, 11:05)

Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:57)

TV Spots (SD, 1:06)

Radio Spots (Audio Only, 1:35)

Still Gallery includes 48 click-through slides.

Behind the Scenes Still Gallery includes 50 click-through slides.

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is a fantastic anthology feature-film expanding on the original television series. Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is a great horror anthology and the fable idea is one that helps to bring these stories together. The 4K UHD release provides an exceptional 4K presentation – providing the beautiful and cinematic grain true cineastes crave – alongside great detail and clarity that only 4K can provide. The release also includes a nice bevy of bonus features. Fans will consider this the definitive release of the film. Highly recommended.