The Theatre Bizarre

Screened at the 2011 Fantasia Film Festival

I approach anthologies with caution, but The Theatre Bizarre is genuinely delightful, bringing together six well-known figures in independent horror (Richard Stanley, Buddy Giovinazzo, Tom Savini, Douglas Buck, Karim Hussein, and David Gregory) to make anything they wanted, within a certain length (15 minutes or so) and a certain budget (uncertain, but pretty low). The lack of a subject matter restriction and the caliber of talent involve mean that this is more than just a series of clever concepts — all six films are compelling original visions, and all are at least entertaining, though the quality does vary. One of them is incoherent (Savini’s), one doesn’t really go anywhere (Giovinazzo’s), one is good old-fashioned monster movie fun (Stanley’s, pictured above), one is hilarious (Gregory’s), one is disturbing (Hussein’s), and one — Douglas Buck’s “The Accident” — is sad, evocative, completely unexpected, and kind of brilliant. The shorts are tied together by a creepy and inexplicable wraparound sequence starring Udo Kier. Horror buffs should seek this out.

-- Eugene Novikov

Released:	2011
Genres:	Horror
Starring:	Udo Kier
Directed by:	Jeremy Kasten, David Gregory, Karim Hussein, Richard Stanley, Buddy Giovinazzo, Tom Savini, Douglas Buck
Screenwriters:	Scarlett Amaris, Richard Stanley, Buddy Giovinazzo, John Esposito, Douglas Buck, Karim Hussain, David Gregory, Emiliano Ranzani
Rated:	UR