You’ve Never Seen a Horror Anthology Like This

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MOVIE REVIEW
Tales from Middleton High
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Genre: Horror
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 1h 10m
Writer/Director(s): Zach Lorkiewicz
Producer(s): Grace Hahn, Dylan DeLuca
Creator(s): Zach Lorkiewicz, Michael Coe
Cast: Sarah J. Bartholomew, Lauren Elyse Buckley, Avril Dominguez, Anastasia Katarina, Danielle Lauder, Brittany Lewis, Anjali Nath, Sarah O'Connor, Roxanne Saylor
Where To Watch: Available to stream on Tubi now: Click here to watch for free

RAVING REVIEW: Anthology horror is becoming increasingly popular; the connection between the stories is often irrelevant. That wasn’t the case here, and I give the film some credit for that alone. This film tells five individual tales of terror from the High School from hell.

From director Zach Lorkiewicz comes a horror anthology that lets Lorkiewicz stick to their comfort zone. Having primarily directed shorts before this allows the storytelling to be on a smaller scale while still delivering one final piece. That was a brilliant move; it allows for comfort in filmmaking while expanding their abilities.

Lorkiewicz categorizes the film as “pop horror,” five stories combined for one larger narrative; I don’t know that I’d strictly call this a horror, but I can see the intended tone. The most important thing here is that you can feel the heart and passion that went into this production; with each story (PEP, I LOVE LUCY, THE CHEERLEADER TRIALS, THE BALL, and LOVELESS), we are introduced to new bits and pieces of the larger world that make up Middleton High.

I would have liked to have seen the horror elements pumped up while trying to stick to more practical style effects. If you like low-budget films that generally exceed expectations, I give this my entire backing. I don’t think most people will walk away not having enjoyed this on some level. I would be interested to see more stories from Middleton, even if they aren’t directly connected to these. The idea of playing off a high school gives you almost endless story options and a rotating cast with some familiar characters popping up in stories when needed.

Produced by Count the Clock is a multi-media production company based in Los Angeles. They run their own YouTube channel, posting horror-related shorts, music videos, and fashion films. Count the Clock is currently in pre-production for its second feature film.

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[photo courtesy of COUNT THE CLOCK PRODUCTIONS]