Horrortales.666 Part 3 (2022) Review

Horrortales.666 Part 3 starts where Horrortales.666 Part 2 ended, with The Burglar (Joel D. Wynkoop, Family Snapshot, Ouija Mummy) trapped in a house and forced to read horror tales to The Witch (M. Catherine Wynkoop, Lycanimator, Dinogore).

The first story “He Who Laughs Last” initially confused me as it stars the Wynkoops as well, but playing different characters. He’s a man who stands to inherit everything if his agoraphobic wife dies. It goes pretty much as you expect, but at least it’s short.

The second segment “Death is the Only Option” written and directed by Derek Braasch (Murder for Pleasure, The Icing) is a crime story that crosses over into horror territory. Jimmy (Justin Bower, Slay Ride, Joel D. Wynkoop’s the Craiglon Incident II Aftermath) and Cortez (Mike Rutlin, Flesh Fire) pull off a hit for Mr. Montana (Jimmy Shay, Julie’s Smile, Mutilation Massacre). But when the victim is seen above ground and acting as if nothing happened, there’s going to be hell to pay.

It’s an entertaining story with enough going on in its crime-related plotline to distract you from how obvious the horror angle is.

Part three of Horrortales.666 Part 3 is “Devious Stratagems” was written by Phil Herman (Burglar from Hell, Always Midnight) who is also one of three credited directors along with James Panetta (Hollywood Warrioress: The Movie, Merc Force) and Leo Zemke.

Tom (Phil Herman) and Judy (Debbie D, Horror Odyssey, Shadow: Dead Riot) are having an affair. But that’s not enough, they want to be together permanently. So he kills his wife Tina (Alba O’Neill, Les 3 Voeux, Special Honors: Welcome to the Adulthood) and she fakes her death. Butch Patrick, Eddie from the original Munsters, makes a voice cameo here much as he did in Rob Zombie’s Munsters reboot, be listening for it.

The longest of the film’s segments, “Devious Stratagems” certainly didn’t go the way I was expecting it to. There’s also a couple of scenes of sexual violence that are meant to be disturbing and succeed, giving the segment a nasty edge.

“The Vessel” from director Anthony Piseno (Prey by Night, It Calls) and co-writer Taze Raney is a tale of a cursed vase that leads to the woman who bought it, Ellen (Windy Hamilton, The Electric Man, Impact Event) becoming possessed and the attempts of a psychic, Lily (Alysia Ingrim, The Crumbs, Above Snakes), to help her.

The interesting twist here is that Ellen is deaf and much of the dialogue is in sign language with subtitles for those who don’t understand it. I’ve only seen that a couple of times before, in Deafula and Soul to Keep. The story itself is effectively creepy although a bit derivative. On a sadder note Horrortales.666 Part 3 is dedicated to Piseno who died earlier this year.

The final segment, “Victoria” goes it one further and is a silent film, complete with story cards. The title character is a female vampire (Silvia Bruno, After Last Day) whose attempts to flee from Europe to New York go off course and leave her in Uraguay. And with an unexpected problem.

“Victoria” starts out heavily atmospheric before becoming much lighter, and at times comedic. Like most of the segments in Horrortales.666 Part 3, it’s an amusing ride to a familiar destination.

The wraparound ends on a note that suggests if there is a Part 4 it may be a science fiction film. I’m OK with that as long as the aliens find a way to keep The Burglar from whining so much. Because by the end of Horrortales.666 Part 3 it had stopped being funny and was really getting on my nerves.

While not as outrageous as Part 2, Horrortales.666 Part 3 is still a solid anthology for fans of microbudget films. While a couple are predictable, none of the segments are actually bad. You can order a copy via The Sleaze Box’s website. And if you want more films like this, FilmTagger has some suggestions.