MovieChat Forums > Tales from the Darkside (1983) Discussion > Any episodes NOT ruined by bad effects a...

Any episodes NOT ruined by bad effects and cheesy synthesizer music?

posted 11 years ago by Navaros
13 replies | jump to latest

I have never seen this show until recently, when I watched a few episodes on youtube.

I looked up episodes that were considered the best and then I watched those.

These are my impressions of those episodes:

Trick or Treat - that Witch is very creepy and well-done visually, but, the producers completely destroy the creepy mood by the cheesy synthesizer music that plays as she appears, and especially by the cheesy effects music that plays every time she starts to levitate. The levitation effect sounds like it belongs to a babyish children's show like Sesame Street or Romper Room, not to a horror film.

The part where the miser finds demons in his own house is awesome, but they don't quite look right (I guess due to not having enough money), which stops them from fully achieving the shocking horror effect that they would otherwise.

I have read about controversy because they removed they original music on the DVDs, but based on what I've seen so far, that would be a great way to improve the show. If not for the cheesy synthesizer music and cheesy sound effects music, the Witch in Trick or Treat might actually be scary like she is supposed to be. With the cheesy music in place, that episode is a 7/10. With no music or better music, that episode might have been a 8.5-9/10.

Seasons of Belief - The Grither's hands look like a $5 version of a Jim Henson muppet. Visually, they do not hold up at all as a scary effect. Also, not showing the Grither's body and face is a major cop-out.

Inside the Closet - Again, the potential scariness of this episode is wrecked by the cheesy synthesizer music. Visually, the monster holds up a bit better than does the Grither, but unfortunately, it also looks like a low-rent muppet.

Hence, my question: does this series have any episodes that are NOT ruined by bad effects and cheesy synthesizer music?

Are any of the episodes of this series great horror films that stand the test of time, or is every episode held back from greatness by the problems I've mentioned?

Supplementary question: Is the new score on the DVD versions cheesy and mood-ruining like is the original score?

[–] Tresix 11 years ago

Well, the special effects were what they could afford, so I don't hold those against them. However, I agree that the music was pretty cheap. Things improved quite a bit when the show became "Monsters".

"There will be blood. Oh, yes! There will be blood."-Jigsaw; "Saw II"

[–] shred-com 11 years ago

This show is a bit cheaper than others of its ilk, but it's alot of fun even with the budget drawbacks. Try not to pick it apart too much, and instead enjoy it for what it is.

[–] nunojason 10 years ago

the cheapness and weird synth music adds to the eeriness that is Tales From The Darkside. Alot of episodes have this surreal alternate reality feel. Everything works in this series for me.

[–] Obnoxiously-Adorable 10 years ago

HEY! The bad effects and cheesy synthesizer music are what makes these episodes!!!!

´¨*¨)) -:¦:-
¸.•´ .•´¨*¨))
((¸¸.•´ .•´ -:¦:-
-:¦:-Oooh, sparkly!

[–] MaxRenn2 10 years ago

Synth music is awesome. I'm guessing you're younger. I love the music throughout this series. Check out "Answer Me" and tell me that that music isn't splendid. As for "Seasons of Belief," the episode would have been ruined if they had shown his face. As it is, those veined hands crashing through are super scary.

[–] gasmaskproductionsbooks 9 years ago

I loved the original "cheesy" synthesizer music. It was both nostalgic and eerie, "Answer Me", "Inside the Closet", "I Can't Help Saying Goodbye" and "The Last Car" had some of my favorite. What on earth would you have it replaced with? Country? rock? Jazz? The original music set the mood for the stories and reflects the era the episodes were filmed in. In my opinion, I don't think it ever needed replaced. When I was a teenager watching it, it was cheap, but not in a bad way. It creeped me out, made me laugh, and sometimes it terrified the hell outta me, regardless of whether or not the monsters looked real enough. I don't think any CGI rendered image or special effect could beat the freaky Inside the Closet monster! The trouble with television and films today is that people expect far too much from it, instead of just trying to have fun with it. Sure, at times I laughed at the cheap effects, but at night when it's pitch-dark and pouring rain outside, and I watch an episode of Tales from the Darkside, any notions of cheapness immediately leave my mind. 😅

"The 21st century is all flash but no substance." ~ Smog City

[–] Navaros 9 years ago

I don't think any CGI rendered image or special effect could beat the freaky Inside the Closet monster!

I agree that CGI would be worse, but I think they could have made it look better by investing more money/talent into puppetry/animantronics type effects or something along those lines.

What on earth would you have it replaced with? Country? rock? Jazz?

I wouldn't have used those types of music, but how about replacing the cheesy synthesizer music with the type of score that would play in a John Carpenter film?

[–] gasmaskproductionsbooks 9 years ago

Well, from what I read in Stephen King at the Movies, Tales from the Darkside had a budget of $1 and most of the effects were improvised using extra stuff the creators had lying around, as well as donated things from other people. I doubt they could have afforded much in the way of professional puppetry, but I do agree that if they'd worked on it more it probably would've been creepier. I still don't think I'd ever want the original soundtracks replaced, but man, John Carpenter's done some far out scores in the past! I still remember watching Christine, Village of the Damned (remake) and The Thing when I was a kid, listening to those scores. They set the mood perfectly for every film. :)

Canada, eh? 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 :)

"The 21st century is all flash but no substance." ~ Smog City

[–] Navaros 9 years ago

From watching a documentary about how they made Tales from the Crypt films, I realized that another option to make the Closet monster look better would be to hire a midget actor or actress and then put prosthetics onto him or her, including a prosthetic monster head.

[–] gasmaskproductionsbooks 9 years ago

Yeah, that probably would've looked much more eerie, especially since with some added makeup a mask can almost look real.

Canada, eh? 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 :)

"The 21st century is all flash but no substance." ~ Smog City

[–] theblackestmagic 9 years ago

All the original music from this show was perfect imo, and I wouldn't want to hear it any other way ever! The music is a major reason as to why this show still remains a golden piece of 80s horror nostalgia and uniqueness!

"Life IS pain highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something".

[–] specter19 9 years ago

don;t trash the music..it is what made the show awesome as well

I LIVE for 80's Horror!

Long live October 31st
So sayeth, the Kings of Halloween

[–] Jaydogg1994 9 years ago

Are any of the episodes of this series great horror films that stand the test of time, or is every episode held back from greatness by the problems I've mentioned

Most of the episodes are held back by problems much worse then the music, like the fact that almost every episode took place on 1-2 sets which along with the very occasional bad acting, made it feel like a bad middle school play in hell.