Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

a_chinn Stephen King returns to anthology horror after the success of his "Creepshow" collaboration with George A. Romero. This time the stories are less EC Comics and more Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The first tale involves James Woods going to a clinic run by Alan King to help him quit smoking. What he doesn't expect is their extreme methods, which include people constantly spying on him, torturing family members, and people hiding inside his house. Woods is, as always, intense and compelling as the haggard man and brings a lot of a fairly thin story. The second story is about Robert Hays taking a bet from a Las Vegas high roller who he's wronged that he can't make his way all the way around a high rise casino along the narrow ledge. This entry had a nice throwback feel to the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Man from the South," which was based upon a Roald Dahl short story about a high roller who bets a desperate gambler he can't light his lighter 10 times in a row or else he has to let the rich man chop off an keep a finger. The third tale is the best and the one that's closest to traditional horror. Drew Barrymore plays a little girl who keeps telling her parents there's a monster living in her wall, but her parents don't believe her, even though there really is a creepy little monster. I think what I liked most about this segment are the Incredible Shrinking Man style of special effects used to animate the tiny monster, particularly when it's a regular-sized actor in costume on a giant set interacting with giant props. Loved that! There's a wraparound story about a stray cat who passes through each story, but it's really not much of a story and the cat doesn't play any role in the other stories until the final one. Apparently there was originally more to the wrap around, but it was cut out of the film. Besides the above named actors, there is also Kenneth McMillan, James Rebhorn, Mike Starr, James Naughton, Charles S. Dutton, and voice artist Frank Welker, who's voiced everything from The Smurfs to Scooby Doo to Futurama to Aladin and the Lion King. Welker is credited as Special Vocal Effects, which I'm guessing is the creepy little monster living in the wall. Also of note is that the film was photographed Jack Cardiff, who has shot everything from "The African Queen" to "The Red Shoes" to "Rambo," so the film does look gorgeous. Overall, this isn't the best King film adaptation, but it's far from the worse, and falls somewhere in the slightly above average range.

Smoreni Zmaj Omnibus of three stories by Stephen King, weirdly connected together by a cat. King wrote screenplay for the movie. First two parts are adaptations of his earlier short stories, while third is original story written for the movie. First two stories are realistic, one dark humorous and other very tense, while third reminds a bit of Gremlins. James Woods and Alan King play great roles in first story, while star of the third one is once again ten years old Drew Barrymore, who plays leading role in King's previous movie. Underrated gem of 80's and one of the best King adaptations I saw so far.9/10

encyes One of the more famous anthologies and Stephen King movies, this is well-known primarily for its appearances by a young James Woods and an even younger Drew Barrymore. With a screenplay by King, it hosts three decent stories, all linked together by a rogue but supernatural cat, a sort of feline protector. Most notably of the three tales is the first: "Quitters, Inc." which has the best ending this side of a Rod Serling Twilight Zone episode. This is a fun movie. King's other movies ("Cujo", "Christine"), are sprinkled in as cameos, many which will leave you giggling along with King's playful nods to himself ("I don't know who writes this crap" as James Woods watches "The Dead Zone"), ("St Stephen's School for the Exceptionally Gifted"). It's better than I expected and better than a majority of horror anthologies out there especially for the time period. The effects - primary used for the third and final episode which has a more mystical spin on it than the previous two - are pretty good considering its the 1980s. The stories are simplistic, creative and effective. If you can sit back and deal with the 80s music and culture (does anyone remember the cassette tape?) you'll have a good time with this well filmed feature.

GL84 The adventures of a runaway cat trying to find its young owner link three stories together.The Good Stor(ies): Quitter's, Inc-At the request of friends and family, a man goes to Quitter's, Inc., a special group run by a strange doctor that encourages people to quit smoking through violent force. Warned of severe consequences if caught smoking, grave consequences are in store for his family and loved ones. As he gets further along in his treatment, the harder it gets for him to keep his promise. This is one of the better stories. Every minute of this bizarre yet surprising story inspires an interesting paranoiac atmosphere, but it is exaggerated to an extent, where a spy hides in a dresser and awaits the moment when he will smoke, another fakes jogging in front of his house, and a few others, but it's the paranoia set in that make them work well. There is a single sequence where, at a party, hallucinates giant ambulatory cigarettes to the accompaniment of The Police's "Every Breath You Take, "a song so perfectly suited it could have virtually been written for the film, as faces become distorted and changed to the point that an extreme amount of joy is had through the goofy nature of their appearances. There's a particularly thrilling sequence of events that starts with him crumbling in his car while stuck in traffic, the whole time wondering if he's being spied on throughout his trek. The only part that doesn't work is why would an important firm offer its clientèle the opportunity to torture, rape and kill, while risking getting caught? This aspect is not covered and it is a question to be asked as it seems like a risky proposition. Otherwise, this was a good entry.The General-Finding its long-lost home, a young girl is reunited with her runaway cat, much to her parents' disappointment. While sleeping with her cat, she is soon attacked by a strange troll and the cat leaps to her defense, but the resulting damage is blamed on the cat and is giving away. Racing back, it engages in an intense struggle with the creature for its owner's life. This isn't that bad, and did have some really nice moments. The troll effects are well pulled-off as it looks realistic while also giving it a creepy appearance, as it steals many of the best moments when it attacks its victim while sitting on its chest, a marvelous trick that comes off wonderfully. The climactic showdown is the natural highlight, as it's a nice, long dragged-out fight without getting repetitive or ridiculous, and the foregone conclusion is satisfying. The only thing that doesn't work in this is that the special don't always work. Most of the matte shots are obviously matte shots, as the halo around the objects is painfully apparent and no attempt is made to hide them. It's not enough to lower the rating, but it's still a distracting problem.The Bad Stor(ies): The Ledge-After his affair has been discovered, the cheater is approached by her husband and is offered a deal to save his life. If he can walk around the ledge surrounding his high-rise apartment building, he'll let him go with his wife. Reluctantly agreeing, he sets out on the quest, unaware of the traps he has set to knock him off before he reaches his goal. This does manage to provide the little bit of gore, as we get some bloody bird pecks, a severed head and some gunshots. This almost manages to work because of its simplicity and originality. The camera angles, for the most part, put in perspective the man and pit that wants to swallow him. It's a daunting enough task and he's tempted to fall because of the wind that attacks him and the pigeons who smash his ankle, but when the husband is going out of his way to make him fall by putting traps along his way by spraying him with a fire hose and popping out of nowhere with a loud horn, it's a little intense at times. However, this is ruined by the repetitive nature of the events. It's not that different from any section, as he goes out and then the guy pops up with a trap. After a while, it gets numbing and no matter how suspenseful it is, after the first few traps seen it's acceptable to miss this one with no harm done at all.Rated PG-13: Violence, mild Language and mild animal cruelty.