By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Horror anthologies have recently made a slight comeback with the very disappointing mediocre entry, V/H/S (2012). Hopefully the sequel will be better though that rarely is the case.
There was a time when horror compilations were fantastic. The UK which brought us some of the greatest productions of all time, delivered classics like The Asylum (1972), Tales from the Crypt (1972), The Vault of Horror (1973) and The Monster Club (1981).
The states had their fair share of spectacular entries as well. Creepshow (1982), Creepshow II (1987), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), and Tales from the Darkside (1990) are just a few of the most unforgettable.
Terrorgram had hid under the radar and was virtually unknown to me. When the movie began, I had little hopes for it. It seemed to have low production value and the acting in the initial tale left a lot to be desired.
Little did I know, I was in for quite a shock. Terrorgram is not only a fun movie, but the entries are intelligent, original and memorable. Each story is introduced by the very talented James Earl Jones and every tale is connected by a delivery man (Steven Field) who brings a package to each of the main characters.
Heroine Overdose
Heroine Overdose follows sexist filmmaker, Alan (Jerry Anderson) who demeans his actresses and writes only the most disparaging and belittling roles for women. He believes they are mere eye candy and that they only exist to please him and the male gender alike.
He takes a hit of heroine and ends up in a world where women are in control and treat him in the manner he had been treating the women in his life. At first, he believes it is only a coincidence. When he comes across two mechanics who make sexual innuendos and peep on him while he goes to the bathroom, he becomes greatly disturbed. He is later picked up by two overweight outlaws that grope him. While he fights them off, one of the ladies rips off his fake chest hair. She freaks out when it comes off and throws it out of the vehicle. When he complains that it’s worth $1500, they pull over to try to find it. At that time, a gang of leather clad women and effeminate men step up to start a rumble.
Immediately, Alan recognizes the situation as one he wrote. He confronts the leader of the gang telling her that the men should be the ones standing and ready to fight while the women should be sitting on the motorcycles showing off their breasts.
It is here that he believes the whole thing to be a dream. He tries in vain to wake himself up but doesn’t concern himself with the outcome until a maniac dressed in a black leather mask tells him that if he dies in his dream, he dies for real.
The ending to the tale is quite amusing and though easy to anticipate, fun nonetheless.
This story actually reminds me of a book I read for a Psychology of Women class I took a decade ago. The book was called Egalia’s Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes. Though the majority of the students adored the book (or at least stated as much to the professor), I felt it was a pompous work of drivel that built itself around a single point. It wouldn’t have been so awful had it not continued to drive home the same idea without adding any additional insight.
Basically, it was the same concept as Heroine Overdose. In the land of Egalia, wim (or women) hold the power while menwim (men) stay at home. Like any power struggle there is an uprising and the question of villainy is posed. It would have been interesting as a short story but as a novel, it was just too long and without any real development. It didn’t leave the readers with anything.
Heroine Overdose though of course more crass and in your face than Egalia’s Daughters made the same point regarding the power struggle between the sexes and did so without the pretentious tone. It was a fun inventive way to show gender roles in the exact opposite way as to what society is accustomed to.
Pandora
The second tale, Pandora, shows the outcome of television newswoman Angela (Linda Carol Toner) hitting and killing a young boy who was crossing the street with a jack-in-the-box. Not wanting to get fired or have her reputation questioned, she remains silent.
Soon, she begins to see the dead boy. Haunted by his image, she continuously tells herself that the tragedy was unavoidable and not her fault.
The make-up in this tale is remarkable. The skeletal imagery is actually quite frightening. CGI will never be able to replace prosthetics worn by actors. The realistic jobs that artists are able to accomplish will always pack more of a punch than the bloody monsters that computer generation produces today. Puppets and animatronics are so much more effective. I still have nightmares about the woman being eaten alive by what is believed to be an oil slick in the tale The Raft within the anthology Creepshow II. The powers-that-be may be able to do more with CGI but it takes the viewer out of the movie and never accomplishes invoking fear.
Veteran’s Day
The last tale is also the best. It follows Eric Keller (J.T. Wallace), a bastard who is going through a divorce. It seems that his marriage was ruined because of his anger issues. He took his rage out on his wife and children. Without apology or remorse he beat them.
Keller’s evil deeds didn’t begin in adulthood. Back in the 60s, he smugly bragged to his rival Lawrence (Michael Hantson) who he turned in for skipping a semester of school. Despite, knowing that Lawrence would lose his scholastic pass and be drafted into the military, Eric snitched without thinking twice.
Even when Lawrence was sent to Vietnam and never seen again, Keller felt zero responsibility. He didn’t give it a second thought until Lawrence’s ghost appears to him
Quickly, Keller is moved to apologies but unmoved Lawrence takes Eric to the Vietnam War where he is forced to endure the same sort of torture that Lawrence himself had dealt with prior to dying.
This tale in particular reminded me of the original series The Twilight Zone. In fact, I saw aspects of three of my favorite episodes within the tale. It was One Part Deaths-Head Revisited, one part Quality of Mercy and one part Four O’clock.
Overall
I have to say that overall I was incredibly impressed with the anthology. To provide perspective to horror fans, I would say that it was superior to Body Bags (1993), After Midnight (1989) and Chillers (1987) and on par with anthologies like Creepshow II (1987) and From a Whisper to a Scream (1987).
Though not as memorable as the perfect UK entries from the 70s, it is most certainly worth watching!
Scared Stiff Rating: 7.5/10
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Melissa, This is Stephen Kienzle. I am in a hotel room in Berlin visiting my son who goes to school and teaches here. I appreciate you taking the time to not only view our film but to critique it so honestly. We did this film over 30 years ago with a budget that wouldn’t cover coffee on a large set. The people involved have moved on to larger movies and three including John Blake who did our special effects makeup have gone on to earn Oscars. I like the comparison to my favorite show “Twilight Zone”. In fact my youngest son is a freshman in film school and he and some of his classmates want to turn “Terrorgram” into an anthology series…tune in this week and see what a-hole gets his or her just reward. With so much chaos and evil engulfing the world today and the ever-vanishing hope of perpetrators receiving retribution maybe now more than ever the concept of “Terrorgram” should finally be delivered. Just sign next to the X!