Horrortales.666 Part 2 (2021)
Review By Ryan Reading
Phil Herman, Dustin Hubbard, and Joel D. Wynkoop are back with the follow up to 2003’s Horrortales.666.
Horrortales.666 Part 2 starts with Joel D. Wynkoop reprising his role as the burglar. The burglar was just released from prison after a 15 year bid. As an unsuspecting homeowner leaves her residence, the burglar breaks in. While searching the home for gold and other valuables, he begins to hear the house speaking to him and soon enough starts seeing apparitions. The voices are calling for him to “sit down, shut up, and read the stories, dumbass” and he complies.
The first tale is Open House, directed by Matt Cannon. A rookie real estate agent, Sue, is getting her first house ready for sale. While she is walking the property in an effort to prepare it for the market, she encounters a mask and costume left behind. We are privileged to a flashback scene showing that some evil event has taken place. We see two deceased adults and a masked man exiting the house, as a small child puts the finishing touches on an art project. Back to the present time, Sue is shook up after seeing the costume. The rest of the real estate team learns of the house's history, as members begin to be heinously murdered. From a high heel impaled forehead to faces being dunked into boiling water, the horror just begins as Sue is still eager for her first sale.
The Last Farewell, directed by Marcelo Fabani, is the second tale of the film. We see a man who just woke up on his 50th birthday. He begins his day making breakfast and then heading over to his computer. He is anxious to check his email; he is looking forward to warm birthday wishes from his daughter. However, he is unaware that today is the last day of his life. He is flooded with flashbacks of his youth, particularly a memory of his mother’s 40th birthday, where she lost her life. It is storming mightily, as it was on his mother’s final day, as well. He hears his mother speaking to him, as she begins to narrate the tale. We see some well crafted scenes with a spaceship navigating the storm riddled skies. Our main character’s body begins to break down, when his mother explains that he, his daughter, and herself are alien hybrids and he is receiving this call to leave his human existence. Then a new voice calls out for him to “kill his daughter”.
The third tale brings us into the holiday season with Slay Ride, directed by Derek Braasch. It’s Christmas time. The camera pans through neighborhood homes and streets decorated for the season. We then join Santa and Mrs. Claus in their suburban home. It is Christmas Eve, Santa is eating dinner before embarking on his annual journey to deliver gifts to the children of the world, but things take an interesting turn this year. Santa readies his SUV, puts on some death metal for the ride, and makes his first stop. He enters the house to the sounds of a female moaning. As any curious man would, he heads upstairs to see what is going on. He encounters an elf going down on Mrs. Clause. Sometimes relationships can make the most joyous men turn into a chainsaw wielding murderer and that is exactly what happens. Santa fires up the saw and makes easy work of his wife and the elf. Now Santa still has a job to do, but is not in the mood to leave Tonka Trucks and Barbies this year.
We are then treated to The Present, from Joe Sherlock. A wife has a surprise for her husband after a stressful day of work. He walks in the door and they catch up on their day, while she wraps up cooking dinner. Once they have filled each other in on their respective days, she leads him to his surprise and it is a doozy. She takes him to an empty room in their house, where there is an unconscious woman bound to a chair. Clearly the husband is excited, but they leave to eat a spaghetti dinner before returning to the present. The woman is now beginning to regain consciousness. Disoriented, confused, frightened - the woman has every right to be as the wife begins to remove her clothing. Clutching a butcher knife, the husband then applies pressure to bound woman’s throat as the story escalates quickly with the couple ultimately having sex over the corpse of the captured woman.
Our final story is My World, directed by Phil Herman. In this meta tale, we begin with a busty leading lady filming her scene for Slowmo The Giant Clown. After the actress and Phil have a disagreement on the phone, Phil and Dustin begin speaking about wrapping up production on Horrortales.666 Part 2. Dustin is seemingly stressed, while both of their phones are ringing off the hook with actors looking to be the host of Horrortales.666 Part 2. Everyone is asking to host the sequel, from Debbie D, Debbie Rochon, Ari Lehman, to Michael Moutsatsos and Shawn C. Phillips and everyone in between. This story takes on a humorous tone to bring the movie to a close. A story that is likely rooted in my real life scenarios. There are some interesting mentions and references to a rumored Burglar From Hell Part 2. I don’t think I am alone in wanting to see this project actually happen!
Overall, Horrortales.666 Part 2 delivers everything you would expect and hope for. This is a low budget, shot-on-video, horror anthology that accomplishes everything it sets out to. There is blood, boobs, ghosts, aliens, Santa rubbing one out and ejaculating tinsel (yes, seriously) and much, much more. The wrap around segments work well and set the tone. While the individual segments are well written, shot, and executed perfectly. The stories are engaging, fresh, and leave you wanting more. I would recommend Horrortales.666 Part 2 to any horror anthology fan or shot-on-video fan. It is a must see for fans of Tim Ritter, Donald Farmer, Todd Sheets, Mark Polonia, and the like. You will not be disappointed. Also, there is a little segment snuck into the credits. So, don’t bail early! Head over to Sleaze Box to grab your copy today!