TALES FROM BEYOND

TALES FROM BEYOND
By Aine

Tales From Beyond is not unlike the Twilight Zone and other similar genre television shows, only this time it’s in movie form.

A couple is seeking a unique gift for a friend when they stumble across an antique bookstore run by none other than Adam West. When the couple is hesitant to follow him to the back where he keeps the “rare stuff” I don’t blame them, he puts off that creepy psycho killer vibe. I don’t know why but Adam West strikes fear into my very core, he could scare me just by eating a sucker; actually that would be terrifying to witness, but I digress.

Mr. West proceeds to show them some rare books and they go through the stories one by one trying to decide on the best one for their friend. There’s an Über creepy moment when Mr. West yet again freaks people out by urging them to “read aloud.” This brings us to the first story.

Abernathy is a somewhat confusing tale of nightmares and crazy wives; though some male friends would say those are one in the same. A man dealing with his mentally disturbed wife begins have nightmares about a place called Abernathy, but his dreams may be all too real. I can’t give anything else away but this one definitely has some creepy moments, though at times you are just as confused as the man in the story.

Nex’s Diner is a lot more fun and is probably my favorite of the segments. (There are 4 total) An egotistical man stops in a diner after a hectic day, to be greeted by “Nex,” the diner owner. He places his order as one by one various others come in. The only problem is, they’re all from various times and places, or are they? Nex’s Diner experiments with history, time and other themes and is the most blatantly Twilight Zone-ish of the bunch. Some of the acting was a tad painful to get through but I did enjoy the giant Scotsman and the fantastic ending.

Life Replay follows along the time travel theme and could just as easily be titled “remote control of doom.” Couch potatoes beware, maybe it’s better to get up to change the channel after all. The concept is old hat: a man has access to what happens in the future and attempts to alter things, which we all know is simply not a good idea. Strangely, this segment plays more like a comedy of errors than anything else, with Nate Barlow as a believable, lovable dufus. I almost would have preferred this to be in black and white, but it still works for what it is.

Fighting Spirit, the fourth and last of the stories deviates a little further from the norm. It’s actually more of a touching story about a young would-be boxer. I think of it as a blend of Rocky and The Heavenly Kid. The young man is repeatedly pounded in the ring despite being the son of a local boxing champion who died before he was born. He’s given up and decided to be a pizza maker with his family until he meets a homeless man named Goldie who promises to coach him into champion shape. I’ll just say it really REALLY is like Rocky and The Heavenly Kid mated and this was their lovechild.

After this last story the couple in the bookstore makes the mistake of asking Mr. West about some books that appear to be nameless. Oh heavens no, I wouldn’t dream of giving away the twist ending, but as we all know by now…Adam West is EVIL EVIL EVIL.

Minor glitches aside, I enjoyed Tales From Beyond, especially the creepy Adam West parts. It was like getting to watch old Twilight Zone episodes but skipping the really lame ones. For more information please check out www.talesfrombeyond.com