Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Paul Andrews Screamtime starts in New York as two friends Ed (Vincent Russo) & Bruce (Michael Gordon) steal some videotapes from a shop, heading back to an apartment to watch them the tapes turn out to be horror films...First up is 'That's the Way to do it' in which an ageing puppeteer named Jack (Robin Bailey) gets grief from all sides of his family & when his wife & stepson want him ti burn his cherished Punch & Judy puppets people start turning up dead...Then it's 'Dreamhouse' in which young married couple Tony (Ian Saynor) & Susan (Yvonne Nicholson) move into a new house, immediately Susan starts to see violent visions & hear strange noises but Tony thinks she is having a nervous breakdown...Finally it's 'Garden of Blood' sees a broke teenager named Gavin (David Van Day) decide to rob the house of a pair of rich elderly sisters but hadn't counted on their stories of Fairies being true...This English production was apparently directed by Stanley A.Long & Michael Armstrong under the pseudonym Al Beresford with Long credited as a producer too & Armstrong credited with the screenplay & casting, the British horror anthology had been very popular with the likes of Dead of Night (1945), Tales from the Crypt (1972), Asylum (1972), The Vault of Horror (1974), From Beyond the Grave (1974) & The Monster Club (1981) to name but a few & one has to say that Screamtime tries to recreate that golden era with mixed success. The linking wraparound story looks to have been filmed by someone totally different & is at odds with the rest of the film in tone & style & I assume is there to add a bit of American-ness to it. The three stories are fairly solid but the low budget & obvious lack of resources don't help. From killer puppets to terrifying visions to killer Garden Gnomes one has to say that the makers tried & the stories could have been better with more money spent on them, they all take place largely in the same location with minimal special effects. At just under 90 minutes each story runs about 25 minutes long & I would probably say that the second story Dreamhouse is the best with a neat twist ending & was considered good enough for a full length feature film remake Psychosis (2010) which is also quite good. These anthology horror films can be great but rely on striking twist endings which is where Screamtime falls down a bit, while Dreamhouse is impressive, unexpected & memorable the other two are a little tame & predictable.The production values are alright if cheap looking, the special effects vary with the living Garden Gnome surely one of the silliest things I've seen in a while. A little rough around the edges technically how can that kid set the Punch & Judy show on fire with an unlit electric lamp?! Some of the acting & death scenes are also poor with the Garden Gnome strangling a guy coming across as really camp & the shots earlier where row's of Garden Gnomes scare the geezer is hard to take seriously. There's a bit of gore, there's some blood splatter in the first story, some gory stabbings including a cool slit throat in the second & not much of anything during the third story. The stories do have a certain grimy low budget atmosphere that I liked, a sort of sleazy vibe to them that appealed.Filmed here in the UK & in New York. The acting varies, some of it is quite good while at other times it's awful. Jonathon Morris who played Damien is probably best know for played Adrian in the sitcom Bread (1986-1991), Kim Thompson who plays Lady Anne has since found fame in the UK appearing in over 200 episodes of Emmerdale while David Van Day was one half of 80's pop group Dollar.Screamtime is fairly enjoyable for what it is, the three stories vary in quality but they are all decent enough & they all have their own moments whether it's creepiness or silliness or gore. I can't say Screamtime is brilliant but it's a worthwhile watch especially if your a fan of horror anthologies.

Matthew Hopkiins Whilst far from perfect, this is a very good anthology of horror stories.There is very little gore, but the stories build up a good atmosphere, and the acting is always of at least an acceptable level, and in the cases of Robin Bailey,Jean Anderson and Dora Bryan, it is actually quite excellent.In the middle story involving people moving into a house, I actually felt quite creeped out, something that hasn't happened for years to me.I would love to know the story as to how three short English tales ended up juxtaposed with the wrap around story of thieves stealing the tapes from a store, but whatever, it doesn't detract from the stories themselves.The copy I have seen has washed out colours which somehow added to the bleakness, and this is shot on film it would appear, doesn't look cheap and nasty at all.If you are a fan of brit horror, you must see this it's definitely a bit of a lost gem as far as I'm concerned.

the duck "Do you believe in fairies?" the elderly woman in the television set queried. If you now what's good for you, Jeff (or Jeff-ette), you will after taking a gander at this videotape-within-a-videotape-within-a-videotape-within-a-videotape (unless you own the DVD edition.) The movie does not star so much as feature a cast of actors put to the test as they watch video after video after video, and we watch them watching. Then they die (9 out of 10 viewers of Screamtime did not die after watching it, and those who did died of natural causes.) The phrase, "you get what you pay for," is given new meaning as two hooligans steal three videos (thus not "paying for" them), and are then murdered by them, fortunately after viewing them all the way through. These hepcats probably weren't even kind enough to rewind. At least there were no late charges, just late patrons. As in dead!!!

Otacon10 "Screamtime" is one of those anthology films, like "Creepshow," and while it's not as good as the George A. Romero classic, it's effective.The plot is about two guys who steal three videos from a video store. They go back to one of their girlfriend's apartment to watch them.The first video is about a "Punch and Judy" puppeteer whose family wants him to get out of the puppeteering business since it doesn't make much money for the family. Then his stepson burns down his puppet show stage and soon after is murdered on the beach, seemingly by the Mr. Punch puppet. Then later at his house his wife is also murdered. Has Mr. Punch come to life, or is someone else to blame?The second video is about a married couple moving into a new house. The wife begins to see grisly visions of a murder that seems to have been committed there. But is the house really haunted?The third video is about a guy who competes in dirtbike races, but needs some money. So he gets a job working odd jobs at the house of two elderly women. They tell him about the fairies that guard the house and the garden gnomes that work for them. He dismisses what they say, but takes an interest in the money, gold, jewels, and other valuables around the house. So he gets two of his friends to help him rob the place that night. But the fairies and garden gnomes really are alive and attack the intruders.Finally, the video tape thieves and one of their girlfriends get attacked by elements of the three videos they stole.If you give this low budget movie a chance you may be pleasantly surprised by it. The three films were shot in England with the connecting device about the video tape thieves shot in New York City. The puppets in the first video are creepy looking. The ending of the second video will shock you. The third movie gets a little spooky in the dark house; tiny floating lights fly by the camera unseen by the burglars, a room is suddenly full of garden gnomes, etc. This movie is perfect for horror movie connoisseur.