Tales from the Crypt (TV Series) Dead Right (1990) User Reviews

The Prediction

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 15 December 2013]

In 1950, the secretary Cathy (Demi Moore) is a gold digger that wants to marry a wealthy man. When the visits the clairvoyant Madame Vorma (Natalia Nogulich), she predicts that Cathy will be fired from her job and find a new job on the same day. Things happen exactly as foretold by Vorma and Cathy visits her again. Now the medium tells that she will marry a man that will inherit a fortune and die in a violent way immediately after. When Cathy meets the repulsive overweight Charlie Marno (Jeffrey Tambor), she learns that he has a wealthy uncle. Cathy gets married to him and soon she finds that the prediction of Madame Vorma was correctcorrect, but not the way she thought.

"Dead Right" is one of my favorite "Tales from the Crypt", with black humor to the best. Cathy is the beauty but also a heartless woman and Charlie is the beast and also a loser. His makeup is impressive and the guy looks like a monster. Madame Vorma is a cynical medium and the result is a funny episode. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Dead Right"

"I don't believe in this stuff but I thought if it doesn't go over my lunch hour what the hell." Good start to season 2.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 14 March 2007]

Tales from the Crypt: Dead Right is set in 1950 where secretary Cathy (Demi Moore) visit a fortune teller named Madame Vorma (Natalia Nogulich) who tells her that she will get fired that very afternoon & that she will get another job soon after, returning 25 minutes late from lunch Cathy's boss Mr. Clayton (Earl Boen) fires her, while out walking the owner (Eric Poppick) of a strip bar sees her & offers her a job as a waitress. Cathy is understandably impressed & visits Madame Vorma again who says she will marry a big man who will inherit a fortune & the die soon after, that night while working Cathy is asked out by the severely obese Charlie Marno (Jeffre Tambor) who quickly proposes to her, sensing her opportunity to get rich quick Cathy accepts but Madame Vorma's predictions don't quite work out as she thought they would...

This Tales from the Crypt story was episode 1 from season 2, directed by Howard Deutch I thought this was a decent story & a good opener to the second season. The script by Andy Wolk was based on a comic book story from 'Shock SuspenStories' & is what a good Tales from the Crypt episode should be, the premise is deliciously macabre, it moves along at a nice pace, the whole story is basically a prelude to a twist ending which you may or may not see coming as it's not the most surprising of twists but it's satisfying in a morbid sort of way all the same. There are some nice moments in this & considering it only lasts for 25 minutes the character's are well fleshed out, the selfish Cathy's contempt for the overweight Charlie is amusing at times & makes the ending even more effective since she's not very likable, Charlie is a fat slob & in a way you almost feel sorry for Cathy at times. The scene when Charlie kisses Cathy & she then vomits into the sink says everything.

As usual this tale from the crypt has good production values & the period design is good, there's no blood or gore until the end when someone is gorily stabbed as this is a twisted tale that relies on it's story as do most Tales from the Crypt episodes. The acting is good including Hollywood star Demi Moore.

Dead Right is another throughly decent tale from the crypt that's well worth a watch.

Look Out, Cathy!

[mattressman_pdl · 8/10 · 9 October 2008]

Season Two of the popular cult-hit Tales from the Crypt begins with a star fueled episode about getting what you want...maybe.

Demi Moore is Cathy, a bored-typist who visits what she takes to be a hack fortune-teller. In their meeting, the fortune teller makes Cathy aware that she is to be fired...only to find another job by the end of the day. Cathy leaves, unfulfilled. Until the fortune teller's advice turns out to be accurate. Soon after, Cathy learns that she is to find a rich man who will inherit a large sum of money and then kick the bucket. All Cathy has to do is find him. Well she does find him, his name is Charlie. An unkempt, overweight loser. Will she stick it out for the money, or will the future prove to be TOO correct? The episode moves along nicely, with character actors Troy Evans and, triumphantly, Jeffrey Tambor as Charlie. But it's the episode's finale which ultimately takes the cake.

A gold digger receives a fatal end after becoming rich!

[blanbrn · 6/10 · 20 April 2007]

"Dead Right" the episode that started season 2 of "Tales From The Crypt" is a gory shocker with a nice twist and probably one of the series best episodes of all-time. It has the star power in Demi Moore who stars as a lonely secretary who wants a new life. After going to a fortune teller for advice she's told that she will find a new job, and get a new life with a new man, then he will inherit money then die a very violent death! Now that sounds just the way that she wants it. Soon those predictions come true, a new job as a waitress where the arrival of mister right is in the form of a 300 pound plus slob played perfect by Jeffrey Tambor! Marriage takes place as the hope for money still remains, the only thing to get these two out of misery. Only it takes a surprise twist when it comes to the money deal, the inheritance ends in a bloody violent death, and it ends with a slob paying his own juice bill. It just shows that fate plays it's own way sometimes! Overall this is one of the best crypt episodes with good acting, a good plot and a surprise shock of bloody gore.

Demi does a great job

[halob-23427 · 10/10 · 3 October 2021]

The rest of the episode was already strong but Demi really pulls everything together and it all makes for a great episode.

A better start to the second series.

[Dodge-Zombie · 7/10 · 2 August 2022]

I found most of the first series either incredibly predictable, badly acted or in one case just totally disgusting.

This episode may keep me watching a little longer.

Just as fantastic as the first two of Season 1

[SleepTight666 · 8/10 · 27 June 2009]

A great start for Season 2, just as fantastic as the first two of Season 1.

One of the reasons why it works so well is because of the great casting (Demi Moore & Jeffrey Tambor) and the brilliant plot twist at the end. I have been able to predict many of them so far, but I did not see this one coming at all.

The cinematography is excellent, almost like from a movie at times. And Demi Moore was just gorgeous, candy for the eyes.

Is it wrong to feel bad for Charlie? He might have been disgusting and pathetic, but Cathy deserved it.

Satisfying two-hander

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 12 November 2016]

While lacking the finesse and atmosphere of the Amicus anthologies of the '70s, which were based on the same source material, the EC comics of the 1950s, the TALES FROM THE CRYPT series passes the time amiably enough, adding some gore into the otherwise light proceedings to help things move along. Fortunately the episodes carried on the tradition of adding a neat twist to the tale at the end of the stories, which is prominent in the first episode on this tape compilation I watched, DEAD RIGHT.

While the use of a fortune-teller is clichéd, the central love story is almost tragic in some ways, with Tambor's fawning yet disgusting husband whimpering after Moore, who hates him in every way possible. The episode is a two-hander (although Dr. Silberman from TERMINATOR 2 shows up briefly as Moore's boss), and Moore and Tambor are fine in their roles, with the bitchy persona suiting Moore perfectly. While not particularly gory or frightening, the tale is of a woman who gets what she deserves, and the clever trick at the end is also quite satisfying.

Despite an unexpected twist, a good episode

[bellino-angelo2014 · 8/10 · 13 June 2021]

The story is set in 1950. Secretary Cathy Finch (Demi Moore) hopes to meet and marry a wealthy man. She then visits Madame Vorna that predicts that she will change her job in the same day. It happens, and so Cathy visits Madame Vorna again. Now Vorna tells her that she will marry a wealthy man and she will inherit a fortune. Cathy meets the repulsive and overweight Charlie Marno (Jeffrey Tambor) but she marries him only because he has a rich uncle. After a while Madame Vorna's prediction was correct, but not in the way Cathy expected; she is stabbed to death by Charlie but after a while he is executioned.

This episode had a great ending as I was really happy for what happened to that monster of Charlie Marno after killing such a gorgeous lady. Yet I also thought that after she showed him the money she won with a check, she could have easily divorced him. Still, a very decent episode.

"I don't even think he's my species!"

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 5 June 2023]

A decent start to the second season, this 'Tales from the Crypt' episode stars Demi Moore as Cathy, a sexy but frustrated young woman determined to marry rich and live a life of luxury. Impulsively, she visits a fortune teller (Natalija Nogulich) who tells Cathy that a LARGE man will walk into her life, that they will marry, and that he will come into a fortune soon after. Then Cathy meets Charlie Marno (Jeffrey Tambor), a grotesque and indeed quite large man who puts her off. Cathy decides to marry him anyway, just on the off chance that Madame Vornas' prediction is correct, and life with Charlie is Hell for Cathy. But Madame Vorna is never wrong.....

Written by Andy Wolk, and directed by Howard Deutch, 'Dead Right' is no great shakes in terms of plot, as it delivers no real surprises. But it's still a good deal of dark-comedy fun, and Demi and Tambor play their roles to the hilt. He, in particular, is amusingly obnoxious as this slovenly creep. Also putting in appearances are Troy Evans, Earl Boen, and Kate Hodge, but the episode really belongs to the star trio. What works for 'Dead Right' is its stylistic and musical choices, and its playfully macabre sense of humor. As we may come to expect, Madame Vorna really hasn't told Cathy the WHOLE story....

'Dead Right' keeps alive the 'Tales from the Crypt' tradition of tales that deal in "just desserts".

Seven out of 10.

"Vorma is always right..."

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 8/10 · 26 December 2013]

The second season began with a strong start with this memorable gem of a tale that's all about a fortune teller, a gold-digger, and a slob! It's definitely one of the sillier-toned stories in the show, although there is one moment of fairly insane bloodshed towards the end. It's directed by the same guy who did season one's "Only Sin Deep", and is almost a complete rehash of that episode, only I find this one to be a slight improvement all around, it's a lot less corny and more fun. I like the subtle 50's setting, it's cool how not all of them were set in current times. Jeffrey Tambor's over the top performance is just too much, after beholding him in this you'll probably never look at the man the same again! "Charlie" was a great loathsome yet almost pitable character, I love how his appearance and manner are so utterly gross and obnoxious that he comes off more like some kind of bloated monster than a human, he actually looks like he stinks, you'd think even gold-diggers would have standards! He's really menacing and creepy in the big scene which is one of the most straight-up insane moments of the series, where he brutally slays Cathy while repeatedly roaring out like a lunatic the old adage""If I can't have you, nobody can!" And one of the things I love the most about this show is that part of me feels the horror of the spectacle, but another really wants to laugh! Pre-Ghost Demi Moore was good as a selfish and greedy woman with her eyes on the prize. She wasn't such a bad person that you hated her or anything, but you couldn't exactly like her either. I love the scene where Cathy and her friend imagine various ways in which Charlie might meet his foretold violent end, all of which are shown in hilarious detail, like him getting flattened by a big 'ol mack truck because a car wouldn't be big enough! Cathy would have probably been okay if she'd have been able to resist going home to rub it in. I didn't really feel too bad for either of them, as they were both pretty nasty people, just in very different ways. I liked sassy character of Madame Vorma the best.", she had a really cool attitude and her adorable little dog and how she broke the fourth wall and it was intriguing how you weren't sure if she handed out half-truth bad predictions on purpose for kicks or not. What happened to Cathy was like a self-fulfilling prophecy on the loss of her job and then her life. She never even needed to marry Charlie, as the money had nothing to do with him! It's not a particularly surprising twist, but it does a good job of keeping you wondering how it's all going to turn out. Still a great episode that holds up, one of many of a fantastic fun and macabre series that I'll love forever. X

Living off the "Fat" of the land

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 6 May 2015]

****SPOILERS*** Looking to find her dream man in giving her a new lease on life both romantically as well as, and this is the most important of the two, financially Cathy, Demie Moore, goes to see fortune teller Madam Vorma, Natalija Nogulich, to tell her what the future holds for her. Madam Vormas who claims that she's never wrong in her predictions tells Cathy is that there's a man in her life that she'll marry who will soon, after the marriage ceremony, suddenly drop dead and leaves her millions! With Cathy not believing a word of it that prediction on Madam Vorma's part soon begins to materialize.

Working as a waitress after being fired from her job, as Madam Vorma also predicted, Cathy soon meets the grossly overweight and love sick Charlie Marno, Jeffrey Tamboa, who's just crazy about her and wants her to marry him. At first repulsed by the fat guy who can barley get his act together in trying to impress her Cathy suddenly changes her mind when Charlie tells her that he has an uncle in California who's loaded and well on his way, in being in his 90's, on a one way trip to the local cemetery.

****SPOLIERS****Cathy reluctantly and against her better judgment marries the fat slob and unexpectedly soon wins $1,000,000.00 in being the 1,000,000th customer at a food chain she goes to eat her lunch. Feeling that now, rich uncle or not, she doesn't need Charlie anymore Cathy makes the fatal mistake of telling Charlie that she's walking out on him. And thus unknowingly makes Madam Vorma's prediction about her becoming rich after she married Charlie who was to die soon after true. The only thing that Madam Vorma left out that she was to also descant to join him! The last TV or movie role that Demie Moore had before she stared in the 1990 mega hit "Ghost". That finally after struggling for years in Hollywood making B movies and appearing in minor TV series like "Tales from the Crypt" that made her a major star.

A definite classic

[shellytwade · 8/10 · 29 March 2022]

When you think of Tales from the Crypt, chances are this is one of the episodes you think of. The tone is right and the performances across the board are fantastic. Beautiful twist too (without being contrived). A great episode to first be introduced to the show.

Neat episode

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 3 February 2011]

Ruthless gold digger Cathy (well played to hateful bitchy perfection by Demi Moore) marries gross obese slob Charlie Marno (an excellent performance by Jeffrey Tambor, who looks positively grotesque in a very convincing fat suit and make-up) so she can get her greedy hands on a sizable sum of money she was told Charlie will take possession of prior to meeting a violent untimely end. Director Howard Deutch, working from a clever and engrossing script by Andy Wolk, delivers a flavorsome evocation of the early 50's period setting and ably mines a wickedly amusing line in spot-on sharp and sarcastic humor. The supremely dark and ironic ending packs a mighty strong punch. But it's the stellar acting from the two leads which really makes this episode hum: Moore has a ball portraying a deliciously snarky and opportunistic no-count floozy and Tambor likewise excels as one extremely pathetic and repulsive creep. Popping up in cool supporting roles are Natalia Nogulich as sage fortune teller Madame Vorma, Troy Evans as cheery nightclub owner Al, and Earl Boen as Cathy's no-nonsense boss Mr. Clayton. Tim Suhrstedt's slick cinematography and Jay Ferguson's smooth jazzy score further enhance the overall sound quality of this solid second season opener.

Demi Moore

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 17 November 2023]

This episode is based on the story that originally appeared in Shock SuspenStories #6, written by William Gaines and Al Feldstein and drawn by Jack Kamen. There was also another "Dead Right" that was in Tales from the Crypt #21 but that was turned into the episode "Abra Cadaver."

I look into the future, my darlings... and for you, I see something... grotesque. It will sicken and disgust you! It's me! Tonight's tale is a sickening stab at suspense, about a gold digger who wanted big bucks to buy baubles and bangles. Look out, Cathy! I see you just might buy the big one!"

Directed by Howard Deutch (Pretty In Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, The Great Outdoors) and written by Steven Dodd and Andy Welk, this episode really has some star power with Demi Moore playing Cathy, an exotic dancer told by Madame Vorna (Natalija Nogulich) that she will soon marry a man who will die and leave her great wealth. She thinks that it's one of her customers, Charlie Marno (Jeffrey Tambor), who always speaks of his rich family. Yet the fortune doesn't seem to be coming true. That is...until Cathy becomes rich at an automat. She didn't see her dream ending up this way.

Speaking of exotic dancers, one of the girls in that scene is former GLOW and adult star Tiffany Million.

The second season of this show gets off to a decent start, as this is well shot and moves quickly. That said, no one consulted a lawyer because a murderer can't inherit anything. Then again, if that was true in movies, we wouldn't have so many plots that use it.