I won't lie, I steadily readjusted my score for this film as I watched it, slowly lowering it from an 8 to a 5.
This anthology kicks things off with a strong wraparound story. I've seen SO many horror anthologies, and this is possibly the only one I've seen that placed so much importance on the wraparound. I found it to be compact and engrossing. . . .until the back half of the film kicked in and everything quickly devolved into, well, the very final shot perfectly captivates what it devolves into.
Here is why I found myself slowly lowering my score:
The major weak point for this anthology is how every single damn one of these stories falls flat on its face just before reaching the finish line. The stories all begin with perfectly fine ideas and passable presentations - Case 3 does an excellent job of building tension - but then can't figure out how to end. The twist endings, while unable to salvage the disappointing finales, definitely help mitigate the damage done. However, it almost seems like the producers realized this and then started using all sorts of twists haphazardly as stop-gap measures to postpone the film's atrophy.
A shame too, because there seems to be relatively decent production value for this film. It just lacked a proper director and screenplay writer.
I only counted 5 cases, but the movie states that there are 6. .. maybe that includes the wraparound.
Below are brief Plot Summaries:
Wraparound:
A detective attempts to solve several unsolved cases, all of which are tied to a particularly baleful clock. 6/10
Case 1 - Dark Heat:
In the lethal aftermath of a petty theft attempt, a man receives a package and becomes the target of an unknown entity. 5/10
Case 2 - The Getaway:
A couple of teens with problematic pasts take shelter in a house with a gruesome history of its own. 4/10
Case 3 - Returns and Exchanges:
A store clerk receives a peculiar customer. 7/10
Case 4 - Voodoo Child:
With her marriage failing and her husband cheating, a woman uses mystical means to repossess her husband. 4/10
Case 5 - Gingerbread:
When their parents hire a new babysitter last minute, two siblings start to suspect that she's a witch. 5/10.
