Sleazy Uncle Mike (a perfectly cranky Michael Mesmer) tells his bratty nephew Brian (the supremely annoying Brian DePersia) a trio of macabre variations on classic fairy tales. First and most ghoulish yarn, "Peter and the Witches" - Hapless nice young guy Peter (a likable performance by Scott Valentine of "Family Ties" fame) has to abduct sweet fair maiden Miranda (the lovely Kathy Fleig) so she can be used as a human sacrifice by a pair of ugly, bickering old hag witches (broadly essayed by Phyllis Craig and Anne Redfern) who want to resurrect their long dead sister Magoga. This segment offers plenty of creepy atmosphere for the audience to relish. Second and trashiet tale, "Little Red Runninghood" - Nubile young lady jogger Rachel (delectable brunette hottie Nicole Picard) gets stalked by predatory werewolf Willie (a pleasingly smarmy Matt Mitler). The punchline for this one is obvious, but still uproarious just the same. Third and funniest vignette, "Goldi Lox and the Three Baers" - The deranged Baer family -- Grouchy dad Beresford "Papa" Baer (an amusingly cantankerous Kevin Hannon),screwball mom Judith "Mama" Baer (the hilarious Melissa Leo) and their doltish son Wilmont "Baby" Baer (affably goofy Timothy Rule) -- escape from an asylum and join forces with daffy psychic murderess Goldi Lox (luscious blonder looker Cathryn DePrume). This episode goes for broke with the hysterically over-the-top lowbrow silly humor. Director/co-writer Jeffrey Delman maintains a steady pace throughout and does a solid job of creating an enjoyably campy tongue-in-cheek tone. Daniel B. Canton's plain, but acceptable cinematography, the groovy opening credits theme song, Ed French's shoddy, rubbery make-up f/x, and Taj's funky score round off the schlocky goodies to be savored in this entertainingly tacky treat.

DEADTIME STORIES is an average horror anthology from the 1980s, themed around the idea of bringing out the horror aspects of classic fairy tales (like they weren't horrible enough to begin with). This is one of those films which lacks a decent budget and cast members, but just about gets by thanks to solid FX work and the like. There are three stories collected here, the first a nasty story of witchcraft which has a cool and gooey set-piece reminiscent of the later HELLRAISER. The second is a modern-day spin on Little Red Riding Hood, with lashings of sex and gore and werewolves added to the mix. The last story is an oddball spin on Goldilocks with lots of ham acting and OTT characterisations. It's just about watchable, but hardly great.

If you've come of age in the 21st century, then you know Melissa Leo for her roles as tough-as-nails women. She played a down-on-her-luck woman transporting illegal immigrants in "Frozen River", the hardboiled matriarch of a boxing family in "The Fighter" (for which she won an Academy Award),and Laura Poitras - who filmed Glenn Greenwald's interview with Edward Snowden, resulting in the Academy Award-winning documentary "Citizenfour" - in "Snowden".

Some of these future roles get hinted at in the horror flick "Deadtime Stories". The movie features unusual twists on stories told to children. The first two vignettes are authentic horror stories, but the third one is a comic spin on Goldilocks and the Three Bears, with the bears depicted as a human family that escapes an institution (Melissa Leo plays the mom). The family reminded me of the Three Bears from Chuck Jones's cartoons (which themselves sort of predicted "All in the Family").

Anyway, it's nice brainless fun. I suspect that they had fun filming it. I wonder if any of Melissa Leo's co-stars (Sean Penn, Tommy Lee Jones, Amy Adams, Bryan Cranston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt) from her more famous movies have ever seen it.