By: Ryan Dailey
Film is a medium that can take the audience to another time and place. That is what good escapism entertainment does. It does not push agendas, it does not pander and it does not worry about box office returns.
Return to the Theatre of Terror is another denizen of the horror nation that not only checks these boxes, but also serves as a well- constructed love letter to anthologies such as Tales from the Crypt, Creepshow and Tales from the Darkside.
The film opens with Soothsayer. This short is nothing shy of brilliant. It is a tale of time travel that looks like it came from the era of 1950’s science fiction films. Everything about this short is perfect. The dialog is written and delivered in that classic overly dramatic style. The props and set dressings are on point. The viewer can tell that time, love and effort were put into this segment. Anthony Robert Grasso, Samantha Lacey Johnson and Denis Ooi all give performances that are almost too good for independent cinema. These actors give the short a level of quality that is rarely seen in performances showcased in lower budget films. From a technical aspect, the cinematography and direction somehow manage to mix old school filmmaking with modern sensibilities seamlessly.
The next short, Splinter, is a tale of a man that inherits a home and steps on a splinter. The man slowly begins to lose pieces of himself as his body becomes something else entirely and the shady history of his home begins to unravel. This particular short belongs right at home in Creepshow 2, right there with Old Chief Wood’nhead. If Soothsayer is reminiscent of sci fi movies found on any Roku or Pluto channel, this short screams early 90’s horror. Jim Thalman and Kristin Muri turn in efforts that are a strange, yet great combination of highly trained actors and an extra in a Lifetime movie. It is not a bad thing, and it serves this type of film greatly.
The third short in the anthology is called Haunted, and it screams early 90’s HBO Tales from the Crypt. Brett Eidman plays a “paranormal investigator” preying on the vulnerable. That is, until he meets the wife and daughter of a recently deceased man, played by Jennifer Plotzke and Gareth Tidball with Emma Waldron playing a younger version of the daughter. This particular short would have been right at home in an E.C. comic. It has all of the components of those classic tales. A shady con man, a person or person experiencing an actual supernatural phenomenon and the villain getting his comeuppance at the end. Eidman is a rock star in this segment. His performance is spot on for the character he is putting on screen. He succeeds in creating a great scam artist character without turning it into a warped, cartoonish characteracture. This could easily be a stand alone, full length film.
The final short book ends the running through line of a strange projectionist showing a young boy the stories the audience has been watching in a vacant movie theater and is called, Robot. The young boy finds a toy-like robot not far from a meteor crash. He brings the toy home, where it is eventually revealed that it is on a reconnaissance mission from beyond the stars. One of the highlights of this story is the abusive stepfather, played with passion and professionalism by Jason John Cicalese. This gentleman steals the short and chews scenery the way a Langolier chews up time and space.
Overall, this film is welcomed into the horror nation, bringing some memorable premises as well as performances to the genre. Return to the Theatre of Terror has cult classic written all over it.