‘Tales from Six Feet Under’ Review
Stars: Nicholas Michael Jacobs, Alexis Beacher, Gianna Jacobs, Brian Jacobs | Written and Direected by Nicholas Michael Jacobs
Directed and written by Nicholas Michael Jacobs, who made Urban Fears, a horror flick I reviewed previously here on Nerdly, Tales from Six Feet Under is a black-and-white shot, 45 minute long anthology horror film with three separate tales.
I had issues with some of what Jacobs’ prior film did, in that it was hard to sit through and the micro-budget aside, the performances and writing was a little too flat. I will say, though, that Urban Fears had some cool ideas going on beneath the poor elements, and so does this one. The stories are welcomed by a crypt-keeper inspired fellow named The Visitor, who stands over the graves of the folks in each of the short horror flicks we see.
The three stories are a mixed bag. One of them see’s a teenage lad finding a ouija board in his cellar. Another see’s a man attempting to make a one-man horror film. Another is about a girl texting a mysterious stranger on her birthday. With the way the tales are told and opened, it’s no spoiler or revelation to say that these guys aren’t exactly going to have a good night.
Tales from Six Feet Under IS a better film from Jacobs. He doesn’t waste as much time doing the unneeded stuff, and the 45 minute run-time certainly helped make things easier to digest. Sure, the acting isn’t great and the writing is iffy, but there are some good parts and intriguing concepts at play, and I especially enjoyed the short film in the middle about the aspiring horror film-maker. That was cool.
This is a ultra-low-budget indie horror, and so you expect certain things to be a part and parcel of what you see. I was pleasantly surprised by some of what was on offer here, and yet there were occasions that I wished had been trimmed, changed or improved, to make the whole film feel better. I will say though, for 45 minutes, and with silliness aplenty, you can do worse with your time. It’s a step up for Jacobs, so I hope that upward momentum continues.
** 2/5
