The first thing this sequel to the mediocre micro-budgeted original does right is to bring back Joel D. Wynkoop as the nutty Mr. Longfellow who this time out has decided to set-up a used car lot in order to tell his stories.

Luckily for him killer Jason Daly (who's introduced via an extremely effective "flashback" to his crime) comes along looking for a new vehicle and we're led into the three stories within.

Our first story, "Charlie's Demons", is a fairly slight tale of a group of twenty-somethings brought together at a remote cabin for some weekend group therapy only for them to start getting killed off (there's a pretty good "axe to the head" moment). Of course you know there's going to be a twist to the entire thing and when it comes it's actually not too bad. Also this story contains the most amateurish acting of the lot, which is too bad as the rest of the movie is pretty well acted.

Next up is "Dennis Frye Vs. The Zombies" which brings back Bill Cassinelli from the original for a tongue-in-cheek story that has him and his new girlfriend Felissa Rose (who you might remember as "Angela" from the first Sleepaway Camp movie) having to take on a gang who call themselves "The Zombies" that have turned into, well, zombies after eating some mystical chocolate bars. Obviously just looking at what it's about you're not supposed to take any moment of the middle tale seriously and that's a good thing because it's loaded with smirky jokes (including a scene involving a hole in a popcorn container that turns out not nearly as dirty as they've staged it - or maybe it's just my sick sense of humour again), a highly amusing "dating montage", and Cassinelli's "likeable goof" performance.

Last up is the most ambitious story, "7:23", which has a man stopping at a motel for the night (that's resided over by a weirdo played perfectly by Joe Estevez) only to find her can't leave and that the motel may be more than it seems. For some reason this story just seems to work and I think it's mostly because of the fine turns by Estevez and Jesse Furman and the great scene where Furman's character gets to see into the past sins of all the motel's residents.

Overall, Scary Tales: The Return Of Mr. Longfellow, is an entertaining 88 minutes and it surpasses the original film by leaps and bounds because it looks higher-budgeted than it actually was (the commentary track mentions it as $11,000), it's much better acted than you'd expect (kudos to Daly, Cassinelli, Furman, and Estevez), and the film is not only well shot by the directors but it looks very professional as well. Plus it's better than most indie anthology flicks out there. Recommended. (Chris Hartley, 2/21/05)

Directed By: Michael A. Hoffman, Jason Daly.
Written By: Richard Cecere, Jason Daly, Michael A. Hoffman.

Starring: Joel D. Wynkoop, Jason Daly, Felissa Rose, Bill Cassinelli.

Picture Ratio: Full Frame.

Picture Quality: I believe this was shot on a digital camcorder and considering what it cost it looks pretty good here, though it is a little fuzzy once in a while.

Extras: There's a two trailers (a regular and "scary" one), a teaser trailer, filmographies, production notes, a "Mr. Longfellow" bio, a photo gallery, an amusing "making of" featurette, and a group commentary track that's loads of fun to listen to.