Twisted Tales is a trilogy of Twilight Zone-ish short films made in the late 1980s and early '90s by Rita Klus, Mick McCleery and Kevin Lindemuth. The first, "Nothing But the Truth," is about a young man whose fabricated exaggerations catch up with him. "The Shooting" revolves around a murder and a psychic woman. In the final segment, "Hungry Like a... Bat?" a third young man confesses multiple supernatural afflictions to a skeptical psychologist.The tales seem to have been filmed mostly in New Jersey and they share a dusty, lived-in sense of place. The cast and crew appear to come from local talent, too. For the most part, the filmmakers recognize the limitations imposed by their tight budgets and work well within them. Despite the supernatural elements, the stories revolve around familiar relationships and characters. Most of the acting has an understated, naturalistic quality that's rarely seen at this level of filmmaking. Some of the monster effects are a short step above trick-or-treaters, but that's not a significant flaw. The scripts are uneven and they lack the final twist or level of irony you find in the best episodes of The Twilight Zone. Even so, it's pointless to judge regional films too harshly. These are a solid cut above.
Sucker is an ultra-low-budget variation on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. It's vintage Troma, and fans know exactly what that means - bargain basement production values, acting that runs the gamut from pure ham to amateur ham, sophomoric humor brightened by flashes of real wit, enthusiastic appreciation for the conventions of horror, oodles of T&A.
