Tales from Pandora's Box 3

The third, predictably, in a series of low budget anthologies set in Oxfordshire, with many stories featuring the same actors, locations and props.

In this sequence, an Airbnb is used for unwholesome purposes, a character reminisces about a love affair, a character is told their spouse has been killed, a character seems to be romancing identical twins, a man is shown to have honourable and decent intentions, and a young person is seen from different perspectives.

Photography is not consistent. The stories of the Airbnb and the heartbroken spouse have the colour almost completely washed, while the memories of lost live is richly filmed to the point of slightly irritating 'glamour' effects. The three-way love felt half-realised, as if a great idea never actually translated onto film. The most complete, well-rounded story is rightly saved for almost the end, a tale of Gypsy lineage and lore, attractively filmed and with better sound than most of the segments. The final coda is less a short story, more a plea for understanding, and almost provides a moral for all that has gone before.

More rounded and coherent than Vol. II, although still marred by a studio-bound feel to some sections, with multiple shadows and echoing voices. Where this is good it holds promise for a terrific Vol VII.