THE SHADOW MAN is one of the better stories in this series, which is mainly thanks to the participation of director Joe Dante who brings some of his own brand of horror-loving kookiness to the small screen. The story is a very simplistic one in which a kid discovers there's a sinister, suited-and-booted 'Shadow Man' living under his bed, an evil entity who makes him a promise: he never kills the person under whose bed he lies.
So far so straightforward, and it's fair to say that this story is aimed at kids. There's a twist in the tale which you'll see coming a mile off, but Dante is on strong form here as usual and he invests the tale with atmosphere as well as making the monsters relatively frightening.
THE UNCLE DEVIL SHOW is barely worth mentioning. It involves a kid who comes into possession of an evil VHS tape. It's not RING, I'll say that for it. The VHS tape teaches him the power of the black arts, but it's all played out in a very silly and unappealing way, barely worth the time it's taken to write out this brief review.
OPENING DAY has one of the most bizarre twists I've seen in an episode of THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE but it doesn't really make much sense and a weak execution lets it down. The storyline tells of a pair of golf buddies, one of whom is having an affair with the wife of the other. The adulterer decides to bump off his rival during a duck shoot, but then a twist in time sees the two men transported to an alternate reality, where their roles are reversed.
It sounds nonsensical and it is, but at least the segment has a decent main actor going for it; Martin Kove has always been good value for money and he's effective here as the ruthless protagonist. The creepy Jeffrey Jones bags a supporting role as his unsuspecting friend.
So far so straightforward, and it's fair to say that this story is aimed at kids. There's a twist in the tale which you'll see coming a mile off, but Dante is on strong form here as usual and he invests the tale with atmosphere as well as making the monsters relatively frightening.
THE UNCLE DEVIL SHOW is barely worth mentioning. It involves a kid who comes into possession of an evil VHS tape. It's not RING, I'll say that for it. The VHS tape teaches him the power of the black arts, but it's all played out in a very silly and unappealing way, barely worth the time it's taken to write out this brief review.
OPENING DAY has one of the most bizarre twists I've seen in an episode of THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE but it doesn't really make much sense and a weak execution lets it down. The storyline tells of a pair of golf buddies, one of whom is having an affair with the wife of the other. The adulterer decides to bump off his rival during a duck shoot, but then a twist in time sees the two men transported to an alternate reality, where their roles are reversed.
It sounds nonsensical and it is, but at least the segment has a decent main actor going for it; Martin Kove has always been good value for money and he's effective here as the ruthless protagonist. The creepy Jeffrey Jones bags a supporting role as his unsuspecting friend.