Anthology movies in the horror genre are a lot of fun as there is always something for everybody to enjoy and Tales of the Third Dimension is no exception. Unlike the various Amicus productions or later ones such as Creepshow or Tales From the Darkside, this one seems like it was made on the cheap yet despite that does not prevent it from delivering what it needs to. And if one were to wonder what that might be, it is both a good slice of horror and a dash of comedy to keep things a little light in between those moments that scare.

There are three stories to delight viewers in this film, the first of which is called “In Young Blood” where a vampire couple are looking to adopt a child. When getting interviewed by the adoption agents though, something seems off about the couple and soon enough, they are sussed out because the child they are given turns out to be their doom. A second tale called “The Guardians” is the weakest of the bunch, an outing about a couple of graverobbers who get far too greedy and when looking to make the perfect score, only end up meeting their final fates. The third yarn to be spun in this movie is by far the best called “Visions of Sugar Plums” which is a Christmas story if one was unable to guess where two young children are shipped off to their grandmother’s house for the holidays. Things are going okay until Grandma runs out of anti-psychotics and from there, things slowly but surely descend into madness as Grandma looks to rid herself of her grandchildren. With their parents unable to save them, they find themselves rescued by the impossible.

In between each of these tales while also opening and closing the film, are animated segments with puppets and poorly made ones at that. As sad as they might look, there is a charm about them and they do the job with some (unintentionally?) funny bits, introducing each story as needed. The main character is named Igor (pronounced eye-gore) who narrates the entire affair while a group of ravens that resemble both the Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy serve up the laughs. What little there are. It is hokey and silly and utterly ridiculous but absolutely fitting as one watches the film and by the end of it all, viewers would not have it any other way.

There are multiple directors in the form of Earl Owensby, Worth Keeter, Thom McIntyre and Todd Durham with each of them doing a good job of it. Additionally, there are a multitude of people who star within including Helene Tryon, Leon Rippy, Robert Bloodworth, Kate Hunter, William Hicks, Craig Neilson and more. Surprisingly, the scripts for each one were solid and the talent performed quite well, particularly Helene Tryon as the mad grandma in the final piece. None of it was overly scary though that last portion of the film was indeed the most disturbing and one can almost picture themselves in that very situation for who has not stayed over at their grandparent’s house at one point or another in their lives, minus the murderous granny that is.

All in all, Tales of the Third Dimension is not of the highest calibre but it does not need to be and it can stand alongside its anthology brethren as a very entertaining exercise in horror.

3 out of 5