Trash Arts Killers Volume Three

The studio provides six gruesome tales from its collaborators and artists.

The Good Stor(ies): Night Cap-Arriving at a secluded hotel room, a couple decides to partake in drugs and other activities only for a dark secret that binds the two to come to a head in unexpected means. This was a pretty solid start to things. The initial setup of the couple appearing to engage in a certain relationship with their banter and recreational drug use soon gives way to a far darker and more intense experience the longer it goes on. The switch is handled incredibly well with the expectations being geared to a different outcome before a wholly unexpected twist that turns this from a romantic romp to a spiritual battle for his life with a demonic entity that he was clearly expecting if not at the proper time. The ending is a bit of a cliche but it's not enough to hold back the rest of this one's positives.

The Lodger, Carey-Arriving at a man's house, the skittish owner shows a mysterious woman the place where he's renting out a room for her only for her true nature to provide a grisly end to his intentions. This one wasn't that bad but does feel somewhat lacking. The setup with the strange girl and her odd behavior while being shown around the house and the obviously creepy intentions he has towards her generate a fine atmosphere that's rife with potential. The payoff and resolution to it all is a fantastic piece of karma coming back to strike those who deserve it but this is all over so quickly it's hard to know what's going on or what this is all about with a questionable finale that raises more answers than anything due to its length. It works as is but definitely could've used more time to get something going.

Sweet Dreams-Staying alone at a remote bed-n-breakfast, a woman missing her husband begins to encounter a series of haunting visions that signal something or someone is living in the room with her. Overall, this was a pretty fun segment with a lot to like. The greater length compared to the other two segments makes for more of a chance to know what's going on with the belief that she's not alone through the dreams of hands coming up out of the bed to touch her that's quite effective and creepy. However, it's still hard to believe that someone would stay in the situation as long as she does feeling as uneasy about it as she does, and the finale is a bit underwhelming which overall brings this one down just slightly.

Ruby Rain-Trying and failing to snatch his target, a determined serial killer finds another potential victim and follows her to her house where a deadly cat-and-mouse game plays out. There was a lot to like with this effort. The Giallo imagery with the killer's outfit and stalking methods that play out like perfect homages to the genre, especially the scenes at the house where he has to sneak past the blind home-owner to sneak inside has quite a lot to like about it, especially with the heartbreaking finale that gives everything a bit of purpose and explanation which was missing from the rest of the proceedings. Again it feels kinda short and cuts off right when it's getting interesting but it still has a lot to like about it.

The Bad Stor(ies): If Only You Could Speak-After getting burned out of his show, a children's TV show host desperate for real companionship grows increasingly more worried that the puppets he uses have come to life. This was certainly serviceable enough but it's not bringing much of anything new to the table with the format. Opening with the introduction to his pathetic life in a cramped studio with the puppets, the slow belief that he's going crazy hearing noises around the house, or that they're moving around on their own seems to indicate a worthwhile if not wholly original setup that doesn't really strike as hard as it could've. While the finale does become the best part of this one with the puppets offering a gruesome and somewhat chilling attack that's pulled off nicely, the few drawbacks here do hurt this one slightly.

Deathvalley-While on a phone call with her friend, a woman witnesses a gruesome act playing out on the feed which soon signals her own encounter with a demented figure. This is a tough one to get into as, again, this is so short it's hard to really get a feel for this when its best course of action is as a cold open to another film entirely. A possible backstory and cause of action are hinted at but never fleshed out with any kind of accuracy given its brevity, and the grisly resolution to it all is off-camera anyway which makes this even more puzzling since that aspect is never given here. This really could've used a bit more time to work as everything else about it is rather fine.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, a Clothed Sex Scene, and drug use.