Grim Prairie Tales (1990)

While the fusion of western and anthology horror might sound wrong on paper, it succeeds here. Two distinctly opposite travelers (Brad Dourif and James Earl Jones) share one campfire and trade in the only currency available to them: tall tales. The initial segment is basic and one-note but each subsequent story raises the bar with macabre details and thought-provoking conclusions. The wraparound is almost as interesting as the fictions contained therein with Dourif and Jones intensely discussing the nature of storytelling itself. The film lacks in most points of production value but with a mere sole campfire lighting up our imaginations, it scarcely matters.

3½ man eaters out of 5