While it took over twenty years for us to get a sequel to the original, it only took a couple years for this third installment to come out. Not only that, but this third entry also boasts a slightly more recognizable cast and better production values, as if the filmmakers were trying to make up for the abysmal sequel that came out prior. The writing is also an improvement, where the stories seemed more in line with the original. Having said all that, it’s still not a good movie, but it is surprisingly better than the last one.

The film starts out with the wraparound story that sees Tony Todd on the run with a little girl and it's here where you’d think Tony would begin telling the stories, but it’s actually the little girl who initiates the storytelling. This leads to our first segment that follows a greedy real estate developer trying to kick a struggling family out of their apartment complex. The developer eventually reaches out to a pyromaniac, who torches the place, in hopes of finally forcing the family to leave. Of course things don’t go according to plan and the poor family die in the blaze. It’s not long before the developer starts hearing and seeing the dead family wherever he goes. This tale felt the most like something from the original since it was a pretty straight forward supernatural revenge tale.

The second story is the shortest and weakest of the bunch, revolving around some racist old white conspiracy theorist held up in a bunker, where he spews a lot of nonsense rhetoric through a CB radio. We get some dumb reveal at the end and that’s about it. The movie could’ve honestly done without this story, as it didn’t really add anything to the movie aside from padding the running time.

The third entry is a predictable tale that focuses on a young wannabe singer, who takes a side gig playing caregiver to a retired rich old lady with the hopes to eventually kill her and take her money (as one does). The twist for this one can be seen a mile away, especially if you’re familiar with Tales From the Crypt, which this segment seemed to borrow heavily from.

The last story deals with a violent thief who steals from the wrong person and ends up cursed in the process. This is probably the most entertaining of the stories since it was more comedic than anything. By the end the morality tale seemed slightly reminiscent to the last entry in the original, only this was far less extreme. Meanwhile, the wraparound ends as predictably as you’d expect, but hey, at least we got to see Tony Todd in another genre effort, regardless of his minimal appearance here.