Looks like it was made by high school students for an end of term project.
26 Reviews
Don't bother.
rogol-502633 October 2021
rogol-50263 says it all...
ops-525353 October 2021
Eh...not the best...certainly not the worst
Celestial_Poison3 January 2022
I actually rather enjoyed this movie. However calling it a "Horror" Anthology is being generous. As far as i am aware the film is unrated but it would liekly recieve an M rating at most because a few of the scenes are a bit bloody.
It does have a low-budget feel and some of the segments are considerably better than others, both in their script and in the actors and their portrayls.
Not the film to watch if you are wanting a true horror experience but not a bad film for killing a bit of time.
It does have a low-budget feel and some of the segments are considerably better than others, both in their script and in the actors and their portrayls.
Not the film to watch if you are wanting a true horror experience but not a bad film for killing a bit of time.
Acting for dummies
nogodnomasters16 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A book dealer (Ari Lehman) sells a rare black book, meant to look old but has modern stories. It is tucked away on the shelf between bunch of Easton Press books. The buyer (Mark A. Nash) is instructed NOT to read the book. He reads the six short stories. The first is a quick werewolf segment that takes place in the late 1950's. The second is three girls who witness a murder and are discovered. The third is a ghost segment. The fourth is about snuff films on the dark web. The fifth one is an alien invasion and the last one concerns the mirror as a portal.
The stories, for the most part, had a twist. This was a low budget Indie production and the sound and photography was not first rate production but better than micro budgets. I liked the second episode the best.
Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.
The stories, for the most part, had a twist. This was a low budget Indie production and the sound and photography was not first rate production but better than micro budgets. I liked the second episode the best.
Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.
Enjoyable enough but generally flawed indie anthology
kannibalcorpsegrinder12 October 2021
Wandering into a book store, a man convinced it's just sprung up overnight goes inside and takes home a book the shopkeeper convinces him is cursed, eventually reading several of the stories within.
The Good Stor(ies): Sorcerer's Finger-Attempting to sneak into an abandoned building, a group of schoolgirls finds the situation complicated by a gangland interrogation gone wrong and must try to get out alive. Overall, this was a far more enjoyable and fun effort. The setup here is quite a cliche with the girls sneaking into them sneaking in and finding the gangland-interrogation going off is a great twist with them torturing the maniacally-laughing victim in increasingly brutal means. The further twist about the identity of the victim and how it all plays out is all pretty decent if not entirely scary or thrilling, but on the whole, this is quite good.
Give Up the Ghost-Looking into a website for research, a student stumbles upon a suspected snuff film site and sets out to prove its existence to the professor at his university. This was a disappointing effort that could've been much better than what it is even with a lot to like. The creepy setup with the site, how it works the type of films being shown there is intriguing enough when given a placement alongside the background information about the nature of the format, gives this a lot to like. Overall, though, it just feels rushed and has no real setup to anything, just running through the motions and not doing much of anything with the brief running time as this one really could've benefitted from a longer running time the most to flesh everything out.
Ocularis-In the middle of a strange viral pandemic, a family tries to come to terms with how to keep themselves safe from the ravenous infected now living in the world around them. This was a rather fun and engaging segment. The intensity of the attacks around them, combined with the chilling rationalization found for what's happening, creates a fun scenario here that is quite chilling with the series of twists employed in the second half. Again, this one really could've benefitted from being stretched out to a longer length given the information gleaned here not being given enough of a stake in the outcome over the creatures.
Man in the Mirror-Trying to follow through on a class project, a woman inadvertently calls upon a local folklore figure and lets it loose on her friends forcing them to solve its riddle to finally stop it. There's a lot to like here, with a fun concept involving the unique urban legend that's perfectly replicated in such a fun way here with the figure appearing and offering the few kills by only appearing in mirrors even though the action is still being carried out. It still needs a bit more time to explain everything involving the way it works featuring the killer specifically and how the separate world works, but otherwise, there's little to dislike.
The Bad Stor(ies): Date Night-Taking a trip into the woods, a couple enjoying themselves on a date find the evening interrupted by the truth behind a series of stories regarding vicious animals in the area. This could've been a much more enjoyable effort than it is had it been longer since this just feels like the setup to something much bigger but is undone by the length. It makes the twist look weak and predictable and just ends so abruptly that it's a shame nothing much else was done with the setup as this feels more like a prologue to a feature film rather than a coherent story on its own.
The Woods-Living in a shack on the Louisiana bayou, a woman and her daughter try to come to terms with the bizarre nature of the dark and mysterious woods surrounding them. This was a rather confusing and rather underwhelming effort. It takes way too long before it starts getting creepy or spooky which is a big mistake in something this short, and there's no idea it's supposed to be creepy at all since it just drops you into this situation without much warning. The atmosphere is nice with the woods and the sense of desperation to keep her safe from what lurks out there, but it's all too short to mean anything.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence..
The Good Stor(ies): Sorcerer's Finger-Attempting to sneak into an abandoned building, a group of schoolgirls finds the situation complicated by a gangland interrogation gone wrong and must try to get out alive. Overall, this was a far more enjoyable and fun effort. The setup here is quite a cliche with the girls sneaking into them sneaking in and finding the gangland-interrogation going off is a great twist with them torturing the maniacally-laughing victim in increasingly brutal means. The further twist about the identity of the victim and how it all plays out is all pretty decent if not entirely scary or thrilling, but on the whole, this is quite good.
Give Up the Ghost-Looking into a website for research, a student stumbles upon a suspected snuff film site and sets out to prove its existence to the professor at his university. This was a disappointing effort that could've been much better than what it is even with a lot to like. The creepy setup with the site, how it works the type of films being shown there is intriguing enough when given a placement alongside the background information about the nature of the format, gives this a lot to like. Overall, though, it just feels rushed and has no real setup to anything, just running through the motions and not doing much of anything with the brief running time as this one really could've benefitted from a longer running time the most to flesh everything out.
Ocularis-In the middle of a strange viral pandemic, a family tries to come to terms with how to keep themselves safe from the ravenous infected now living in the world around them. This was a rather fun and engaging segment. The intensity of the attacks around them, combined with the chilling rationalization found for what's happening, creates a fun scenario here that is quite chilling with the series of twists employed in the second half. Again, this one really could've benefitted from being stretched out to a longer length given the information gleaned here not being given enough of a stake in the outcome over the creatures.
Man in the Mirror-Trying to follow through on a class project, a woman inadvertently calls upon a local folklore figure and lets it loose on her friends forcing them to solve its riddle to finally stop it. There's a lot to like here, with a fun concept involving the unique urban legend that's perfectly replicated in such a fun way here with the figure appearing and offering the few kills by only appearing in mirrors even though the action is still being carried out. It still needs a bit more time to explain everything involving the way it works featuring the killer specifically and how the separate world works, but otherwise, there's little to dislike.
The Bad Stor(ies): Date Night-Taking a trip into the woods, a couple enjoying themselves on a date find the evening interrupted by the truth behind a series of stories regarding vicious animals in the area. This could've been a much more enjoyable effort than it is had it been longer since this just feels like the setup to something much bigger but is undone by the length. It makes the twist look weak and predictable and just ends so abruptly that it's a shame nothing much else was done with the setup as this feels more like a prologue to a feature film rather than a coherent story on its own.
The Woods-Living in a shack on the Louisiana bayou, a woman and her daughter try to come to terms with the bizarre nature of the dark and mysterious woods surrounding them. This was a rather confusing and rather underwhelming effort. It takes way too long before it starts getting creepy or spooky which is a big mistake in something this short, and there's no idea it's supposed to be creepy at all since it just drops you into this situation without much warning. The atmosphere is nice with the woods and the sense of desperation to keep her safe from what lurks out there, but it's all too short to mean anything.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence..
Camera out of focus
elliemayes-9160716 January 2022
The acting is not very good at all. Directing seems decent. The shop owner was slightly out of focus which set the tone on how it was gonna be. Then the editing on the b/w story-- bottom of title was cut off. It's like they hired someone off Fiverr.
Terrible
amymay-6991623 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The acting is bad and the stories make no sense. Little girls will silently watch a mass murder,but scream when someone looks at them? Children disappear into the woods why?!?!? A man about to be murdered,and literally sitting there,unrestrained,waiting to be walloped with a sledgehammer!?! A girl was beaten to death but is alive and unbloodied in a parallel dimension?!? And HOW/WHY did the reader guy die?;! Just so stupid. Nothing made any sense.
Much better than Reviews would dictate.
genowhirl16 December 2022
This is a great shot at anthology horror.
Akin to the Twilight Zone or something like that, the wraparound story involves a man who reads several stories from a mysterious and rare book. At the bottom of this review are brief Plot Summaries you can look at if you want to. Otherwise, here's my take:
The directing isn't terrible for a B-Movie anthology. You can tell that these vignettes at least consider a direction to be headed in, but where some of them fall flat - and some fall flat more than others - is their execution of ideas. Some of them have a lot of interesting ideas that play out too asynchronously. This causes them to suffer from poor pacing, or an overall lack of depth to the stories and characters themselves. All of these things can break the immersion and weaken the punchline. That said, the ones that do well simply do it well.
I'll admit that the acting can come off as a bit stilted at times - that is to say the it lacks a certain fluidity - but it is by no means terrible, and could possibly even be considered good on many occasions. It rests somewhere between B_Movie horror and A-Movie horror.
The lighting and cinematography can seem amateurish from time to time, but both are many steps above some of the least impressive B-Movies I've seen. It has surprisingly good special effects though! Some shorts feature better effects than others, but for a low budget I was pleasantly surprised.
The sound design is either mediocre or ingeniously subtle - there is practically no soundtrack, and sound effects are used for dramatic flare more than anything - while the mixing is done really well. There are no competing sounds, and no crunchy, loud, or piercing vocalizations. So, the sound quality is higher than most B-Movies. I appreciate that all the sounds are fitting, helping to build atmosphere rather than just randomly placed to create cheap jump scares.
* Plot Summaries (Scores based on cohesion and production value more than anything):
The first story, while short, centers on a young couple that have driven up to an isolated make out point. *Short and Sweet* 6/10
In the second story, three young girls stumble upon the horrific scene of a man being mercilessly beaten and interrogated by a group of no-good-doers. 5/10
A third tale involves a couple who wake up to discover that their daughter has gone missing from her bed. In her place was left a small stone. 3/10
We have a fourth vignette, a story of a man who stumbles upon an unsettling video feed while browsing the internet. 8/10
Next in line, our fifth story is an eerie tale about a girl who wakes up in her car amidst an airborne viral outbreak of some kind. 7/10.
Finally, the wraparound reaches its conclusion. The Black Book holder is actually a college professor. At the end of his lesson, he warns his students against speaking a particular phrase into their mirrors. As expected, someone does it anyway. 6/10
Dude! That the credits theme is sick AF!
Akin to the Twilight Zone or something like that, the wraparound story involves a man who reads several stories from a mysterious and rare book. At the bottom of this review are brief Plot Summaries you can look at if you want to. Otherwise, here's my take:
The directing isn't terrible for a B-Movie anthology. You can tell that these vignettes at least consider a direction to be headed in, but where some of them fall flat - and some fall flat more than others - is their execution of ideas. Some of them have a lot of interesting ideas that play out too asynchronously. This causes them to suffer from poor pacing, or an overall lack of depth to the stories and characters themselves. All of these things can break the immersion and weaken the punchline. That said, the ones that do well simply do it well.
I'll admit that the acting can come off as a bit stilted at times - that is to say the it lacks a certain fluidity - but it is by no means terrible, and could possibly even be considered good on many occasions. It rests somewhere between B_Movie horror and A-Movie horror.
The lighting and cinematography can seem amateurish from time to time, but both are many steps above some of the least impressive B-Movies I've seen. It has surprisingly good special effects though! Some shorts feature better effects than others, but for a low budget I was pleasantly surprised.
The sound design is either mediocre or ingeniously subtle - there is practically no soundtrack, and sound effects are used for dramatic flare more than anything - while the mixing is done really well. There are no competing sounds, and no crunchy, loud, or piercing vocalizations. So, the sound quality is higher than most B-Movies. I appreciate that all the sounds are fitting, helping to build atmosphere rather than just randomly placed to create cheap jump scares.
* Plot Summaries (Scores based on cohesion and production value more than anything):
The first story, while short, centers on a young couple that have driven up to an isolated make out point. *Short and Sweet* 6/10
In the second story, three young girls stumble upon the horrific scene of a man being mercilessly beaten and interrogated by a group of no-good-doers. 5/10
A third tale involves a couple who wake up to discover that their daughter has gone missing from her bed. In her place was left a small stone. 3/10
We have a fourth vignette, a story of a man who stumbles upon an unsettling video feed while browsing the internet. 8/10
Next in line, our fifth story is an eerie tale about a girl who wakes up in her car amidst an airborne viral outbreak of some kind. 7/10.
Finally, the wraparound reaches its conclusion. The Black Book holder is actually a college professor. At the end of his lesson, he warns his students against speaking a particular phrase into their mirrors. As expected, someone does it anyway. 6/10
Dude! That the credits theme is sick AF!
Truly Awful
fatfil-414-45179728 July 2022
Where to start? Right from the first minute it was clear this was going to be awful. The acting was so dire it was embarrassing to watch. In fact right at the beginning, when A guy is in the bookshop asking for a copy of "Acting For Dummies" I thought it was going to evolve into a joke, as the acting was so wooden you could have sawed it in half. But no, this was real. Bad acting, bad dialogue, lame stories, a must watch for how not to make a movie.
A lot of fun
directortim201215 March 2022
This is a really fun anthology of horror stories. Some of the reviews are taking the film too seriously. To me, this is like the kind of horror I might have watched in the 80s. Fun, broad, spooky. Yes, it's low budget. But that's part of the kitschy fun. Enjoy the horror!
Lots of Fun B-Movie Cheese to be Had With This One!
baccaruda124 March 2022
If anyone out there remembers those crazy grind house films that drive-ins always seemed to show back in the 60s and 70s, this movie is for you. Told episodically, each of the six short movies look to be made by different directors, and each has a distinctly different low budget feel to them, which to me, added to the charm of movie's rather retro look. This movie wasn't trying to capture what today's movies look and sound like, not at all. There were times that the action and story made me laugh, as the cheese was dolloped on thick. Again, this isn't a bad thing...it's actually a fun throwback to when I used to watch "Tales from the Darkside" as a kid, with over-the-top stories and broad acting styles that were so prevalent on that show. The Black Book is fun entertainment, especially for viewers who understand what this movie is all about.
Anthology style movie - gave up after the second story.
darcy_duggan28 November 2021
From the opening scene the acting, scripts and story lines are terrible. Endured it through to the end of the second story, which some reviewers considered the best, and that convinced me there are better ways to spend my time. Give it a miss.
Tries To Do Too Much.
icocleric5 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I think this film suffers too much from trying to cover too many stories. I get that the book is meant to be collection of stories, but it doesn't work that well. Nothing is super original either. But even with the stories being short, they managed to have big plot holes.
It does get bonus points for having a story so dumb, that saying a phrase in a mirror will make your college professor appear, to murder you with no apparent motive. Then the cops try the same, one even shoot at the guy in the mirror, after seeing their dead colleague. The best part is, that it kind of actually works for her.
It does get bonus points for having a story so dumb, that saying a phrase in a mirror will make your college professor appear, to murder you with no apparent motive. Then the cops try the same, one even shoot at the guy in the mirror, after seeing their dead colleague. The best part is, that it kind of actually works for her.
Absolutely dreadful
blueangelical24 May 2023
One of, if not thee worst film I've ever seen. The acting omg the acting is absolutely aweful, where did they find the people they cast ?!? There's no atmosphere through the film, saying that I gave up 29minutes in because it was so bad, it feels empty and poorly done.
The idea was there for sure but the execution of it was dreadful. Who's to blame? The writer, director, producer o don't know but who ever watched this back before they release it as a film must have just left school and not actually watched any kind of suspense horror movies.
I've watched some aweful B horror movies but at least they tried, this though and it's says 2021 on it?!? There's no excuse for not trying. If they ran out of budget I'd have happily given them a tenner to double their budget.
Avoid at all costs it's terrible.
The idea was there for sure but the execution of it was dreadful. Who's to blame? The writer, director, producer o don't know but who ever watched this back before they release it as a film must have just left school and not actually watched any kind of suspense horror movies.
I've watched some aweful B horror movies but at least they tried, this though and it's says 2021 on it?!? There's no excuse for not trying. If they ran out of budget I'd have happily given them a tenner to double their budget.
Avoid at all costs it's terrible.
Not very good
wilberandkaren10 January 2022
This title showcases a number of stories as part of the black book (which isn't black by the way). The stories themselves as well as the main one, are not very original. It begins with a pun about acting, which is necessary if you want to view this title, and the rest is all really down hill from there. I would recommend to a fan of low-budget films, family members of the cast, and something to play in a party you wish people to leave from.
Reminds me of early Twilight Zone episodes
BigHarvey18 March 2022
I like compilation movies, especially horror ones and this anthology reminds me of early Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episodes. Some of the stories work better than the others but overall this is a worthy effort. If you are a horror film, sci-fi junky like me... you're going to be in for a really terrific ride as you explore The Black Book.
A good watch
advimrankhalid4 October 2021
Surprised me -- in a good way!
helmetsandshades15 March 2022
Nothing typical or predictable here. I've seen a lot of movies in this genre, but this was plain ol' fun. Enjoyed the plot and the direction and really loved the campiness that lurked beneath many of the scenes. Interested to see what this filmmaker does next.
This was a blast.
pattmayne3 December 2021
I loved it from the opening scene and it never got boring. Each segment knew exactly what it was about and they were all executed with style.
It's a series of stories tied together by a narrative set in the opening scene. Some of the stories are just a new take on an old trope, but they always pulled me in, and most of them are pretty unique, bringing a new twist and a new direction.
It's campy and self-consciously cheesy (at least, some segments are), but everybody commits to their characters and they all knock it out of the park.
It's really fun and often surprising.
It's a series of stories tied together by a narrative set in the opening scene. Some of the stories are just a new take on an old trope, but they always pulled me in, and most of them are pretty unique, bringing a new twist and a new direction.
It's campy and self-consciously cheesy (at least, some segments are), but everybody commits to their characters and they all knock it out of the park.
It's really fun and often surprising.
really fun movie
mich1elle24 March 2022
Different
lee_yang_17 July 2022
The film is different from other horrors. Every section is directed by a different director, so there are several different "voices" behind the film. This is a unique thing, and could be a positive or negative depending on your opinion. I was watching and waiting for what would happen next - film does a good job of keeping you engaged.
The Black book
laproduccion21 April 2022
The book that keeps returning to the bookshop
marceldorian17 March 2022
This movie consists of an anthology of short horror stories based on a book that's of course cursed and should not be read. Yet someone reads it. So we go through different chapters of this book, one darker than the other. Some of these seem an homage to Tales from the Crypt, which is a good thing in my opinion. Some are gory, others more supernatural and they all have a twist in the end. If you are a fan of the genre, you'll enjoy this one.
Gets better and better and better...
roblesharhold13 May 2022
This is an Indie film, and I watch a lot of them. IT'S far above the quality of most indie films. At first I was taken back to my childhood as it reminded me of Amazing Stories. But that quickly ended when the violent images of the second story came to screen. This is a collection of stories from folk takes to modern day internet Horrors. The individual stories are great, and I would recommend this to other indie thriller fans.
See also
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