There's a subgenre of horror films that involves anthologies. Such movies are often composed of several related short films strung together by a theme or a wraparound story. You can look back through the decades and find a lot of examples. The most popular of these, some would argue, were influenced by the classic 1950s EC horror comics Tales from the Crypt and similar titles. They spawned anthology films like (surprise) 1972's Tales from the Crypt and the Creepshow franchise.

Trapped Ashes is another example. Recently released on DVD by Lionsgate, this 2006 anthology film advertises "5 tales of terror - from the biggest names in horror." They're right about the 5 tales and half-right about the biggest names in horror - more on these names in a moment. All the stories were written by Dennis Bartok and involve curious musings on horror and sex. Let's examine each individually . . .

Wraparound directed by Joe Dante (director of Piranha, Gremlins, The Howling, and the classic that needs to be seen by a wider audience, Matinee).

The wraparound story that serves as the framing device for the four other horror stories involves a tour of an old movie studio. Two couples congregate to the studio with VIP passes they've received from an unknown source. Also along for the ride are a morose young woman and an elderly has-been B-movie director (played by genre stalwart John Saxon of Nightmare on Elm Street and Enter the Dragon fame). Their tour guide is an elderly man (played by another genre stalwart - Henry Gibson) who doesn't seem quite right in the head.

The six tourists and their guide drive by an old house purportedly used in the filming of a classic horror film called Hysteria. Despite his reluctance, the tour guide is convinced to allow the tourists a brief walk through the house, which is full of fake-looking cobwebs. The tourists find themselves trapped in a room and are told they must do the same thing that the characters in Hysteria were told to do - tell the story of their most horrific moment in order to escape the house.

It's a silly framing device and seems modeled in part upon the 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill. It works for the purposes of this film, however, and seemed solidly put together.

The Girl with the Golden Breasts directed by Ken Russell (probably best remembered for Altered States in horror film circles).

Phoebe, one of the six tourists, tells this story about herself and her boyfriend. As an unhappy aspiring actress, she decides to have breast augmentation to better her chances at a film career. A shady doctor at a bizarre clinic convinces her to have implants from cadavers. Now, anytime you have anything implanted from someone else in a horror movie, it's bad news. Colin Clive discovered this in Mad Love, so did Jessica Alba in the recent The Eye. Things don't go well for Phoebe, either. This story is immensely over-the-top and silly - filmed in a ghoulish comic book fantasy version of the world that, out of all the stories in this anthology, seems most fit for Tales from the Crypt.

Jibaku directed by Sean S. Cunningham (director of the original Friday the 13th).

Couple Henry and Julia (Scott Lowell and Lara Harris, who turns in one of the film's best performances) tell this tale of their trip to Japan. After discovering a man hanging in a graveyard, Julia becomes enraptured with the dead man's spirit, eventually joining him in hell. Henry goes after her in a rescue attempt. In some ways, this was the most interesting of the stories - with some neat artwork playing a key role in the development of the plot.

Stanley's Girlfriend directed by Monte Hellman (I'm not sure I'd describe him as a "big name in horror" - although apparently he was involved in the Jack Nicholson / Boris Karloff vehicle The Terror).

Leo (John Saxon) tells this story of how he fell in love with his friend Stanley's girlfriend. The girlfriend has a dark secret, though, that's pretty obvious about a minute after she's introduced. This story is character-driven and moody - very much in contrast to the earlier stories. Tahmoh Penikett plays the young Leo. Sci-fi fans know Penikett as Helo in the excellent Battlestar Galactica series currently on air. He's quite good here and carries a nice brooding quality without melodramatic excess.

Finally, there's My Twin, the Worm directed by John Gaeta. I'm sure Gaeta is a talented guy, but he's never directed before and is known mostly for visual effects work on movies like The Matrix and Speed Racer. How this makes him one of "the biggest names in horror" escapes me.

In any case, Nathalie, the last of the six tourists, tells this story about her mother, her father, and her father's lover. Apparently, her mother had a tapeworm the same time she carried her daughter. This tapeworm plays a role in the tragic end of her parents and stepmother.

Overall, Trapped Ashes is a wildly uneven ride. All five of the tales were interesting to watch - and carried the idea of perverse sexuality and horror throughout. But they departed radically in tone and approach. For example, The Girl with the Golden Breasts was garish and over the top, full of bright colors and sex. Stanley's Girlfriend, on the other hand, was quiet, introspective, and character-driven. I can see viewers with different tastes responding to tales in vastly different ways. I'd imagine few, however, would enjoy all five tales as presented in a row like this.

Still, the anthology is always interesting, if nothing else, and full of talented people on both sides of the camera. Recommended.

The DVD

Video:

Lionsgate gives Trapped Ashes an anamorphic widescreen 1.78:1 presentation. The image is quite good and detailed throughout - although keep in mind that the various stories are filmed differently. Some stories are positively dripping with bright colors (especially Russell and Cunningham's work) while others look muted - like Hellman's Stanley's Girlfriend.

Sound:

Trapped Ashes has two audio tracks: Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0. The 5.1 track appears to be the default and the one I listened to. It was well-rendered, with dialogue, music, and sound effects clear and consistent.

Subtitles are also available in English and Spanish.

Extras:

Trailers precede the main menu for Clive Barker's Midnight Meat Train, Bone Eater, Side Sho, The Bank Job, The Eye, and Rambo. They're also available - collectively - through an Also from Lionsgate link in the Special Features submenu.

This Special Features submenu also provides access to a surprising amount of bonus material. It includes a feature length commentary track with writer Dennis Bartok and actors John Saxon, Scott Lowell, Rachel Veltri, and Lara Harris. It seemed lively, although it would have been nice to have had one or more of the directors involved.

Two of the stories have extended cuts. The Girl with Golden Breasts has an unfinished original rough cut that runs 26:02. There's also a director's cut of Stanley's Girlfriend that runs 28:19. This has beginning and end credits as if it were a short film in itself. Both cuts are widescreen but not anamorphic, unfortunately. Also, they appear with endings that may reveal the "twist" at the end of Trapped Ashes, so these should be viewed afterward to avoid spoilers.

Trapped Ashes: A Look Inside reviews the genesis and making of this movie and its various individual stories. The feature is split into five parts, and I'd estimate that in total they run 32 minutes. It would have been nice to have had a Play all option, but oh well.

Finally, the DVD's inside insert has a brief but informative essay on the film written by Sean Decker of Fangoria magazine.

Final Thoughts:

Trapped Ashes is an interesting, sexually-charged horror anthology that mimics earlier titles like Tales from the Crypt and Creepshow. The stories themselves are wildly uneven in tone and approach. The movie is definitely not for everyone. But, horror fans should find something to like here, as a number of genre veterans played a role in the making of this movie. Plus, Lionsgate added a nice amount of extras on this disc. Recommended.

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