In this very low-budget horror anthology, Gunnar Hansen plays Ralph, a booze swigging homeless guy who joins three young horror fans around their campfire in the woods and recounts a series of scary stories, which, as one might expect from a guy who has rotted most of his brain cells with cheap alcohol, aren't very good. In fact, all four stories are so elementary that they can easily be summed up in a single sentence: 1) An escaped maniac with a hook kills people. 2) Two guys smoke bad weed and melt. 3) On Christmas Eve, a heartless yuppie receives a visit from Satan Claus. 4) A mutinous pirate is attacked by his zombie shipmates.
Although writer/directors William Cooke and Paul Talbot's obvious energy and enthusiasm for the genre does result in some cheap and cheerful, unsophisticated entertainment along the way, particularly whenever the blood is being thrown around, it is the film's weak script that prevents it from being a success, with each uninspired story notably lacking any satisfactory resolution (whereas most anthologies strive to deliver a neat pay-off or cool twist ending, these tales are happy to just peter off at the end). By the fourth and final story, the least enjoyable of the bunch, I found myself seriously struggling to stay awake.
