Tales from the Darkside: The Movie Reviews

Dull, derivative horror anthology. A collegiate nerd (Steve Buscemi) gets his revenge against a preppy tormentor (Christian Slater), using an ancient incantation that brings a murderous mummy to life. A pharmaceutical magnate (William Hickey) hires a mob hit man (David Johansen) to rid his mansion of the killer feline that has already claimed three victims. An artist (James Remar) pays a deadly price for breaking his romantic promise to his wife (Rae Dawn Chong). Fans of the horror genre have come to expect more from George Romero, who scripted the "Cat from Hell" episode from a Stephen King story. But director John Harrison, a longtime associate of Romero's making his feature debut after working on the "Darkside" series, betrays little understanding of either cinematic suspense or horror. Instead, DARKSIDE is overrun with flashy camerawork and film noir stylistic flourishes that pad, rather than propel, the already weak stories offered. All that DARKSIDE really has going for it is its clever cast, most of them also alumni of the series.