For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Why would a smart and creative guy like Dennis Bartok come up with an embarrassing, insipid, boring, unfunny and revolting piece of pseudo-porn like "Trapped Ashes"?If this is his tribute to "Tales From the Crypt," "Creepshow" and "The Vault of Horror," Bartok has seriously lost his way... and Freddie Francis is probably rolling over in his grave about now. Maybe Bartok should have made that story instead: clueless wannabe screenwriter desecrates legacy of legendary British director of "Tales From the Crypt," causing famed director to rise from dead and turn idiot writer-producer into Hamburger Helper.So why did Bartok do it? Maybe he thought by rounding up a few veteran directors, his picture was in the bag -- no matter how awful the writing was. Or maybe he had an unconscious desire to destroy his chances of ever making it in this business. Hard to say. His therapist is probably the only one who knows for sureBut one thing's for sure: Bartok can kiss his Hollywood career goodbye!

This movie temporarily lost my sex drive with blood sucking boobs, weird Japanese demonic molestations, a blood sucking succubus, and finally an overgrown tapeworm and the little girl that loved it. I've seen movies like Tales From the Crypt and Tales from the Hood. Trapped Ashes (known as Death House in Japan) clearly fell along these plot lines in the wrap around segment. It is clearly obvious that this was directed by 5 people with the different settings. The short stories were unique but they all amounted for an uneven and mismatched hodgepodge.I could dissect each story line on a different paragraph, but this movie isn't worth much more of my review. But to summarize...Blood Sucking Boob segment - Boobs look nice on Phoebe but it was just weird. Okay I guess.Japanese Demon segment - Started out good, but it clashed with the brief animated features.Best Friends girl segment - Again started out decent, but dragged me to the point of boredom.Tapeworm segment - Should have been a made-for Sci-Fi channel special. Crappy.And finally they all meet their "end" with plot twists that the writer pulled out of his buttocks in order to "piece it all together". I think the biggest flaw was that there wasn't any real consistency in the flow of Trapped Ashes. If this was directed by one or two directors it would have been pulled off a little better. Also, Trapped Ashes had ZERO fear factor in it. Although the Blood Sucking Boob segment was rather disturbing. It had a cheesy Science Fiction feel to it. Overall, I can't really recommend this movie primarily due to its over all sub par execution, it's not atrocious but this definitely is a forgettable film. I can say that the 5 directors at least tried to piece together a creative masterpiece but they fell very short.

Wow. Where to begin? This anthology offers a whirlwind of styles, moods and horrific situations. I found some of it to be deeply unsettling: scenes & moments stayed with me for days (vampire breasts = more disturbing than you may think; rotting corpse lovers; nightmarish "womb with a view" recollections).The talent on display is simply amazing. Ken (TOMMY, LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM) Russell, Sean (FRIDAY THE 13TH) Cunningham, Monte (TWO LANE BLACKTOP) Hellman (name checked in an REM song too!), John (THE MATRIX Trology SFX supervisor) and lastly but not leastly, Joe (GREMLINS) Dante.I've seen a few message board comments trashing this movie, but let me tell you an opposing POV. This movie reflects the talents of the directors who took the time to make it. This is not SCREAM or THE RING (US) or THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE. TRAPPED ASHES goes down it's own odd and disquieting pathway to hell. It has a decidedly literary flavor, although its shocks are as unpleasant & visceral as any classic horror film.There's some cool acting talent along for the ride; Henry Gibson plays a man with a venomous secret; John Saxon plays a man haunted by the specter of long lost lust; Tahmoh Penikett, who plays Helo on SciFi Channel's amazing BATTLESTAR GALACTICA series, plays Saxon's younger self, a man who lets a succubus destroy a friendship and a life; even director Ken Russell gets in a hilariously strange cameo role.Check your expectations at the door. TRAPPED ASHES is a horror movie unlike most you may have seen. It's an absolute MUST for hard core fans of the genre...

Okay so maybe I'm a wimp or maybe I had legitimate medical reasons for fainting, but the fact is I do watch tons of horror films, volunteer regularly for a horror magazine, and this has never happened before. I should have fainted to Ichi the Killer, or Brain Dead, or f*ck, even the cockroach sequence in Creepshow- but no, the segment to knock me out was "The girl with the golden breasts" which was a story about this gorgeous chick who's boob implant goes horribly wrong. Following the episode I went to the doctor, got a blood test, EKG, had my blood pressure taken, a full out exam- and was told that I was probably dehydrated, my body type is lean and more susceptible. I was working crazy hours, attending midnight screenings, the theater was stuffy, and blah blah blah. I'm a guy who writes horror scripts! I've become jaded as a writer because I've found it increasingly hard to scare myself. I'd like to think I'm tougher than that, but damn. The feeling came on like dimensional twist- like I was fighting to stay in my body- my perspective was pulsing, disorientation followed, then the unfightable desire to go and splash some water on my face. I should have stayed in my seat. Instead, I went out to the lobby, came crashing down- busted open my eyebrow...and have no memory of the fall. To preserve my dignity- and see if it really was an epileptic thing, I attended the second screening, and am happy to say I survived- didn't faint or feel feverish throughout all the five stories, and enjoyed it quite a bit. I am totally into exploitation horror movies, and this one has plenty of it-- Though I would have liked to have seen more gore- the squeamish parts could have been expanded, made more sadistic, especially in the tape worm story-- the film as a whole reminded me of those old pulp EC horror comics I used to read as a kid. The lighting had echoes of Argento's Suspiria... The main score was effectively creepy, the director's styles were pretty varied adding some interesting textures to the whole, and I hope the people at Tales from the Crypt scoop up this team for another go at it- this time adding takashi miike to the roster to go full out into the lactating boob horror.