Tales From The Darkside: The Movie (1990)

In this omnibus film, a modern day witch (Deborah Harry) holds a little boy (Matthew Lawrence) captive and plans to roast him in her oven for a dinner party she's giving. Like Scheherazade, he reads her stories from a book to hold off his being baked. The stories include a malevolent mummy who comes to life after an ancient spell is read, a wealthy man (William Hickey) hires a hitman (David Johansen) to kill a homicidal cat and a struggling painter (James Remar) makes a promise to a murderous gargoyle that he is unable to keep. Based on short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen King and Lafcadio Hearn (whose story was previously filmed for a segment in KWAIDAN) and directed by John Harrison (BOOK OF BLOOD). Anthology movies are usually uneven in their stories but this one has three solid tales, horror laced with doses of humor. Their brevity assures they won't wear out their welcome. Horror fans should have a good time with this one. With Julianne Moore (in her film debut), Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater, Rae Dawn Chong and Robert Klein.