Horror Stories (2024) – Film Review
Horror Stories is an Indie horror anthology film produced in the UK by DiSparrow Films. The company is owned by Lukas DiSparrow, a British-Polish actor who wrote the script for the film, directed it, and also plays one of the main characters.
The film consists of nine stories that are linked by a wraparound story about a book club meeting that takes a turn for the weird when the host (DiSparrow) produces a magic book, telling the club members each story is a world waiting to be explored. Although there is some skepticism and nervousness among the group members, one of the readers, played by Kathryn McLoughlin, places her hand on the book, closes her eyes, and finds herself on a blanket in a park, making out with a guy next to some woodland.
So begins the first adventure, Forest Clown, a tale that gets gradually weirder after the couple’s smooching session is interrupted by an eerie clown who walks out of the trees and begins treating them to an unwanted free show.
Although the clown’s antics are initially mildly amusing, he soon outstays his welcome and the couple asks him to leave, triggering a deranged laughing fit that’s followed by a quick death for the reader’s boyfriend. After a brief game of cat and mouse in the woods, followed by further weirdness, she is captured and killed; at which point she opens her eyes and finds herself back at the book club meeting.
The next story is called My New Girlfriend. With shades of Phsyco and hints of necrophilia, it’s more strange than scary, doesn’t provide many surprises, and is one of the worst “adventures” in the Horror Stories anthology,
The other seven stories are Dancing Lady, Dracula, Devil’s Feast, Mother, Lola the Doll, She Lives in Me, and Divine Retribution.
Short and pointless, Dracula is another one of the poorer stories. The sad thing is, many of the other offerings aren’t much better, tending to be pointless, predictable, or both. Dancing Lady is an exception. As is Lola the Doll, a story that’s deliciously weird and possibly the best of the bunch.
Dancing Lady begins when one of the readers (Frederica Ros) touches the book, and promptly finds herself walking through a forest with her boyfriend (Nat Landells), who doesn’t know where they are and is disturbed by the lack of a Wi-Fi signal. After the couple pause to exchange a kiss, everything suddenly gets dark. This unnerves the couple and they decide to head back, only to find their way barred by a dancing lady (Blazena Kovalikova). It’s a surreal scene and rather eerie. The tension mounts as the reader runs through the trees with the lady pursuing her after killing her boyfriend.
More amusing than frighting, although it does have its moments, Lola the Doll is about a man called Adrian (Matthew Wright-Kenny) who goes on a blind date and discovers his date (Aoife Hogan) looks like a doll and has am obsessive interest in tea parties. When he tells her she looks like a doll she says she is a doll and ask him if he wants some tea and biscuits. After that, the date is over before it’s begun but Lola the Doll is not one to take no for an answer and follows her date to his home.
Horror Stories is not by any means a terrible film. Nor is it particularly good. Its worth watching for The Dancing Lady and Lola the Doll but don’t expect edge of your seat excitement or to be terrified. Expect to enter a world that’s odd and surreal instead. You may get a few shocks here and there but Horror Stories isn’t a film that’s likely to be a good choice if you are hoping to enjoy a supernatural thriller or slasher movie.