In my opinion, the most challenging type of movie to create is an anthology. Most anthologies contain a framework plot, usually with three or four short stories contained within a larger one. Some take a simple "storybook" approach in which a character or group of characters share a series of tales, usually with the assistance of a book (see Creepshow and Tales From the Darkside: The Movie). The other direction an anthology can take is to have all the tales connected together via one character (see Cat's Eye). With Evil Tales III, writer/director/producer Ryan Cavalline takes the storybook route by having b-movie beauty Pamela Sutch introduce each tale. Apparently Pamela's already read the majority of the Book of the Dead (no it's not the Necrinomicon Ex Mortus) so she's going to finish up the last few chapters in this movie.

The first tale is called THE MADNESS. Frank has been having strange nightmares about a busty blonde who isn't too shy about full frontal nudity. Wait, how can that be a nightmare?! Anyway, due to the consistency of said nightmares, Frank seeks some aid from a psychiatrist (who happens to have some skills in the fields of psychology and hypnotic therapy). Despite the use of medication, Frank seems to be getting worse. He's still having his nightmares plus he wakes up one morning to find a bloody axe on his kitchen floor. He tells all of this to his psychiatrist at a later session and is told that perhaps he's hurting emotionally from his failed marriage. To possibly combat his mental problems, Frank decides to undergo hypnosis.

Everything seems to be going fine until Frank is finally in a deep trance. This is where the startling plot twist occurs! It turns out that Frank isn't crazy at all. The psychiatrist has been the cause of all of all Frank's alleged mental problems. But why? Because the shrink is screwing Frank's ex-wife. And since the shrink hates abusive husbands, Frank's days are numbered. That little twist at the end caught me completely off guard and really gave Evil Tales III a strong start. Unfortunately, the rest of the mini horror tales don't deliver the goods found in THE MADNESS. The second tale, entitled THE DEAD FOREST, concerns a man who is going to bury the fresh corpse of his now deceased infant. He killed said bundle of joy with a gun because he couldn't stand its constant crying. Realizing that he's made a horrible error, the man totes the dead infant in a garbage bag and buries it deep within a secluded forest. He then sits on a stump and contemplates suicide while holding a gun in his mouth.

Instead of pulling the trigger, he begins reasoning that the whole situation isn't his fault. If the baby had stopped crying, he wouldn't have done this horrible deed. Soon though, the young man begins to hear the infant's ghostly cries. Is it just in his guilt-ridden mind, or has the baby's restless spirit come back for revenge? If you guessed the latter, you are correct! The man is chased around the forest for a bit by an invisible entity until he eventually comes across his own dead body! GASP! So I guess he did commit suicide, and his spirit has been running around aimlessly in the forest. Once he realizes his fate, the aforementioned invisible entity catches up with him and... fade to black. Even though this tale has the most controversial plot out of the bunch, it's dragged down by it's only character. The actor just doesn't pull off the emotions required for this type of situation and the horrific elements could've been played up a bit more (a small foot or hand poking out of the garbage bag would've helped things in my opinion).

So now we move on to the most lighthearted of the tales, THE NUDY CHANNEL (shouldn't it be spelled nudie?). In this one, we have Scott and Joe, two working class losers who love to sit back late at night, drink some beer, and watch porn! One evening after Joe goes to bed, Scott stays up extremely late and catches a brief show in which a blonde bombshell fondles her breasts and masturbates. Needless to say, Scott is entranced by her (even though her looks are average and she should consider losing some weight). Once morning comes, Scott is awakened by his beer swilling roommate. Scott tells Joe all about the awesome nudie show that was on the tube so they both sit together that night, waiting for it to come on. Joe grows weary and retires for the night, leaving Scott all alone to enjoy the show again (this time the titular babe soaps herself up in a shower). She entices poor Scott, calling him by name and saying that they can both be together forever if he just slits his wrists (at this point, I would have destroyed the TV and/or ran screaming from the house, but not Scott!).

Scott is bewildered to say the least and ends up lounging in bed the next day (despite warnings from Joe: "I'm not paying your half of the rent man!"). Scott decides to watch the show again that night and does indeed slit his wrists. Several days pass after Scott's untimely demise, and Joe watches the nudie channel. Guess who pops up on the TV, asking Joe if he wants to join her and Scott. Joe's reply? "I gotta stop drinking, nice boobs though." This third entry in the anthology contains gobs of nudity (along with some brief hardcore sex and plenty of full frontal shots) and, as I said earlier, is the most lighthearted of the tales. As is the case with most anthologies, this tale provides some alleviation from the straightforward horror provided by the other segments. If I were to rank this one, I'd put it at number two, right behind THE MADNESS. So that leaves us with the fourth and final tale, DEMONS IN THE BASEMENT.

Dr. Dillion (that guy is way too young to be a doctor in any profession) is sitting in his kitchen, speaking into a camcorder. According to Dillion, he has trapped a demon in the basement and must stop it somehow before it escapes. In a flashback we see Dillion kill Tina and chase an invisible force into the basement, firing a total of eight shots from a gun that could only have held five or six bullets. Dillion then hacks up his late girlfriend with a small kitchen knife and throws the chunks into a garbage disposal. So now that we're up to speed, it's time for Dillion to go into the basement and deal with the demon. His weapon of choice? That nifty gun that fires more bullets than it can hold! He ventures into the basement and unloads his gun at the demonic force but it proves to be useless and he is possessed(?!) by the demon. The next scene involves two police detectives and Dillion's psychologist. Wait huh?! Yeah that's right, apparently Dillion wasn't a doctor, but rather a mental patient who had bouts of schizophrenia. And Tina is just a hooker that the late Mr. Dillion had invited to his home. But what really happened? Was Dillion crazy, or was there really a demon?! That question my friends, is never answered.

Out of these four evil tales, DEMONS IN THE BASEMENT is ultimately the worst. The plot itself is a weak link and the actor portraying Dr. Dillion uses a ridiculous accent and simply cannot act. He really drags the entire story down and didn't die soon enough in my opinion. You think I'm exaggerating don't you? Well how good is an actor if he can't successfully complete the illusion of smoking a cigar, drinking a bottle of beer, or firing a gun?! I rest my case. Moving on then, Evil Tales III is a fairly well made short film, and that's quite an achievement considering its low budget. Christopher Kahler's musical score is quite good and the only time that said music is even remotely inappropriate is during NUDY CHANNEL. The strange tunes that accompany the sexual imagery pretty much ruins any intended eroticism. Along with some top notch editing, the movie ends up with a more polished and professional look. However, the acting in this movie could've used some fine tuning. The female cast members do a good job, but their main task is to show off some T&A and they do that with flying colors!

It's pretty much the male cast members that need the acting lessons (especially the main actors in THE DEAD FOREST and DEMONS IN THE BASEMENT). And it's all that bad acting (combined with some really bad dialogue and ad-libbing) that hurts this movie. If Ryan Cavalline and company managed to get some professional actors, Evil Tales III would've been so much better. So now you're wondering if you should get yourself a copy? Well, that all depends on your taste in film. The fact that it is shot-on-video will immediately discourage many potential viewers, but please don't let that stop you! If you can look past the shot-on-video look; if you enjoy old fashioned horror stories and female nudity, this movie is definitely for you! (Note: The VHS of Evil Tales III: The Final Chapter comes with some bonus features. There are some bonus trailers provided by Sub Rosa Studios and two short interviews; one with Pamela Sutch, the other with Joel D. Wynkoop. That jacks up the video's running time to a full 65 minutes.)