Director – John Williams (The Mothertown, The Slayers)
Starring – Michael Socha (Killers Anonymous, Chernobyl), Andrew Readman (Creeped Out, Cold Feet), and Ricky Tomlinson (The Witchfinder, In the Flesh)
Release Date – 2022
Rating – 4/5
Many moons ago, almost a decade or so now, I was contacted by filmmaker John Williams to review his zombie film The Mothertown. Sometime after that I was contact to review the next film he had worked on titled The Slayers. It was around this time that it seems like I had lost contact with him.
That was until recently when he reached out for me to review his 2022 horror anthology Tales of the Creeping Death. He had originally messaged me to have his movie included in my annual October horror binge but I decided to give it a spin early. I want to thank John for sending this one over for review.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows an elderly man who put an ad out to have someone sit with him until 3 am. A “professional” responds to the ad thinking he is about to make some easy money. To pass the time, the old man reads him a few demented stories before finally revealing the true nature of why he needed someone with him that night. **Spoiler Alert**
Tales of the Creeping Death is a fantastic modern horror anthology that checks almost every box on my list which makes me wonder where the fuck John Williams has been hiding. I remember really enjoying both those films when I originally reviewed them and this anthology was way more entertaining that I expected. Does he have more movies that I don’t know about? Is he working on something else that satisfy my taste for great story telling and practical effects? As of right now I don’t know the answer to these questions but you better believe I’m having a word with him as soon as I post this review.
The acting in this one is very well done but some of the segments showcase better performances than others. However, that doesn’t mean some of the performances were bad because they were not. I’m just saying that some of the performances overshadows some of the others. The casting is fantastic, each segment features well written characters and the cast goes all in for their role.
The stories for this one is great. The wrap around segment works well enough to tie all the other segments together but it is the weakest in the film followed by the segment that follows the young man “making” friends. The remaining two segments are easily my favorite but even the weakest segment is better than most of the indie horror films I review.
Finally, the film really impressed me with the practical effects. We get some classic camera tricks, practical and make-up effects, and so on to give us some impressive moments. The soul draining scene in particular really impressed me. This film has to be seen just for the effects alone. Overall, Tales of the Creeping Death is one I did not expect to love as much as I did. It has a great cast, solid stories with a decent enough wrap around segment, and the effects are unparalleled among other indie genre efforts. I cannot recommend this film enough.
