| Campfire Tales | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | William Cooke Paul Talbot |
| Produced by | Paul Talbot |
| Written by | William Cooke Paul Talbot |
| Music by | Kevin Green Stan Lollis |
| Editing by | William Cooke Paul Talbot Roger Thomas |
| Release date(s) | January 1, 1997 |
| Running time | 88 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
Campfire Tales (1991) is a horror film written and directed by William Cooke and Paul Talbot. The film is an anthology about a group of teenagers telling ghost stories around a campfire. One of the storytellers is horror legend Gunnar Hansen. The movie also uses many elements from famous horror stories and directors (Lucio Fulci specifically).
The movie opens up to two teenagers (played by Amy Smart James Marsden) classic urban legend The Hook, as the boy discovers the hook and hanging on the door the opening credits room.
The first story involves a young couple (the man Ron Livingston) returning home after hearing on the radio that a murderer with a hook on his right hand has escaped from the local insane asylum and is terrorizing the countryside. Upon returning home, the girlfriend discovers that her parents have been decapitated. As she runs to get help from her boyfriend she discovers that he has also fallen victim to the hook. A battle ensues and she comes out victorious, killing the escaped prisoner with his own hook.
The second story involves two stoners searching for marijuana. Upon finding a large quantity, and a very strange drug dealer, they return home to smoke it. When they awaken they are sickly and appear to be rotting. They return to get more and notice that the dealer is suffering from the same symptoms. But they take no notice and return home to indulge once again. Again, they awaken more sickly than before. Instead of seeking medical treatment they return to the dealer, only to find that he is no longer there. His plants are still in the apartment and the two take all of the plants with them back to their place. They indulge once again. As they smoke, they begin to fall apart and eventually turn to slime.
The third story has to do with a greedy, selfish man returning home to his mother for Christmas. He kills her for the inheritance, pushing her down the stairs leading into the basement. He leaves the body and heads over to his brother's house to watch his two children while he and his wife leave for dinner. The children tell him a tale about an evil Santa Claus known as "Satan Claus" who comes and punishes those who do evil things throughout the year. He leaves to head back to his mother's house, plotting what he is going to tell the police and his brother. Upon returning he is attacked by Satan Claus, who rips his heart out.
The fourth story and final story is about a shipwrecked pirate on a desolate island. He discovers a man who warns him about buried treasure on the island being guarded by zombies. The pirate kills the man and goes in search for the treasure, ignoring the man's warnings. He discovers the treasure only to be attacked by a large group of pirate zombies. After running from them for some time they eventually catch and kill him.
The wrap around story involves the young men going to sleep with the narrator revealing a hook on his right hand.
The film was re-released on DVD in 2002 from Sub Rosa.