Texas Terror Tales – review

Director: David Carbajal (segment)

Release date: 2017

Contains spoilers

This is another anthology film with the connection that all the films are from (and set in) Texas. I guess you could say that the other connection is that they are all particularly low budget movies, and that really shows. However, the segments are not as bad as they might have been and there are moments that stand out. The undead/skeletal projectionist puppet, who acts like a horror host, is blooming awfully realised.

The vampire segment is entitled Unholy Living Dead and has a nice premise, though I don’t think that the premise is particularly explored in such a way as to make it anything more than embryonic. A nice idea but one not capitalised upon.

It starts in a diner and rocker Evan (Eric Aguirre) is discussing Elvis with his two companions – the three of them looking like an odd mix of acquaintances. There is some discussion about the moon landings (and a difference opinion as to whether they were real or not). They decide they may eat (despite food being there – of course that is not what they are hungry for). They leave the place and go to a bar.

the vampires

In the bar they notice Leila (Bianca Flores). Evan goes on over to her and they hit it off (I have spotted a cut of the film where the next scene is cut out, a shame as this is the rather embryonic good idea). Evan holds her necklace, it was her grandmothers, and then her mothers. Her grandmother was given it by a man who loved her but then left. Evan says he gave her grandmother the necklace. He left her as she wasn’t pure but gave her the necklace as he would return for one of her bloodline who was pure.

Bianca Flores as Leila

The shame of the bloodline idea was that it wasn’t expanded on – what exactly did he mean by pure, why did he need a pure member of the bloodline? Later it is suggested that he intends to turn her. However, for now, she runs outside and into a group of guys – unfortunately they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, the vampires killing them. However the dust up allows Leila chance to get into a warehouse.

holy burn

She is stalked around the place but manages to find a crucifix and belts the jock looking vampire in the face, the crucifix burning his flesh. Again Leila runs and gets to a church, imploring help from the priest inside. The vampires might be burned by crosses, but that isn’t going to stop them entering a church, apparently. And we’ll leave it there…

The film has that kernel of an idea and Evan seems rather fun as the rocker, Elvis fan vampire. The other two vampires were entirely two-dimensional. The filming quality was poor but the short didn’t offend. Over all it isn’t great, it has a twist ending and its probably worth 3.5 out of 10 (though I was tempted to go half a point higher).

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK