Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Wayne Coe, this hip, modestly budgeted horror compendium is grounded in the culture and imagery of the Old West. Farley (Brad Dourif), a mild-mannered city fella, is heading east across the frontier to visit his wife. One cold and lonely
night, his campsite is invaded by Morrison (James Earl Jones), a wild mountain man with a corpse slung over his pack horse. Initially antagonistic, the two men slowly develop a rapport as they tell each other stories to pass the time. Morrison relates the tale of a man (Will Hare) who desecrates
an Indian burial ground, only to find himself interred alive by a tribe of phantoms. When Farley seems entertained by the story, Morrison tells another, this one concerning a traveler (Marc McClure) who encounters a pregnant woman (Michelle Joyner) wandering in the wilderness. He takes her under
his wing, but during the night discovers she is not what she seems. No longer pregnant, she entices him to make love to her, then absorbs him into her own body. Farley, an aspiring writer, is horrified by this gratuitously shocking ending. Taking his turn, he tells a story with a moral. A southern
family moves west to start a new life, but one family member, Arthur (William Atherton), is unable to leave behind the prejudice and violence that have played so large a role in his upbringing. Morrison retorts with the saga of a fastidious gunslinger (Scott Paulin) who's driven mad when he kills
a man with particular brutality. The sun comes up and the two men part company, each enriched by the experience.
It's tough to make a horror movie that breaks new ground; the genre's popularity insures that all kinds of filmmakers--from rank beginners to seasoned veterans--have tried their hand. With GRIM PRAIRIE TALES, Coe tries to put an unusual spin on genre conventions; regrettably, he isn't up to the
challenge. Jones' phoned-in hamming doesn't help matters. leave a comment