Escapes (1986)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Vincent Price hosts six horror tales. 'A Little Fishy' has a man going fishing and when he tries to catch a bigger fish he becomes the target. 'Coffee Break' takes place in a small town where a man is trying to get directions to the interstate but the old man makes him promise to stop by the local diner for some coffee. 'Who's There' has a man going for a job only to realize that something is watching him. 'Jonah's Dream' deals with a poor woman who refuses to give up on her dead husband's gold mine even though it isn't paying off. 'Think Twice' has a thief stealing the wrong item. The sixth and final story is basically a wrap-around segment dealing with a man who is watching ESCAPES and gets to join in on the terror.
David Streensland wrote, produced and directed this anthology film, which was clearly trying to capture the mood and spirit of recent films like CREEPSHOW and TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE. In fact, it's easy to see that The Twilight Zone was an influence on this because all six stories are different from one another in tone and for what they are trying to do. Obviously the director wanted to try and deliver something memorable but sadly the majority of the films range from really boring to just bland.
If I had to pick a favorite then I'd probably go for 'A Little Fishy' but I will freely admit that the twist itself is quite stupid. 'Coffee Break' comes the closest to reaching a Twilight Zone like vibe but sadly it drags on too long and the ending just doesn't give much of a punch. 'Think Twice' was hands down the weakest in the film but 'Who's There' and 'Jonah's Dream' just didn't do much for me. All six episodes feature fair to poor acting and there's no question that everything was done on a very small budget.
These direct-to-video films are interesting to watch but I'm going to guess that the behind-the-scenes stories would be a lot more interesting than what's actually on the screen. I'm not sure how Price got involved with this but he only appears in a couple minutes worth of footage but I will admit it was somewhat fun seeing him dressed as a mailman and delivering some packages. ESCAPES is a mildly interesting movie that thankfully only runs 70-minutes.
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Vincent Price hosts six horror tales. 'A Little Fishy' has a man going fishing and when he tries to catch a bigger fish he becomes the target. 'Coffee Break' takes place in a small town where a man is trying to get directions to the interstate but the old man makes him promise to stop by the local diner for some coffee. 'Who's There' has a man going for a job only to realize that something is watching him. 'Jonah's Dream' deals with a poor woman who refuses to give up on her dead husband's gold mine even though it isn't paying off. 'Think Twice' has a thief stealing the wrong item. The sixth and final story is basically a wrap-around segment dealing with a man who is watching ESCAPES and gets to join in on the terror.
David Streensland wrote, produced and directed this anthology film, which was clearly trying to capture the mood and spirit of recent films like CREEPSHOW and TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE. In fact, it's easy to see that The Twilight Zone was an influence on this because all six stories are different from one another in tone and for what they are trying to do. Obviously the director wanted to try and deliver something memorable but sadly the majority of the films range from really boring to just bland.
If I had to pick a favorite then I'd probably go for 'A Little Fishy' but I will freely admit that the twist itself is quite stupid. 'Coffee Break' comes the closest to reaching a Twilight Zone like vibe but sadly it drags on too long and the ending just doesn't give much of a punch. 'Think Twice' was hands down the weakest in the film but 'Who's There' and 'Jonah's Dream' just didn't do much for me. All six episodes feature fair to poor acting and there's no question that everything was done on a very small budget.
These direct-to-video films are interesting to watch but I'm going to guess that the behind-the-scenes stories would be a lot more interesting than what's actually on the screen. I'm not sure how Price got involved with this but he only appears in a couple minutes worth of footage but I will admit it was somewhat fun seeing him dressed as a mailman and delivering some packages. ESCAPES is a mildly interesting movie that thankfully only runs 70-minutes.