''Deadtime Stories'' (also known internationally as ''Freaky Fairy-Tales'' and ''The Griebels from Deadtime Stories'') is a 1986 American

horror comedy Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and sp ...

anthology film co-written and directed by Jeffery Delman in his

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

. In the film, a babysitting uncle tells his nephew three stories. The first story involves a slave used by two witches, who are attempting to resurrect their sister. The second story is based on "

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brot ...

", where a teenage girl mistakenly picks up a werewolf's medicine for her grandmother. The third story, based on "

Goldilocks "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest hom ...

", tells about three escaped mental patients who share their hideaway with a murderess. Production was filmed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1984, originally titled as ''Freaky Fairy Tales''. After screening at the

1986 Cannes Film Festival The 39th Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 19 May 1986. The Palme d'Or went to '' The Mission'' by Roland Joffé. The festival opened with ''Pirates'', directed by Roman Polanski and closed with '' El Amor brujo'', directed by Carlos Saura ...

, it was released on November 26, 1986, where it grossed $2.7 million at the box office.

Plot

An impatient uncle attempts to calm his rambunctious nephew by telling him three horror stories. The first story tells about a fisherman's son who is sold as a slave to two witches that are trying to resurrect their sister. The second story is about a teenage girl who picks up the medication for her grandmother, which is mixed up with medicine intended for a

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...

. In the third story, three mental patients escape and share their country house hideaway with a murderess.

Cast

* Scott Valentine as Peter *Nicole Picard as Rachel * Matt Mitler as Willie *Cathryn de Prume as Goldi Lox *

Melissa Leo Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Critics' Choice A ...

as Judith "MaMa" Baer *Kathy Fleig as Miranda *Phyllis Craig as Hanagohl *Michael Mesmer as Uncle Mike *Brian DePersia as Little Brian *Kevin Hannon as Beresford "Papa" Baer *Timothy Rule as Wilmont "Baby" Baer *Anne Redfern as Florinda *Casper Roos as Vicar *Barbara Seldon as Seductress *Leigh Kilton as Seductress *Lesley Sank as Reviving Magoga *Lisa Cain as Living Magoga *Jeffrey Delman as Strangling Man *Michael Berlinger as Greg *Fran Lopate as Grandma *John Bachelder as Drugstore Clerk *Caroline Carrigan as Nurse *Oded Carmi as Groundskeeper / Postman *Heather L. Baley as Girl in Store *Thea as Dog *Bob Trimboli as Lt. Jack B. Nimble *Harvey Pierce as Capt. Jack B. Quick *

Rondell Sheridan Rondell Jerome Sheridan (born August 15, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and television director, best known for his four-year portrayal of Victor Baxter, the goofy-yet-lovable father of a psychic teenager, in the Disney Channel sitcom ...

as Looney Bin Guard *Beth Felty as Reporter *Patrick McCord as Anchor *Michele Mars as Waitress *Ron Bush as Bank Guard *Bryant Tausek as Man At Car *Suzanna Vaucher as Weather Girl *Leif Wennestrom as Dead Body *Jim Nocell as Dead Body *Evan L. Delman as Police Sergeant

Production

Principal photography was shot as ''Freaky Fairy Tales'' in New York City in 1984, and finished post-production in 1985. The title was initially changed to ''Deadtime'', but was settled as ''Deadtime Stories''.

Release

''Deadtime Stories'' was screened at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival. After being acquired, the film was released on November 26, 1986 in the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

, and premiered in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

on February 20, 1987. It earned $708,112 on its opening weekend in 255 theaters, and grossed $2.7 million during its theatrical course.

Home video

It was originally released on VHS in 1987 by Continental Video and Magnum Entertainment in the United States, and by Entertainment in Video in the United Kingdom where it was titled as ''Freaky Fairy-Tales''. Mill Creek Entertainment released the film on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on September 13, 2015 as part of their ‘Chilling Classics: 50 Movie Pack’, but was discontinued after it was mistaken to be in the public domain. The film was released again on DVD by

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

under license from Cinevision International, which ran 12 minutes shorter.

Scream Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

, a substinary of Shout! Factory, released ''Deadtime Stories'' on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

and DVD as a combo pack on February 28, 2017.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deadtime Stories 1986 comedy horror films 1986 fantasy films 1986 independent films 1980s monster movies 1980s supernatural horror films 1980s parody films 1980s dark fantasy films 1986 films Films shot in New York City American parody films Fairy tale parody films American comedy horror films American horror anthology films American independent films American supernatural horror films American dark fantasy films Supernatural fantasy films Supernatural comedy films Films about witchcraft Films based on Little Red Riding Hood Films based on multiple works Films based on short fiction Films based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears American werewolf films 1986 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language comedy horror films Films about slavery Resurrection in film Films about sisters Films set in country houses