Director(s) – Hayden Hall, Tony Masiello (Hi-8), Richard Mogg (Massage Parlor of Death), Tony Newton (Virus of the Dead), Joe Sherlock (Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires), and Brad Twigg (Milfs vs. Zombies)
Starring – Richie Acevedo (Fiendish Fables), Laura Sophia Becker (Buschow), and Doug Ferguson
Release Date – 2016
Rating – 3.5/5
Anthology films can be a very fun movie experience. If done correctly, they can give the viewer several shorts that offer up different stories while being connected by a wrap around segment. I grew up on Creepshow, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, Tales from the Crypt, and so many more horror anthologies. They were fun and offered up different stories within a movie. Sadly, most of the anthologies I have reviewed the last few years have been rough and forgot the one thing that makes anthologies so much fucking fun, the wrap around segment.
I recently watched and reviewed Brad Twigg’s newest filmFiendish Fables. It was a fun anthology that took us back to the 80s where they handled anthologies the right way. When Twigg sent me FF he also sent over another anthology film,Frames of Fear. FoF was an anthology Twigg worked on with several other indie directors. Thank you Brad for allowing Horror Society and myself the opportunity to check this one out!
**Spoiler Alert**The film begins as a YouTuber dances around a bit and then starts reviewing VHS releases. He talks about a killer elevator flick titled The Liftbefore moving on to an anthology film titled Frames of Fear. Frames of Fearfollows a late night horror host as he navigates his way through several stories of horror.
The first story, Night Demon, follows a creepy man and two women. The creepy man is turned down by the women and waits until they are asleep where he plans on raping them. However, he bites off more than he can chew. The second tale, Video Decay, follows a group of twenty-somethings who grab a new game the day it was released and head back to their homes to play. What they don’t know is that the carnage that see on screen plays out in real life.
The third story, Housewarming, follows a young woman who moves into a new home. She throws a party and invites over a few friends but something sinister is going on and she may not be able to make it out alive. The fourth tale, Format of the Dead, follows three movie collectors who happen across a lost VHS in a cornfield and awaken something that has long been dead.
The fifth tale, Wrestlemassacre, follows a house party as the party goers start dying one by one at the hands of a deranged wrestler. The final tale, Chester and Morty’s Grim Return, follows three women who plan on having a night in accidentally awaken a ventriloquist doll that belonged to a relative of one of the girls. Now they have to fight to survive.**Spoiler Alert**
When director Brad Twigg sent overFiendish Fables and Frames of Fear, I was excited. I love a good anthology film. After I watched Fiendish Fables I was a little worried. I really enjoyed the film but I was concerned that the next film would not be just as good. I had nothing to worry about. Frames of Fearwas just as good, if not a little better, than Fiendish Fables.
The acting in this one varies from segment to segment but is fun for the most part. They all show devotion to the project and that is all you can ask for in indie horror. With that being said, some of the segments are better acted than others. Due to the amount of shorts in this film by different cast and crew I will skip going in depth on that.
The stories for this one is fun. Each segment varies in quality but the overall film is great. The wrap around story is a little misleading. It’s as if we have two with one of them being abandoned as soon as the VHS starts. The YouTubers angle reviewing VHS would make it fun and stand out but the character is lame as hell. I know it’s a parody of all the YouTube reviewers out there including the man portraying the character in film (Shawn C. Phillips) but he was just awkward to watch and took away from the film. Leaving the horror host to navigate the VHS tapes they watch was fun and made it very entertaining. I would have left it alone with that.
The segments range. My favorite of the segments if the Video Decay segment following the killer video game. This one was fun and very well shot. A few other segments, Format of the Dead and Wrestlemassacre, was fun as well and really put me in the VHS spirit. Sadly, Night Demon, Chester and Morty’s Grim Return, and Housewarming was rather weak. They had a few moments but overall they were a little let down.
Finally, those of you looking for blood will find it here. The film has several on screen kills. Sadly, only a handful are worth watching. Most are minimal and not that bloody but a few of them were fantastic and pick up the slack the others left behind. The effects for these are decent but far from perfect. Overall,Frames of Fear is great horror film that takes us back to the heyday of analog. It was vile at times and offered up some genuine laughs…and screams. Check it out whenever you can. You will not be disappointed.
