Lore, an Anthology “Hosted” by Richard Brake

A truly memorable anthology needs a good host. It is impossible to overstate what Rod Serling and the Crypt Keeper brought to The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt. For this film, Richard Brake is quite inhospitable, but in the right way. It would be a really bad idea to go camping with him, but people do it anyway in James Bushe & Patrick Ryder’s Lore (with an installment from Greig Johnson), which releases today on the Icon Film Channel in the UK.

At the start of the wrap-around segments, “The Campfire” written by Patrick Ryder & Christine Barber-Ryder and directed by Ryder & James Bushe, four not especially bright friends meet-up for Darwin’s immersive horror outing. Everything about that screams “bad idea,” right? There they are regardless, so on the first night, he challenges them to throw a totem in the fire and tell a story that is not merely scary, but profoundly disturbing to them.

The cocky guy starts with “Shadows” written and directed by Bushe. Frankly, it is strange that this yarn, in which gangsters chase a two-bit hood into an empty warehouse, only to find a possibly greater monster inside, would make such impression on the teller. This is the weakest constituent tale, but the execution is still tautly effective.

“The Hidden Woman” written by Ryder & Barber-Ryder, but solely helmed by Ryder is also somewhat familiar in terms of themes and premise, but it is very creepy. A single mother and her young son have inherited a house that is almost certainly haunted. The apparition in question has a strong attachment to an antique phonograph, which is nifty horror prop.

The ringer in the bunch, “Cross Your Heart” comes from screenwriter-director Greig Johnson, but he is probably the most successful evoking ironic Tales from the Crypt vibes (both in the spirit of the comic, but particularly the TV series). Poor long-suffering and sometimes abused Cath has reluctantly agreed to humor her cad husband Steve, by participating in a swinger-swap. However, he is too horny and drug-addled to see the seductive Donna has some much nastier (and largely deserved) in store for him.

Katie Sheridan, Rufus Hound, and Alana Wallace are all terrific in the three featured roles. It is all mordantly funny, but then later disturbing to think you of the potential implication of what viewers most likely cheered on.

Fittingly, the best might be the final tale, “Keychain Man” written Ryder & Barber-Ryder and directed by Ryder & Bushe. It might also be the funniest and it most certainly stirs the most nostalgia for horror fans. The film goes full slasher when Gareth, a hulking megaplex theater employee bullied by his manager, finally snaps and starts hacking everyone to pieces. Despite all the horror movies they have seen, three idiot friends still totally panic and make poor decisions, which really annoys them.

For a horror anthology, Lore is unusually consistent. There is a nice variety of horrors, but the framing segments helps it flow in a unified manner. Brake looks completely, unabashedly evil and seems to be having jolly good fun, which means he is perfect for the role of Darwin, the host. He also has a such an entertainingly sinister voice, an audio book company ought to sign him to read horror stories. The parts are pretty good, but Brake really makes it a memorable film. Highly recommended for genre fans, Lore debuts today (8/26) on Icon Film Channel and opens in UK theaters 9/27.