Greetings, salutations, and welcome to my considerations and recommendation of The 100 Candles Game.
Story: 0.50/2 - Direction and Pace: 2.50/4 - Performances: 1.25/2 - Enjoyment: 1.25/2
Total 5.50/10
The 100 Candles Game would be great as a TV Series; are any Amazon or Netflix executives listening out there(?) But sadly, it fails to fully entertain in its movie form. For one thing, the notion that four people possess twenty-five ghost-come-horror stories is a little far-fetched. Let alone that they're happy to sit in an uncomfortable environment while they tell them. And let's not forget about the length of the stories themselves. To recite a 100, as fast as these guys and galls are going, would take around a week to get through them, but somehow they manage it in a single night. I'm sorry, but I don't believe I'm the only one who'd quickly get bored if the stories were only a few sentences long. Which they'd need to be for the group to complete their task before dawn. So this niggled at me throughout the picture. As for the stories they told their congregation of four; well, they weren't too bad. A couple were a little rudimentary and easy to guess the outcome. It also relied on the directors' skills to create an atmosphere. The opening tale is about two girls playing on a see-saw in a forest clearing, and there may or may not be a creature stalking one or both of them. The trouble is that the story is too simple, and the simplicity stretches its horrid hands to the young women's dialogue. Because not much is happening on-screen, we, the audience, require more from the characters other than mere mumbles. We need to relate to them quickly. This audience-to-character relationship doesn't work, which can be said for most of the stories to follow. If the audience doesn't care about the characters on the screen, why should they keep watching? And even though the director attempts to add creepiness to the atmosphere, the poorly written dialogue and narrative destroy their attempts to entertain. Sadly, there are too many similar tales in the movie, and even when the performances are more potent, the awful writing hinders the film.
I'd recommend The 100 Candles Game to horror anthology fans who've completed their watchlists, and only if they couldn't find something else to view. Should you be a horror fan who's yet to enjoy an anthology flick, I suggest you check out some from the 60s and 70s pictures, as they are so much better than this. Most of those period films knew how to write an anthology and every story possesses a beginning, middle, and end, which is more than what's on offer from the newer compilations that appear to rush things. So, should you have a short attention span - you wouldn't have read this consideration - The 100 Candles Game could be your movie(?)
Please check my Absolute Horror list to see where I ranked the movie.
Take Care, Stay Well, And Merry Christmas.
Story: 0.50/2 - Direction and Pace: 2.50/4 - Performances: 1.25/2 - Enjoyment: 1.25/2
Total 5.50/10
The 100 Candles Game would be great as a TV Series; are any Amazon or Netflix executives listening out there(?) But sadly, it fails to fully entertain in its movie form. For one thing, the notion that four people possess twenty-five ghost-come-horror stories is a little far-fetched. Let alone that they're happy to sit in an uncomfortable environment while they tell them. And let's not forget about the length of the stories themselves. To recite a 100, as fast as these guys and galls are going, would take around a week to get through them, but somehow they manage it in a single night. I'm sorry, but I don't believe I'm the only one who'd quickly get bored if the stories were only a few sentences long. Which they'd need to be for the group to complete their task before dawn. So this niggled at me throughout the picture. As for the stories they told their congregation of four; well, they weren't too bad. A couple were a little rudimentary and easy to guess the outcome. It also relied on the directors' skills to create an atmosphere. The opening tale is about two girls playing on a see-saw in a forest clearing, and there may or may not be a creature stalking one or both of them. The trouble is that the story is too simple, and the simplicity stretches its horrid hands to the young women's dialogue. Because not much is happening on-screen, we, the audience, require more from the characters other than mere mumbles. We need to relate to them quickly. This audience-to-character relationship doesn't work, which can be said for most of the stories to follow. If the audience doesn't care about the characters on the screen, why should they keep watching? And even though the director attempts to add creepiness to the atmosphere, the poorly written dialogue and narrative destroy their attempts to entertain. Sadly, there are too many similar tales in the movie, and even when the performances are more potent, the awful writing hinders the film.
I'd recommend The 100 Candles Game to horror anthology fans who've completed their watchlists, and only if they couldn't find something else to view. Should you be a horror fan who's yet to enjoy an anthology flick, I suggest you check out some from the 60s and 70s pictures, as they are so much better than this. Most of those period films knew how to write an anthology and every story possesses a beginning, middle, and end, which is more than what's on offer from the newer compilations that appear to rush things. So, should you have a short attention span - you wouldn't have read this consideration - The 100 Candles Game could be your movie(?)
Please check my Absolute Horror list to see where I ranked the movie.
Take Care, Stay Well, And Merry Christmas.