Magnolia Films has made an industry of anthology horror
films over the last few years and all have been fairly successful. Their VHS
series of films have had good and bad parts to them all and then they went on
to make THE ABC’S OF DEAH. Now they’ve taken yet another route, this time
offering and anthology film with all four episodes directed by female
directors. As with the other films, some work and others don’t.
The first episode is “The Box”, telling the story of a
family Christmas shopping and returning on the subway. The little boy in the
group is sitting next to a stranger with a wrapped gift box on his lap. He asks
to see what’s in the box and the man obliges. Afterward the child loses his
appetite when home and for days refuses to eat. Sharing the secret with each
family member results in the same problem. How far it will go is the question.
Next up is “Birthday Party”. If like me you have a twisted
sense of humor you’ll love this one. A mother is in the midst of planning the
perfect birthday party for her little girl when she discovers her husband has
killed himself in his home office. This will not do for the party or for her
social status. In an attempt to hide what has happened she resorts to putting
him in a bunny costume and sitting him at the birthday table with all the
guests around. Nothing can go wrong, right?
Third in this outing is “Don’t Fall”. This one revolves
around a group of four friends who go camping in an RV. As with all horror
films nothing can go the way one expects and eventually one of them turns into
a monster. It then becomes a matter of survival pitting the rest against the
creature outside.
Lastly is “Her Only Living Son”. A woman raising her son on
her own is having issues with him. He’s just reached the teen years and is in
that acting out stage. But there is a secret about him even he doesn’t know
that might mean his teen years are far more dangerous than those of most teens.
Do the stories all work? Well in some ways they do and some
better than others. Some offer something fresh to the horror genre and others
feel like they were derived from previous films. In the end it will be up to
the individual to decide just how well they like or dislike this film. For me
it was a decent experience but not likely a movie I’d watch a second time. I
would recommend it to horror fans for at least one viewing though.
Perhaps next time around rather than creating an individual
films for all female directors they would just include them in the more
successful series they’ve already started. The odds are this one won’t find
anyone calling out for a sequel.
Click here to order.
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