In recent years there has been a trend of low-budget production companies buying the rights to recognizable movie titles and producing half-hearted straight-to-DVD releases for a quick and easy buck. (eg: Roadhouse 2, 8mm 2). Creepshow 3 falls in this same category of low-budget movie-making with the hopes of cashing in on a movie title with some name recognition.

Produced by Taurus Entertainment, the same people responsible for Day of the Dead 2: Contagium, Creepshow 3 bears very little resemblance to the original Creepshow created by horror legends George A. Romero and Stephen King.

After a relatively clever, but short, opening cartoon sequence, Creepshow 3 presents five back-to-back stories that are somewhat interrelated. There are no introductions by any witty monster mascots, as seen in Creepshow 2 and other EC comics inspired films. Rather, the stories are separated by a simple cartoon to real-life metamorphosis.

The first story, called Alice, is about a jaded young girl who finds herself the victim of a reality-changing remote control. This nonsensical story is riddled with bad acting, bad dialogue, and an illogical plot. For some unexplained reason, Alice begins to melt after each reality shift. And adding to the confusion, she doesn’t seem to even notice or care. To top it all off, the story ends with a quirky neighbor, a professor who claims responsibility for the creation of the malevolent remote, who transforms Alice from a melting monstrosity to a white rabbit. (Perhaps some sort of Alice in Wonderland reference that was lost in the convoluted plot?)

The second story is a little more clever and entertaining called The Radio. It’s about a down-on-his-luck security officer named “Jerry” who starts to hear a seductive female voice from a portable radio. Following the directions of the mysterious voice, Jerry finds a small fortune. But as the story unfolds, the advice from the radio turns deadly.

The third story, Rachel the Call Girl, is about a hooker who murders her clients. Dubbed the “Call Girl Killer” by the tabloids, the story ends with the predatory prostitute becoming the prey.

The fourth story, called The Professor’s Wife, is a ridiculous story about a couple former students who ineptly believe their old professor managed to create a “Stepford wife”. The story is far-fetched and absurd, yet is somehow manages to remain somewhat amusing.

The fifth and final story is as outlandish as the others, yet I found it the most entertaining. Haunted Dog is about an arrogant and abusive doctor who inadvertently kills a hobo by feeding him a tainted hot-dog. The doctor, played by Kris Allen (who gives the best performance of the film), starts to see horrifying visions of the deceased hobo who is seeking retribution.

While this movie pales in comparison to the original Creepshow, I was mildly entertained enough to consider Creepshow 3 a worthwhile watch. To enjoy this movie, you must be able to overlook bad acting, ignore illogical story-lines with huge plot holes, enjoy anthology-style horror movies, and have a broad sense of humor. If you lack any of these attributes, you’re likely to find Creepshow 3 silly, stupid, and asinine.