The Telling

2009 "Everyone's dying to be them."
3.2| 1h24m| R| en
Details

In this horror anthology film, three girls pledge the most popular - and cruelest - sorority on campus. For their final task, they must tell the scariest story they know. Containing three distinct stories - one featuring a murderous doll, one a has-been actress and her run in with a film crew of the undead and, finally, a hunt-and-kill fright-fest.

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Reviews

Diagonaldi Very well executed
Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
gavin6942 In this horror anthology film, three girls pledge the most popular -- and cruelest -- sorority on campus. For their final task, they must tell the scariest story they know. Containing three distinct stories -- one featuring a murderous doll, one a has-been actress and her run in with a film crew of the undead and, finally, a hunt-and-kill fright-fest.There is really nothing to say about this one. I do not know the history, but based on what I was able to determine, this was more or less an excuse to get Playboy models to appear in a movie. And, you know, I guess if that is all they wanted to do, it worked.Now, if they wanted to be in a good movie, they failed. We have a very poor version of the Twilight Zone's "Living Doll" episode. There is a decent second segment but it is pulled off terribly. And after that... well, ugh.
Scarecrow-88 Three college girls must endure the insults and heresy of the sisters of Omega Kappa Kappa if they wish to become members, and are ordered to tell scary stories as a means of possibly being accepted. The first tale concerns Lily(Rebekah Kochan), who is being driven crazy by a creepy doll her lover found in the trash. The doll wants Lily's man all too itself, and his ex-girlfriend, Sarah(Kimshellet Garner), who is currently living with them until she can find a place to stay, is also in danger of falling prey to the doll. The second tale concerns a down-on-her-luck thirty-something actress, Eva DeMarco(Bridget Marquardt), who accepts a part in a European horror film, "The Crimson Echo", and learns that taking a part for the paycheck isn't always a good idea. The third tale concerns three girls who are besieged in their apartment by a killer they hear murder a guy over the phone while prank calling the victim. The wraparound story has a twist which concerns the suicide of a college girl named Briana who took her life after the sorority sisters rejected her desire to become a member of the Omega Kappa Kappa. This snoozefest has nothing to offer except pretty girls swearing and a climax where we see the bitchy sorority sisters get their comeuppance. The violence is tame; the film offers some minor titillation. None of the tales are exactly earth-shattering(..rather clichéd and uninspired), except maybe for the second story with a quote from a director with a Bela Lugosi accent, "The undead need their entertainment, too." Hugh Hefner's former squeeze, Holly Madison, is given star treatment, that in itself spells doom for this horror yawner. Each and every tale is predictable and by-the-numbers, even the twist which is satisfying because of those getting their just desserts(..pun intended).
lastliberal Maybe the horror has to take a second seat to hot babes. In fact, the greatest horror is what we didn't see during the first episode of this anthology.This film was shot at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, and stars Holly Madison ("The Girls Next Door", "Dancing With The Stars"); Nicole Zeoli, Christina Iannuzzi, and Ashley Noel (all also in "The Girls Next Door"); and Sara Jean Underwood (Playmate of the Year 2007).The second episode was a little better, featuring the undead. The last was routine, but it set up the ending.Any horror buff will guess what happens next, but it was still good.
Sunniva Reilly I did not have very high hopes for this film. A horror movie from the Playboy mansion? I think most people probably suspect that Playboy bunnies do not make great actresses, and indeed they do not. They are great at posing and pouting, but pretending to laugh, is sadly beyond their reach (though this might be due to having been pawed at by a 127 year old Hugh Hefner, as that would stop most people from even cracking a smile). So if you disregard the acting, which ranges from poor to abysmal, you will have heard the stories again and again since childhood. In fact, most Halloween specials have told these stories, and often told them better. So here goes: To gain membership in a Sorority populated by plastic women in their late 20ies and early (?) 30ies (who, at least at one point, are amusingly Borg-like), three pledges must tell a scary story each. Seem familiar yet? The first story involves an evil doll, the second a creepy castle in Transsylvania and in the third, three babysitters (ok, they're not actually babysitters, but they might as well be to make the cliché complete) get creepy phone calls.This is far from the worst film I've seen (that honour still belongs to Unearthed), and sadly, it is not so-bad-it's-good either. Overall, I think it deserves a 3/10, because it did manage to hold my attention till the end and because it did give me a chuckle or two. However, it must be said, it is not even remotely scary. Nor is it sexy. Apparently, there is 1 blink-and-you'll-miss-it topless scene, but I blinked, so I missed it.