The Willies (1991)

"The Willies" is a low budget anthology (or portmanteau, to be correct) about two brothers camping with their cousin who try to frighten each other by telling stories.

Yup, they try to put "The Willies" up each other in a purely non-sexual way!

It's so like the "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" TV series that it must have been the inspiration (especially as this was made in 1991 and the TV series came after). Both this movie and the TV series are obviously aimed at a younger audience but that doesn't stop parts of it from being quite enjoyable for adults too.

Admittedly the first few stories are quite weak. Sean Astin (from "The Goonies") and his two companions are far more entertaining to watch than the stories that come to life as they tell them.

The final story, however, about Gordy Belcher who collects flies, more than makes up for the poor quality of the rest of the film. Michael Bower is really good as the disturbed fat kid with the unhygienic obsession. His comeuppance is predictable and a bit silly but then that's the nature of the whole film.

It tries to homage comic books in much the same way as Stephen King's "Creepshow" and the Amicus classic based on EC comics "From Beyond The Grave" but it's just too kiddified to be scary.

That said, it's amusing in its way and it would be nice to see a remake done of this one. Yes, I know how remakes usually suck but I really think this deserves another go.