Grim Prairie Tales

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User Ratings: 339

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Movie Info

An entertaining hybrid of Amicus-style horror anthology and gritty low-budget western, this first-time effort from writer-director Wayne Coe succeeds where many such genre-bending attempts have failed. The quartet of uneven but well-mounted stories are spun around a desert campfire by grizzled, menacing bounty hunter Morrison (a rousingly hammy James Earl Jones) and wet-behind-the-ears city slicker Farley (Brad Dourif). Morrison starts off with the tale of an Indian tribe's ritual revenge against the drunken cracker who desecrates their sacred burial ground; When Farley seems interested but unfazed, Morrison follows up with the more visceral story of a Good Samaritan who succumbs to temptation while rendering aid to a pregnant woman, leading to a particularly disgusting (though definitely original) demise. Appalled by the storyteller's lack of taste, Farley counters with a down-to-earth morality tale involving a prairie settler's young daughter who witnesses her father's horrifying act of hate, realizing that the man she trusted with her life is a very human breed of monster. Morrison acknowledges his companion's skill but offers another violent story according to his own idiom -- that of a slick gunfighter who gets his comeuppance by his own hand after winning a deadly competition. The stories feature fine acting and direction but are ultimately overshadowed by the engaging framing story and lack much of the dramatic payoff of their earlier British counterparts.

Rating:

R (adult situations/language, violence)
Genre:

Horror, Special Interest, Western
Directed By:

Wayne Coe
Written By:

Wayne Coe
In Theaters:

Jan 1, 2000 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Jan 3, 1991
Runtime:

90 minutes
Studio:

Winstar

Cast

James Earl Jones
as Morrison

Brad Dourif
as Farley

Will Hare
as Lee

Marc McClure
as Tom

Michelle Joyner
as Jenny

William Atherton
as Arthur

Lisa Eichhorn
as Maureen

Wendy J. Cooke
as Eva

Scott Paulin
as Martin

Dan Leegant
as Dr. Leaderman

Bruce M. Fischer
as Colochez

Jennifer Barlow

Angela Jones

Joan Lemmo

Steve Reevis

Tom Simcox

Bob Terhune

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Critic Reviews for Grim Prairie Tales

All Critics (3)

They certainly are.

Aug 18, 2004 | Rating: 2/5

Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
If only the tales were as clever as the title.

Jul 25, 2002 | Rating: 2/5

Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

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Audience Reviews for Grim Prairie Tales

Dec 14, 2009

Two travellers, one a well to do young clark on the way to a reunion with his wife, the other a scruffy, feral bounty hunter meet at sundown on a lonely prairie and agree to swap stories to pass the time. Honestly I watched it only once and it was enough.

Wahida K Super Reviewer
May 15, 2008

Another film with a collection of short Horror stories as 2 guys try to scare each other! Some of the stories are very good!

Dean K Super Reviewer