THE THEATRE BIZARRE
Directed by Richard Stanley, Douglas Buck, Buddy Giovinazzo, David Gregory, Karim Hussain, Tom Savini and Jeremy Kasten
Severin Films
Anthology films are by nature a mixed cinematic bag. After all, some are going to be better than others. Fortunately, in the case of The Theatre Bizarre, it’s more a matter of difference than quality, making this both a sweet and sour mix of horror bon mots that will appeal to various tastes, especially those with an appreciation of the Grand Guignol tradition.
The film’s framing tale sees a young woman (Virginia Newcomb) enter a decrepit theatre hosted by a clockwork figure played by Udo Kier. The figure introduces six tales, creeping ever close to his audience member and curiously growing more human with every story. It’s a creepy framework for a potpourri of nasty narratives.
