''Grim Prairie Tales'' is a 1990 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

horror Western The horror Western is a crossgenre of both the Horror genre, horror and Western (genre), Western genres. It has it roots in films such as ''Curse of the Undead'' (1959), featuring Michael Pate as a vampire gunfighter; and ''Billy the Kid vs. Drac ...

film, written and directed by Wayne Coe, and starring an ensemble cast including

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

Brad Dourif Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his film debut role as Billy Bibbit in '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975). He is also kn ...

Will Hare Will T Hare (March 30, 1916 – August 31, 1997) was an American actor who appeared on television and films, often playing old crusty figures and father/grandpa roles. Hare was born in Elkins, West Virginia, the son of Frances Laetitia (née Satt ...

Marc McClure Marc McClure (born March 31, 1957) is an American actor known for playing Jimmy Olsen in the ''Superman'' series of feature films released between 1978 and 1987 and Dave McFly in the ''Back to the Future'' films. Career McClure appeared in the 19 ...

William Atherton William Atherton Knight (born July 30, 1947) is an American actor, best known for portraying Richard Thornburg in ''Die Hard'' and its sequel and Walter Peck in ''Ghostbusters''. Early life Atherton was born in Orange, Connecticut, the son ...

, and

Lisa Eichhorn Lisa Eichhorn (born February 4, 1952) is an American actress, writer and producer. She made her film debut in 1979 in the John Schlesinger film '' Yanks'', for which she received two Golden Globe nominations. Her international career has includ ...

. It is an

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

of four separate stories, told by two travellers around a prairie campfire. Morrison (Jones) is a grizzled

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...

carrying a body, while Farley Deeds (Dourif) is a clerk on the way to a romantic reunion with his wife.

Synopsis

The first story, told by Morrison, is about an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

tribe's revenge against a grouchy old man (

) who desecrates their

burial ground A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

. When that tale fails to impress Deeds, the second story, also by Morrison, tells about a man (

) who helps a seductive seemingly

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

demon woman (

Michelle Joyner Michelle may refer to: People *Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottish wi ...

) in trouble. Deeds, disgusted by the second story, responds with the only non-

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

story of the three, about a homesteader family whose father (

) is forced to participate in a lynch mob. Finally, after feeling challenged by Deeds' story, Morrison tells about a

gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

(

Scott Paulin Robert Scott Paulin (born February 13, 1950) is an American actor and director. He is perhaps best known for playing Deke Slayton in the film '' The Right Stuff'' (1983). He has also acted in films including '' Cat People'' (1982), ''Teen Wolf'' ...

) haunted by a gunman ( Bruce Fischer) he has killed in a shootout. The next morning, Deeds points out to Morrison that the body he's carrying doesn't match the description on the wanted poster; Morrison cuts the body loose and rides out.

Cast

as Morrison *

as Farley Deeds *

as Lee * Michelle Joyner as Jenny *

as Tom *

as Arthur *

as Maureen * Wendy J. Cooke as Eva *

as Martin *

Tom Simcox Thomas William Simcox (born June 17, 1937) is an American film and television actor. Early life Simcox was born in Medford, New Jersey. Career Simcox began his career in 1962, first appearing in the police procedural television series '' ...

as Horn *

Bruce M. Fischer Bruce M. "Bear" Fischer (March 20, 1936 - April 11, 2018) was an American actor, best known for playing the prisoner and rapist ''Wolf Grace'', in the 1979 film, '' Escape from Alcatraz''. Fischer also played a rapist in Clint Eastwood's ''The Ou ...

as Colochez

Production

The film was the sole directorial outing from Coe, a

storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story. Quick pencil drawings and marke ...

and

set decorator The set decorator is the head of the set decoration department in the film and television industry, responsible for selecting, designing, fabricating, and sourcing the "set dressing" elements of each set in a Feature Film, Television, or New Media ...

. At one point, Coe was considering making a sequel entitled ''Grim Prairie Tales: Rescue Party.'' The film was the feature film debut of future

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

Janusz Kamiński Janusz Zygmunt Kamiński (; born June 27, 1959) is a Polish cinematographer and director of film and television. He has established a partnership with Steven Spielberg, working as a cinematographer on his films since 1993. He won the Academy Awa ...

, who at the time worked as a

lighting technician Electrical lighting technicians (ELT), or simply lighting tech, are involved with rigging stage and location sets and controlling artificial, electric lights for art and entertainment venues (theatre or live music venues) or in video, television, o ...

and

2nd unit director Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...

under fellow DP

Phedon Papamichael Phedon Papamichael, ASC ( el, Φαίδων Παπαμιχαήλ, ''Faidon Papamihail''; born 10 February 1962) is a Greek cinematographer and film director, known for his collaborations with directors James Mangold, Alexander Payne and Wim We ...

. Atherton appeared in the lead role in the 1978

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

television western

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

Centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

''.

appeared in ''Grim Prairie Tales'' as the wealthy rancher Horn. In an acting career from 1962–1991, he appeared in eight ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'' episodes and in other

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

Reception

At the time of its cinema and subsequent video release it was marketed as a straight horror, and reviews of the time consequently focused on its lack of scares.

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

from ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote, "''Grim Prairie Tales'' aspires to be a sort of western '' Twilight Zone,'' but the stories it tells are so flat and lacking in tension and atmosphere that the movie generates no tingles."

Hal Hinson Hal Hinson is an American film critic who wrote for ''The Washington Post'' from 1987 to 1997. As of July 2015 he has 887 reviews collected on the website Rotten Tomatoes. Hinson has been cited as a critic who is unpopular with his fellow critic ...

from ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' offered the film similar criticism, stating that the film wasn't particularly scary. Actors on set and audiences Coe subsequently encountered consistently viewed the film as a feminist western rather than a horror, and it has a cult following based on that interpretation. In the UK its reputation as a cult classic was cemented by its inclusion, in 1993, in the

Moviedrome ''Moviedrome'' was a British television cult film series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 8 May 1988 to 9 July 2000. Its remit was to broadcast a selection of cult films each with an introduction, first by film director Alex Cox ...

TV strand, where it was introduced by Alex Cox.

References

External links

* * {{Rotten tomatoes, grim_prairie_tales 1990 films 1990 horror films 1990s Western (genre) horror films American Western (genre) horror films American horror anthology films American supernatural horror films Native American horror films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films