Vampire Femmes (1999)

Vampire Femmes

produced by David Sterling

written and directed by Tim Sullivan

Vampire Femmes is a 1999 shot on video film written and directed by Tim Sullivan ( Eyes Of The Werewolf, Grave Vengeance a.k.a. Hunting Season).  An amazing noirish vampire film where the lives of a corrupt cop, a battered wife on the run, two mechanics, and three women with taste of blood intersect, culminating in a violent bloodbath.

 The film opens in near total darkness with a few specks of light in the distance, and as the camera pans there are two car headlights off in the distance.  As the camera continues to pan we see a sign that reads: FOR SALE, EVENINGS ONLY, Inquire Within.  The oncoming car headlights move closer and closer, until the vehicle stops near the sign.  A man named Frank ( Richard Marks ) gets out of the car, and walks up to the house.  Knocking on the door, he is greeted at the door by a mysterious woman named Madea ( Roxanne Coyne ).  She invites him in to show him the inside of the house.  Showing Frank the various rooms, Madea begins to hint at an intimate encounter asking, "Do you like games, Frank?".  To which, he replies. "Yes, I do. Very Much."  Entering what Madea calls ' the game room', Frank meets another woman named Persephone ( Popi Ardisson ).  Under the guise of a sexual three way, the woman reveal they are vampires and attack him.

In the next scene, we are introduced to Nacho ( writer / director Tim Sullivan ) and Ed ( fellow filmmaker Ron Ford ), two mechanics who run a chop shop. They are joking around and working on an engine, when a car drives up.  Out of the vehicle steps Danny ( Larry Richards ), an acquaintance of theirs that brings them 'hot' cars for money.  Feeling suspicious, telling Ed, "You know there is something funny about that guy.", Nacho searches the car, and finds a note with an address on it.  He pockets it.

Then the film cuts to a cop named Ken ( Randy Hunt ) entering a fortune teller's place of business.  Encountering the fortune teller ( Randal Malone ), the officer begins attacking in an accusatory manner.  Assuring the cop that he is running a legitimate business, the fortune teller persuades Ken to have his fortune read.  After making derogatory remarks about his wife, the police man is shocked by the psychic's prediction that his wife will leave him for another woman.  A woman who will as the fortune teller states: " A woman who will her special kind to bring her into a new reality. She will enter a world where night is day and day is night. Blood will be her destiny."

Ken begins having visions of a female vampire attacking, freaks out, and leaves in a fit of frustrated anger.  The fortune teller cackles at the cops sudden exit.

Back inside the house with the for sale sign posted out front, Danny is talking to Jezebel ( Heather Branch ), a Betty Page-esque looking woman, who is also a blood drinking room mate with Madea and Persephone.  He informs her that the car, which belonged to Frank, will be disassembled by Nacho and Ed.  Then Jezebel tells Danny to get some wood, and start a fir in the fireplace in order to get rid of Frank's personal effects.  During the process of accomplishing these tasks, the errand boy is seduced by the lascivious vamp.  Jezebel and Danny proceed to have sex on the floor in front of the fireplace.  Afterwards, when Danny has left, the three vampire women have a conversation about 'keeping Danny around'.  Ultimately, the trio decides to keep Danny alive, and to feed some more on Frank.

 Inside the bathroom of a house, a battered woman named Mary ( Michelle Bousquet ) contemplates the state of her existence, as well as her injury.  A voice calls out for her from another room, demanding that she 'get her ass in there, right now.'  She exits the rest room, and enters the bedroom, where it turns out that the voice calling for her is Ken, the cop.  He is drunk and aggressive, belittling his wife, and then, he attempts to force himself on her.  Mary quickly grabs the receiver of a phone on a nightstand, next to the bed, and knocks him out with a blow to the head.  She then hurries up, throwing her belongings in a bag, and leaves the house.

Driving on a road at night, trying to get as far away from her abusive hubby as possible, Mary hears sounds like wings flapping, and is startled by something or someone on her windshield.  She pulls her car over, and gets out.  At first she doesn't see anything or anyone, when suddenly she is surprised from behind with a tap on the shoulder.  Turning around, she looks into the face of Jezebel, who needs a ride.

Inside the car, Mary has a discussion with Jezebel about her situation.  Her lusty, blood drinking passenger tries to persuade the abused woman to leave the situation, and even suggests murdering the husband, as a solution.  After all possibilities of a solution are considered, Jezebel tells Mary that she can stay with her, and her room mates.  The fearful, desperate woman accepts the vamp's offer.   

Outside a building where an ATM machine is stationed, Danny is withdrawing money from Frank's bank account, unaware that Nacho has followed him, and is watching him. 

Heading back to the vampire women's house, Danny proceeds to tell Madea and Persephone that Frank's card didn't work, and the machine ate it.  The two female vampires are incredulous, demanding that he give them the money. Tiring of  Danny's insistence that there is no money, Madea and Persephone grab him, and rough him up.  He tells him it is in his car, under the seat.

Meanwhile, outside the house, Nacho creeps up to Danny's car, and takes the money, fleeing the scene.

 Madea and Persephone tell Danny to go out to the car, and bring them the money.  He exits the house, just as Jezebel and Mary are walking up the front door. Jezebel says, "Hi, Danny. Loser", as her and her new friend go inside.

Out in the car, Danny discovers that the money is gone.  He takes off in a panic.

Sitting on the in the living room of the house, Madea, Persephone, and Jezebel converse with Mary about her living situation.  They try to convince her to leave her husband, Ken, and offer to kill him themselves.  Mary's incredulity leads the trio to reveal that they are vampires.   

 

 In fear for his life, Danny's car is pulled over by Ken, for driving through a stop sign.  The cop recognizes Danny, and asks him if he has seen his wife.  Out of nervousness, Danny inadvertently blurts out, "You know. I think I saw her."  Ken demands to know where she is.

Back at the vampire's abode, Madea sits with Mary in the guest bed room telling her to think about her decision to be turned into one of them, as they don't want to change make anyone a vampire against there will.  She tells the abused woman how she was once like her, but through vampirism she has become empowered.   Assuring Mary that everything will be alright, Madea walks back out to the living room.  After inquiring about Danny's whereabouts, Madea and Persephone inform Jezebel that Danny tried to steal the money from them. they come to an understanding that their errand boy must be taken care of.

In the interim, Danny calls up Ed, asking if he can borrow a couple thousand dollars, promising to pay it back.  Ed tells him he doesn't have that much money, but suggests that they go to Nacho's place to see if he can help out.

                                                                                                                                                                    Mary's husband, Ken, the police officer walks up to the vampire woman's residence, and knocks on the front door.  Madea answers.  The cop tells her that he was informed that a missing woman was seen entering this house.  Assuring Ken that he is mistaken about a missing person in her home, Madea asks him if he has a warrant, and shuts the door in his face.  The lawman leaves angry. 

 Inside the house, Madea checks in on Mary, who expresses her concerns that Ken will come back and search the house.  The female vampire assures her that they can handle anything her cop husband tries to do. They begin discussing the benefits of being transformed into a vampire.

Meanwhile at Nacho's,  his marijuana session is interrupted by a knock at the door.  Ed and Danny enter, with the latter asking Nacho if he can borrow two thousand from him.  The mechanic tells him no.  Danny leaves in a hurry, leaving Ed to share some of the 'Italian bud' with nacho.

Looking hopeless and desperate, Danny is driving in his car, when all of the sudden Jezebel pops up in his back seat.  Frightened by her abrupt appearance, he is surprised when the amorous vamp orders him to get in the back seat, and have sex with her.  Here the film cuts back and forth between Jezebel and Danny's sex scene, and Madea changing Mary into a vampire. The sex scene ends with Jezebel, post coitus, snapping Danny's neck, while the transformation scene has Persephone walk in on Madea turning Mary. Persephone asks if maybe it is too son, and Madea hisses her disagreement.

At Nacho's residence, both he and Ed decide to go out for a late night meal of tacos.  Driving along to their destination they are stopped by Ken, who accuses them of throwing a joint out of their car window.  The hot tempered cop pulls Nacho out of the car to search for drugs, and begins punching him in an attempt for him to comply.  During the search / assault Ken finds the post it note with the address of the vampire women.  The same house that he visited earlier, based on the info he received when he stopped Danny.

 The frustrated and angry cop decides that he needs both Nacho and Ed to see what's going on at the house.  The two mechanics and the wife beating police officer head to the vampire women's residence.  Sitting out side in the car, it is decided that Ed should walk up to the front door, and knock to see what is going on inside.  Reluctantly, Ed goes up to the house, under the guise of a landscaper looking for business.  Persephone answers the door, and invites the nervous mechanic in.  While being shown around the house, Ed is persuaded to enter the 'game room'.  Inside the lo lit room, Ed notices empty coffins, and then he sees one in particular.  Laying inside is Mary.  Persephone goes on the attack, when Ed shouts out Mary's name in terror.  "You Know her?" she says before she attacks. The two struggle with the vampire ultimately knocking Ed into a pile of  lumber.  He also sees the hanging dead body of Danny, and the barely alive Frank.  freaking out he grabs a sharp ended piece of the wood, Ed kills Persephone with a thrust through the heart.  Attempting to leave, he runs into Jezebel.

Outside in the car, Ken starts to get impatient, suggesting that he and Nacho go inside and check things out.  The two men enter the house to find Mary and Ed.  I won't give away the ending, except to say the conclusion is a violent bloodbath where only one comes out alive.

This film was written and directed by Tim Sullivan, who is also responsible for writing several excellent micro budget films such as 'Eyes Of The Werewolf'' (1999), Grave Vengeance a.k.a. Hunting Season (2000), V-World Matrix (1999), and Demonicus (2001).  He has acted in several of these films including this one, as well as many of Ron Ford's films.  He first acted in fellow writer S. P. Somtow's The Laughing Dead, a film I did a write up for the Theater Of Guts Site here:http://www.theaterofguts.com/2017/10/the-laughing-dead.html .  In addition Mr. Sullivan is a novelist who has written the novels Lords Of Creation and Destiny's End. I am a huge fan of Mr. Sullivan and always know I will be watching a great film when I see his name in the credits.

One of the many things I enjoyed about Vampire femmes is it's noirish feel.  Several film noir tropes are present such as femme fatales ( the 3 vampire women), and the corrupt cop / jealous husband (Ken).  For the most part all of the characters are morally questionable, and very flawed.  The cop Ken abuses his wife, the three vampire women kill for blood,  Danny, the vampire's errand boy steals and lies.  Even the two mechanics Nacho and Ed engage in dishonest behavior by running a chop shop.  Another aspect that I found fascinating about the moral ambiguity is that there is no clear cut protagonist to root for.  The vampire women commit murder, but are willing to take in a battered woman, and protect her from the abuser.  While the cop Ken treats his wife horribly, but enforces the law, and seems to care for Mary towards the end of the film.  In addition, the two mechanics Nacho and Ed don't seem as bad as the other characters, but are still dishonest.  This creates uncertainty for most people, especially those used to the clear cut hero from most of Hollywood films.  These characters all embody the films themes of corruption, and secrets.  The theme of corruption is evident in the dishonesty of  the characters.  Examples would be the  vampire women's deception of putting up a for sale sign out in front of their house in order to lead their victim inside, Danny trying to keep Frank's money from the ATM machine, Nacho stealing that money from Danny, and the various interactions Ken, the cop has when dealing with someone.  Secrets are very much a theme in such examples as Mary's secret plan to leave Ken, the vampire women's efforts to conceal what they really are, and Danny, as well as Nacho not letting anyone else in on the money.

Another underlying theme was sex and death.  This was made explicit, especially in two scenes.  The first one is towards the beginning of the film when Madea and Persephone are attacking Frank.  The attack has strong sexual connotations.  Beyond the obvious idea of a threesome, Frank's legs tremble, as if in orgasm.  Madea's face and mouth are sprayed with spurts of blood, very much resembling the act of ejaculation.  The second scene is later in the film, where the film cuts back and forth between Jezebel and Danny having sex in the back seat, and Madea biting Mary in order to change her into a vampire.  Little touches like this in the film were simply genius.

The gore effects were well executed, such as the spurting blood scene mentioned above.  A lot of blood during the vampire attacks, and a gory staking / beheading scene, complete with blood spurting from the neck stump.

I also thought it was interesting that Tim Sullivan gave his vampire women some interesting names.  Madea is a of a character from a Greek tragedy by Euripides, who wronged by her husband Jason takes vengeance.  Persephone in greek mythology was the daughter of Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter. She was married to Hades, king of the underworld,  making her queen of the underworld. She was abducted and raped by Hades  Jezebel is a biblical character who became associated with false prophets, having persuaded her husband King Ahab of Israel to turn away from Yahweh and embrace Baal and Asherah.  A scene between Madea and Mary even makes reference to the vampire women being like goddesses.

The lighting and camera work in Vampire Femmes was extremely impressive.  The film's is filled with chiaroscuro lighting, and colored lighting.  The combination of the two was fantastic.  The light and shadow added to the film noir feel of the picture, as well as, the theme of the darkness / light of the flawed characters, while the colored lighting made it a color expressionistic film.  One example of a scene is where Ken and Nacho enter the front door of the vampire women's house. The two men step into pinkish lighting, when turning the corner they end up in a wash of green light.  The camera compositions were artfully framed, and along with the lighting created some exquisitely beautiful images.  I've included many screen caps throughout this write up, just look at some of those beautiful images above.  One of my top vampire films, Vampire Femmes is a great noir vampire art film.  I highly recommend it.  That's my opinion, yours may differ.

  

       

Dead Time Tales a.k.a. Things 3: Old Things a.k.a. Deadly Tales

Dead Time Tales (  Things 3: Old Things) a.k.a. Deadly Tales

Executive produced by David Sterling

Written, produced, and directed by Ron Ford

Dead Time Tales / Things 3: Old Things is a 1998 shot on video anthology horror film featuring three tales based off short stories by H. G. Wells, Mary Shelly, and Rudyard Kipling, that are tied together by various items from an antique shop.

                                                                                                                                                                  'Crystal Gazing'  ( based on 'The Crystal Egg' by H.G. Wells) is the first story, and wraparound segment of the film. Winston Kale ( Greg Cannone ) an antique shop owner, whose nagging wife Alice ( Oriana Tavoularis )berates and belittles him, has dreams of one day becoming a science fiction writer.  One day, delivery man ( Vinnie Bilancio ) drops off a box of items that Winston's wife bought from an estate.  An estate of the Rooney family, who were, as Winston states, "the family torn apart by who know's what?".  Inside the box are a variety of objects, ranging from an old 1890's postcard with a dominatrix on it, a 'wolf'' ring, and a large egg shaped crystal.  The crystal becomes the object that Winston becomes obsessed with, after it allows him to see " an alien landscape, or another world, perhaps.", and it 'eats' a sandwich, that he prepared for his wife, by emitting a green ray.  This encounter with the crystal becomes a science fiction story idea, that Winston runs by his writer friend Phil Canyon ( Tim Sullivan ) over the phone.   

This conversation is cut short by the arrival of  Eric ( Michael Labarbera ), who is looking for a gift

to 'make up' with his fiancée Virginia ( Michelle Galles ).  After he shows interest in purchasing the crystal, Winston tries to persuade him with several other items to, to no avail, until he is handed an old post card with the picture of a masked dominatrix ( Veronica Carothers ).  Eric is instantly taken by the mysterious masked woman, and wants to buy it at any cost.  He also purchases a ceramic bust of a clown for Virginia.  The second story 'Cold Feet' ( based on the story 'The Transformation by Mary Shelly ) begins with Eric heading to meet Virgina at a motel.  He gives her the clown bust as a gift, and then the two begin to become intimate.  Their love making is cut short, when Eric ( having visions of his masked fantasy girl ) becomes aggressive.  After his bride to be tells him to remember the lunch on saturday to talk to her parents about the wedding rehearsal, she exits the motel room.  Feeling unsatisfied, Eric heads to a strip club,  paying for a private  dance session with Crystal ( also Veronica Carothers ), his favorite stripper.  Offering her money for more than just dancing, Krystal gently refuses Eric, and advises him to go back home to Virginia.  While leaving the strip club, he is spotted outside in the parking lot by Virginia's father Wendel ( Joe Haggerty ), who is none too pleased to see his soon to be son in law at such an establishment.

At the lunch date with Virginia's parents, Eric is distracted by intruding thoughts of the woman from the post card, and blurts out some inappropriate sexual comments that both confuse and shock Virginia and her mother Doris ( Jan Tiehen ).  Wendel asks to speak with Eric privately in the other room, a conversation where he is told that he better follow through on the marriage, leading to the revelation that his soon to be wife's father saw him exiting the strip joint.  During a heated exchange, with Eric telling his soon to be father in law to butt out, Wendel grabs Eric's suit jacket, and inadvertently swipes the masked dominatrix post card, prompting a " Fuck You" to hiss from Eric's lips.  Retrieving the card from Wendel's hand, Eric looks at it, and sees a vision of  Wendel viciously murdered. He freaks out and leaves the room.  Similar images flood his mind, when he passes Virginia, and Doris on his way out of their home.  Taking off in his vehicle, Eric drives to a multi level parking lot to his place of employment.  While waiting to take the elevator to an upper level of the building, he looks down at the mysterious woman in his treasured post card, and sees a vision of a creepy feline creature.  The elevator door open with that very same creature, who proceeds to chase Eric through the multi level parking lot, cornering him with his back to a the railing, and a long fall down.  With a growl the cat creature causes Eric to tumble over the railing, and fall four stories down to the ground.

 Unconsious, splayed out on the ground, Eric has a dream ( is it really a dream? ) about the masked dominatrix, who will have sex with him for a price.  The payment is that she wants to switch bodies, to borrow his body for 24 hours in order to experience what being alive is like again.  He agrees, and she indulges his desires.  Upon awakening, Eric realizes that the switch took place, and revels at the sensuality of his new body.  Noticing he is still wearing the mask, he removes it, and is shocked to find it is the face of the creature that persued him earlier.  After 24 hours, Eric and the mysterious masked woman swap, regaining their original bodies.  Eric awakens in the 'real' world, lying on the ground, seeming that it was all just a nightmare.  Heading back to Virginia's parents house, he begins to realize that something sinister is going on.

Back at the antique shop, Winston begins to see an alien being in the landscape inside the crystal.  He tries to photgraph it, communicate with the alien being without any success, and also learns he can make the crystal shoot the green ray to pick up food by snapping his fingers.  So, once again, he calls up his writer friend Phil to tell him this, in the form of a sci fi story idea.  He wonders, he tells his friend under the guise of a fictional story, why the alien takes food in the first place.  After hanging up the phone, Winston's wife Alice enters, and informs him that she ran into her friend Brenda Devane ( Denice Stradling ), and recieved $300 from her for the crystal, which she will come by the shop in the afternoon to pick up.  Brenda arrives to claim her purchase, but Winston refuses to give it to her.  An argument ensues.  And Brenda ends up a meal for the being in the crystal, courtesy of Winston's finger snap.

Realizing what he has just done, Winston is startled by the entrance of  mobster Harry Green ( Randal Malone ), and his sidekicks Frankie ( writer-director Ron Ford), and John O ( Larry Richards ).  The three foul mouthed and bigoted hoodlums have come to the shop to collect the 'monthly payment' from Winston.  While the criminals wait for the money they feel they are owed, a shaman ( Craig Johnson ) enters the shop, and begins inquiring about a gold ring with a beast's / wolf head that is very valuable, in a spiritual sense, to his people.  Harry develops a sudden interest in the ring, due to it's worth as an expensive piece of gold, so he bullies Winston into selling it to him instead for only $50.  The shaman warns them all of the danger that the piece can bring, if in the wrong hands.  Attempting to retrieve the wolf ring from Harry, the shaman backs off due to the criminals pulling out their guns, and telling him to,  "Get the fuck out of here."  Telling them that, " Your regrets in this matter will be great.", the shaman leaves.  Moments later, the wolf ring, which is on Harry's hand, begins burning him.  He panics, causing both Frankie and John O to panic.   Suddenly, the burning sensation disappears, as quickly as it came about.  After recovering from the pain, Harry tries to remove it from his finger, but it won't budge. The two henchmen try to pull the ring off of Harry's hand, but fail to do so.  Harry, ultimately, tells them to forget it, and decides that they need to go get some lunch.

As they head to their car, talking back and forth in a small minded, bigoted fashion about the shaman, so begins the next tale entitled 'Bestiality' ( based on 'The Mark Of The Beast' by Rudyard Kipling ).  Inside the restaurant, Harry demands raw steak to eat, even though as Frankie says, "Boss, I thought you always liked your steak medium rare."  The two lackeys are perplexed at their leader's bizarre choice of cuisine, as they discuss a job, a drop to Di Caprio, an older mob boss.  Arriving at Mr. Di Caprio's house, Harry goes inside, while Frankie and John O stay outside in the car.  Entering the elder criminal's residence, he encounters three wiseguys, who work for the aging mob boss.  They tell him, that the boss is expecting him.  Di Caprio is watching television, when Harry enters, and hands him a package.  Meanwhile, right outside the window the shaman cuts his his finger, and draws a symbol in blood on the glass.  Moments later, still sitting in the car,  Frankie and John O spot the medicine man walking away from the house.  The two gun toting hoods get out of the car, and approach him, and begin roughing him up.  Back inside Di Caprio's house, while the two discuss entrance into the Di Caprio 'family',  Harry begins feeling strange, after being rejected by the senior criminal for not being the right 'blood'.  The word blood triggers Harry's unconsious mind, like a suggestion, and he begins transforming into a werewolf.  Now, fully altered into a beast, he attacks a screaming Mr. Di Caprio, ripping his head from his shoulders.  The three men waiting in the other room are alerted by their boss's screams.  They enter the room, where Harry and Di Caprio were doing business, and find their leader decapitated with a big werewolf standing over him.  They begin firing there guns, emptying them into the beast, but this has little effect on it.  So, the wolfman proceeds to massacre the three gunmen, slashing the first two with it's huge claws, and ripping the arm off the third.

Outside, Frankie and John O have the shaman in the car with his hands tied.  Harry, the werewolf walks outside, and runs in their direction, causing the two hoods to flee the car, leaving their bound captive behind.  The beast reaches the vehicle, only to be momentarily frozen, when the quick thinking sorcerer turns the ring on Harry's hand.  Exiting the car, the shaman is seen by Frankie and John O, who, once again, chase him down with guns in their hands, and demand he take the cursed ring off their boss's finger.  With the request refused the two criminals cut off one of the medicine man's fingers.  Ultimately, the tribesman removes the ring, and Harry turns physically back to normal, but mentally becomes apathetic and apologetic about all of his evil deeds.  Another blood symbol is painted on the trunk of the hood's car, while they are distracted with their boss's sudden change of heart. With this newfound perspective, Harry turns to the shaman, and apologizes; telling him to keep the ring. Sending Frankie and John O away, the former werewolf, and now changed man is shot down with the arrival of the rest of Di Caprio's gang, after confessing that he killed  their leader.  The other two, Harry's two sidekicks are ultimately dispatched, when the shaman spots them in the car with the blood symbol on the trunk, and casts a spell turning the duo into werewolves that end up attacking each other.    

 

Returning, once again to the antique shop Winston and Alice begin arguing about the crystal.  In the heat of the moment, Winston kills Alice by hitting her in the head with a metal candleholder.  Recovering from the shock of what he has done, the shop owner is startled by a phone call from his writer friend, Phil.  They begin discussing the 'fictional'  story of the crystal.  During the discussion, Winston snaps his fingers, and the crystal zaps Alice's corpse, causing it to disappear. A bloody skeleton ( Alice's remains after the being in the crystal ate her ) are beamed back onto the shop floor. While discussing with Phil the story of the being in the crystal, and it's need to eat, Winston begins realizing the gruesome truth of the intention of the alien being inside the crystal.

The film was written, produced, and directed by Ron Ford, who wrote the excellent films, The Fear ( 1995 ), and Vampire Resurrection a.k.a. Song Of The Vampire ( 2003 ).  He also write and directed the amazing microbudget films, Hollywood Mortuary ( 1998 ), V- World Matrix ( 1999 ), Deadly Scavengers ( 2001 ), Witchcraft XI: Sisters In Blood ( 2000 ), and many other microbudget classics.  As a big fan of Mr. Ford this is one of my favorite films that he has directed.

Dead Time Tales / Things 3: Old Things implements some really atmospheric lighting, that was very Argento / Bava-esque.  The use of colored lighting was utilized throughout, and added to the eerie feel of the picture.  Some notable examples include red lighting in the 'Cold Feet' segment, where every scene with the masked dominatrix from the 'fantasy flashes', to the strip club scene, and the sex / transformation scene are filled with a wash of red lighting, signaling passion, blood, and danger.  Basically the allure that has come forth from the character Eric's unconsious mind.  Green lighting is very dominant, particularly in the wraparound segment 'Crystal Gazing', with the antique shop owner Winston, and the crystal he becomes obsessed with.  This green lighting coupled with chiaroscuro is used to good effect in a throat slash murder scene in the "Cold Feet' segment ( see above pic ).  Blue lighting is used in an almost expressionistic way in the scene in 'The Mark Of The Beast' segment, where Harry has a meeting with the big mob boss Di Caprio.  The blue light giving a cold feeling in a conversation between two cold hearted criminals.  Also alot of scenes where light illuminates characters faces, and the set pieces ( walls, tables, and even a plant) from below creating various shades of light and shadow in interesting ways  The creepy score by fellow filmmaker Jay Woelfel is stunning, as well.

Dead Time Tales is very much a film about the unconsious mind, and the power of suggestion.  Each stories main character has dormant unconsious feelings, and / or desires that are brought forth by suggestion.  In the case of Winston from 'The Crystal Gazing wraparound segment, the crystal brings out all his feelings of inadequacy he has pushed away in order to get along with his wife Alice.  The 'Cold Feet' portion of the film sees the character Eric's unfilled sexual desires triggered by the mysterious masked dominatrix on the post card.  While in 'The Mark Of The Beast' story, criminal Harry Green changes after the wolf ring brings out the full extent of his rage.  This is expressed explicitly when the character states, "I have faced my own self rage.  And it ain't pretty", right after he is transformed back into human form.

The other theme of the film is the idea of a transforming. Both physical and psychological in the case of Eric from 'Cold Feet', and Harry Green from 'The Mark Of The Beast'.  But, the transformation in  Winston from wraparound segment 'Crystal Gazing was only of the mind.  Each character comes to the realization that they have two identities.  The idea of the consious mind / unconsious mind.  The dual nature of the human psyche.  That's my opinion, yours may differ.