Coin: We're back to basics here with a quick and dirty horror anthology with somewhat dubious moral points but with enough verve and tenacity to make them work. After a hilarious and unique prologue (without a doubt Chad Kaplan's best work yet, excepting maybe his Bob Seger Cover Band cartoon), we hop into the anthology's first and best segment concerning an anorexic woman struggling to remain sane whilst also being stalked by a killer doll(s). This smart handling of various dramatic strands sets a nice tone for the series, of characters struggling with their own problems (most of them pretty loathsome, really) finding themselves in horrific situations. It keeps the generic elements fresh but present enough to keep any of the individual story lines from becoming too grating or frustrating in their own right. The build-up here works by amplifying each of the threads and finishes nicely and unexpectedly at that. But more terrifying than the dolls are the simple scenes of the poor woman watching America's Most Obese People on television. There's a certain lurking self- destruction in these moments that is at once sad, funny, and horrifying. The second entry has perhaps the most potential but falls a bit flat at the end and throughout due to an effective but annoying lead actor (the guy's supposed to be annoying, hence his efficacy). Again, a deep character flaw accompanies pretty standard genre developments, but while the ending here is still unexpected and strange, it's abrupt and not terribly well-executed (the jump scare could work but there's something off about the costuming and framing of the moment). The third section is a bit less successful and feels the most thrown-together of the bunch, suffering a bit from the acting but also the demands of their roles. Pulling off a hobo family is a tough business, and I'm not sure if this particular crew is up to it (although to be honest, I can't quite imagine which actors could, maybe Robert Z'dar for starters?). The fourth segment at first feels like it's out of a different movie altogether, seeming more like one of WD's crimers rather than a horror entry, that is until Fredianelli's strange libertinecharacter comes into the otherwise straight kidnapping story. It's also a nice piece for Nose who remains probably WD's most reliable acting talent. He might not be able to play any role, but he always brings his A-game with plenty of heart. Plenty of perversity and terror follows with a show-stopper of an ending. Out of the entries, it's probably the one that I would've liked to see developed further. Either way, this was a nice return to form, in my taste, for Fredianelli, after what felt like a restrained if not ineffective bid to wider viewership.
