lost-in-limbo Somewhat of a forgotten 80s (even though it felt like it was something out of the 70s than say the 80s) anthology feature, this low-budget British horror flick might not be anything remotely memorable but the three stories along with the wraparound tale are just so oddball, sedate, raw and fairly unpleasant that it's an magnetic viewing with a wicked sense of humour. From each story it moves on to, it gets better. Ed and Bruce are two young adults who decide to steal three video tapes from a New York video store (oh seeing a video store like this one brought back memories). The two then head to Ed's ex-girlfriend's apartment to watch these horror movies. So put in the first tape. The first tale follows that of an elderly puppeteer you must choose between his new family and that of his life's work presenting Punch & Judy shows for kids. What starts off as basic family dramas (a delinquent step-son and selfishly clueless wife) with some brooding psychological tension and dreary atmospherics, transcends in to complete daftness and predictability as the deaths pile up (which are maliciously portrayed) and the revelation goes over-the-top. It can get laughable, especially the attack scenes involving a puppet and a wooden plank with frenetic camera-work, but those moments are also mean-spirited and it moves by fairly quickly. The performances are quite amateurish, but Robin Bailey is fitting enough in the lead role. Hit eject. Time for another movie. The second entry about a young newlywed couple moving in to an old house seems like its going to be your typical cut-and-dry haunted house arch and while that is so with the constant noises at night, baffling visions plaguing one character's mind and no one believing the poor lady caught in the middle of it all. Is it haunted, a second sight or is she losing her mind? However some of the jolts can be jarring with its unsparing imagery and the final twist is so effective in its ironic twist of fate that it changes what you might have originally thought. I know it did on me. Sometimes the steady pacing might lull about with its monotonous actions and it's pretty straight-laced compared to the other stories, but the performances are considerably solid (especially Yvonne Nicholson with her neurotic turn) and the score is unnervingly bombastic in its cues. Strangely this one felt like the odd one. Now we are down to our final tape. The third and most creative, if interesting story. Is a whimsically wicked little horror tale with a fairytale like quality. A young motocross rider is in need of some cash so he can continue to compete in his beloved sport, takes up an offer as gardener in the house of two elderly ladies who like to talk about stories involving gnomes and fairies. There he also notices that they are considerably well-off. So one night he returns with his brother and friend to rob the place, but it turns out those stories are maybe more than just stories. Rather playful, after a slow beginning. But when it kicks into gear there are some entertaining sequences involving a midget dressed up a gnome, a treasure chest of gold, zombies popping out of the ground and a beautiful, but deadly fairy (Kim Thomson). So finally it coming to the credits, time for the wraparound to close things up and it's humorously macabre in doing so too. This is much better than those pirating ads you see before the main feature begins. For while it lasted, "Screamtime" was an amusingly twisted anthology that finishes on a screamer."Do you believe in fairies?"

BaronBl00d Sometimes when you expect the worst....you get a nice, mild surprise. Something may turn out to not be as bad as you thought it would be. Such is the case with Screamtime. The video box depicts the film as being real cheap and bad, and the opening shots and credits do little to dismiss that impression. Two guys steal three videos and run to some girl's house. Almost instantaneously we are given a view of her naked breasts. Well, at this point you think you have a pretty good idea where the film is going. Then the punk kid/thief sticks a video in the VCR and we start to watch a story about an English puppeteer who lives a life with a wife and stepson who don't love or understand him. They want him to burn his puppets, give up what he has spent his life doing, and move to Canada. The story is nothing like the wrap-around story. It is well-directed, has some decent performances, and even some thoughtful story-telling. The script is not great, but the story is entertaining. Robin Bailey does a real nice job as Jack, the man behind an evil looking Punch and Judy. The story ends, having generated some pretty good jumps and at least some suspense. Back to the the story of the thieves. The footage of them seems like it was shot by some high school amateurs. Then another story. The second story out-classes the rest for it tells a story of a woman and man who just moved into a big house. She begins to see things. The pacing is a bit slow, but the climax is more than ample reward for that small discrepancy. I really was quite surprised by the ending of the story and very pleased with the whole story overall. It was extremely well-executed in terms of direction and performance. Back to the stupid clods again and then on to the third story about a young man and his buddies out to rob two old women who say they live amongst fairies and gnomes. The story is pretty good and the two old ladies are wonderfully played by Dora Bryan and Jean Anderson. The special effects in this story are somewhat lacking. The third story ends and then we see how the wrap-around story ends. It is a ridiculous ending to a whole ridiculous scheme. The film may have faired better if they had someone just host the three stories and introduce them like in Thriller. It certainly would not have hurt. At any rate don't pass this one up if you like some good old British anthology horror story-telling. The stories are very interesting. I can only think that somehow someone made these three stories in England and could not find a "real" distributor and ended up selling them to some fifth-rate film operation.

Blondie_ My brother and I rented this years ago. From the picture on the video box, we thought it was a ral bad, cheap thrills slasher film. Instead it turned out to be a suprisingly good anthology of British horror stories. Good british horror, very creepy and scary without being gory or violent, kind of 'quiet horror'. "Punch and Judy" is only okay, but the other two stories will give you some serious chills! THe only complaint I have about this film is the story-within-a-story concept about the friends renting this video and watching it, and seriously regretting it at the end of the videos. That was unnecessary and stupid. Good luck finding this film, though, I think it is pretty rare.

Afracious This is an anthology of three tales in the same vein of Creepshow, Torture Garden etc, set in England and starring some known English TV actors like Robin Bailey and Dora Bryan. It begins in New York City with two hoodlums visiting a video store and stealing some video tapes. When they get home they watch each one, which tells its own story. The first one, Punch and Judy, is about a puppeteer with seemingly lifelike puppets. The second stanza is the best one, a family move into an old house and start to see strange visions. The ending of this one is surprising and effective. The last one has a guy visiting two old ladies who want him to do some odd jobs. What he tries to do is burgle them, but the garden gnomes have other ideas. I have not seen this film for a long time but the middle story stayed with me for a while. It is a bit of a sleeper and hard to find, but check it out.