Tales from the Darkside: The Movie

"Four Ghoulish Fables In One Modern Nightmare!"

1990 1h 33m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 444

ThrillerComedyFantasyHorror

Synopsis

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A young boy tells three stories of horror to distract a witch who plans to eat him.

“Four Ghoulish Fables In One Modern Nightmare!”

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Cast

Debbie Harry
Betty (Wraparound Story)
Matthew Lawrence
Timmy (Wraparound Story)
David Forrester
Priest (Wraparound Story)
Christian Slater
Andy (segment ‘Lot 249’)
Robert Sedgwick
Lee (segment ‘Lot 249’)
Steve Buscemi
Bellingham (segment ‘Lot 249’)
Donald Van Horn
Moving Man (segment ‘Lot 249’)
Michael Deak
Mummy (segment ‘Lot 249’)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Harrison
Writers: Michael McDowell, George A. Romero, Michael McDowell
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Harrison, shot by Robert Draper. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Harrison. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Harry B. Miller III shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Debbie Harry and Matthew Lawrence and David Forrester carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Four Ghoulish Fables In One Modern Nightmare!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Harrison directs. Robert Draper behind the camera. John Harrison scores. Harry B. Miller III cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 4.7× over at the box office.
336 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Directed by John Harrison, shot by Robert Draper. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Harrison. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Harry B. Miller III shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Debbie Harry and Matthew Lawrence and David Forrester carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Four Ghoulish Fables In One Modern Nightmare!".
9IMDB entry: tt0100740 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 13 themes, including "witch", "monster", "heart attack", "mummy".
11Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Draper
Original score: John Harrison
Editing: Harry B. Miller III
Production design: Ruth Ammon
Makeup / hair: Howard Berger
Stunt coordinator: Edgard Mourino
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,500,000
Box office: $16,324,573
Return: 466% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

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John Harrison

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522020-08-12
★ 6/10
Okay anthology horror movie, the first one, "Lot 249", was the best due to the cast (Slater, Buscemi, Moore) and also enjoyed "Lover's Vow" even if the animatronic effects weren't the best. However, "Cat from Hell" really dragged the film as a whole down, almost dozed off a couple of times during that segment, although the ending of that one was gross. The wrap-around story was fine with a fun conclusion I guess. 3.5/5
Dr Nostromo2025-11-18
★ 5/10
53/100 "Tales from the Darkside" was a fairly entertaining, tongue-in-cheek, horror anthology TV series. For a movie, however, you'd think they would have turned it up a few notches ...especially with the talent backing up the writing. But, basically what we have here is 3 stories that are no different than watching 3 episodes of the TV show. It's not bad - in fact, I enjoyed it for what it was - it just wasn't anything special. - DrNostromo.com