Sinister Tales is a horror anthology with 5 stories all interconnected. It is produced and directed by Jeff Carney. This is a very early film I made back in 1986. It was shot in 3/4" at the time and mastered onto a 1" inch video reel. The cast includes Todd Queck, Tom Hart, Lainie Whiles, Jon Zimney, Tor Lowry, Rebecca Callaway, Shane Partlow, Ken Kordick, Lloyd Nelson, Christopher David, Jay Dietrich, Sunny Tedell, Linda McGraw, Howard Johnson, Kim Dahms, Colleen Kavanaugh, Linda Chicarelli, Candis Edson, Genevieve Alatore, Fred Ricaurte, Nicholas Peschang, Jacqueline Peschang, John Thull, Jack Hendrix, David Cahoon, Katie Williams, Diane Whiles, Molly Tiernan, and Jennifer Flannery.

Be sure to scroll down this page to watch some outtake videos from Sinister Tales.

The story that starts off the movie links the rest of the stories - A group of high school friends (3 guys and a girl) gather together one evening to tell Sinister Tales.  Unknown to her, the three guys are going to play a prank on the girl by the end of the evening where they send the class geek to her house on what he thinks will be a date. A prank that will end in horror as the final Sinister Tale will be theirs. 

                                                 
                                                  Original cover art for Sinister Tales



                               
                               Todd Queck (left) , Katie Williams, and Lainie Whiles (in the middle) 
                               from the opening high school scene in Sinister Tales.




                               
                                Behind the scenes of the same shot from above. Jeff Carney
                                is behind camera filming the scene in the Alleman High School
                                main lobby.
                                     

 
Filming of the high school scenes took place    Actors Jon Zimney, Todd Queck, and
at Alleman high school.                                          Christopher David (who is now a priest).


The first story is about a babysitter (actress Rebecca Callaway who has been in countless films I've made) encounters an escaped murderer (played by Jay Dietrich) at the home where is she is watching over a young girl.  The murderer harasses the babysitter until she finally outwits him by giving a cup of coffee made with rat poison.
 
Rebecca Callaway as the babysitter who          Jay Dietrich, as the madman, who pulls a
finds a stranger in the house.                              knife on the babysitter.


  
The madman threatens to cut off her fingers        Actor Jay Dietrich giving his crazy look.
unless she is willing to do anything he asks.


 
Later she slips some rat poison into his            An ambulance is called to the scene.
coffee which kills him.

 
Soon the police Captain arrives to speak            The police Captain (Howard Johnson)
with the babysitter.                                                    comforts the victim just before he helps
                                                                                      himself to some of the poisoned coffee.



The second story is about Mrs. Rawlings (Sunny Tedell) who lives on a Iowa farm in 1957 and is being harassed by a banker (Linda McGraw) who wants to foreclose on the property.  Mrs. Rawlings explains that her son is away in the service and once he gets back he will help her on the farm and she will be able to pay her bills.
 
Mrs. Rawlings on left (played by Sunny Tedell) confronts the banker (played by actress Linda McGraw) who has come to the farm with foreclosure papers.



 
Mrs. Rawlings forces the banker to leave and    The bankers get together on the roadside
wait for her son to return from the army and        to form a plan.
then she will have enough money to pay
the bills.


 
The bankers (from left) Linda McGraw, John    The banker breaks the news that Mrs.
Thull, and Jack Hendrix decide to lie to              Rawlings son has died.
Mrs. Rawlings and tell her that her son
was killed in the army so she will give up
the farm.


  
Comforting a distraught mother.                   The banker leaves knowing she has the farm.


  
After losing her son and then the farm,            Jeff Carney, with camera, filming the death
Mrs. Rawlings decides to put a shotgun         scene. Tor Lowry with the mic boom.
to her head and pulls the triger.


 
The bankers react in horror to the sound       At this moment, Mrs. Rawlings son (played
of the unexpected shotgun blast.                     by David Cahoon) returns home to find
                                                                                his mother dead as the bankers realize
                                                                                what they have done.


                                           
                                                   Outtake Reel #1 Sinister Tales




                                           
                                                    Outtake Reel #2 Sinister Tales




                                         
                                                       Outtake Reel #3 Sinister Tales
                                 
                         


                                             Continued on SINISTER TALES Page 2