EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks to Matthew Hale on Letterboxd, I’ve learned that there are alternate versions of this Mill Creek box set. For the sake of completeness and my obsessive compulsive disorder, here’s this missing movie.

Directed by Jeffrey Delman from a script by Delman, J. Edward Kiernan and Charles F. Shelton, Deadtime Stories was originally called Freaky Fairy Tales. That makes sense, as two of the three stories are based on Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks.

Delman originally wanted to have the song “Li’l Red Riding Hood” by Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs to play over the opening credits, but was unable to use the song because the clearance rights were too expensive. You need to have a Striking Distance budget to get that. He also wanted “Surfin’ Bird” and “Walkin’ on the Rain,” but again, he had a small budget.

All of these stories are told by Uncle Mike (Michael Mesmer) — named for SNL and National Lampoon writer Michael O’Donoghue — who is trying to calm down his nephew with three horrifying stories. That story is very The Boy Who Cried Wolf. I have no idea why he would think that these fairy tales filled with gore would make a kid stop being wild, but I didn’t make this movie. In the first story, a fisherman’s son (Scott Valentine) is sold as a slave to two witches, while the second is about a prescription mix-up between a grandmother and the wolf who is after Red Riding Hood. Finally, Judith “Mama'”Baer (Melissa Leo), her husband Beresford “Papa” Baer (Kevin Hannon) and their son Wilmont “Baby” Baer (Timothy Rule go on the run and discover that Goldi Lox (Cathryn de Prume) is in their hideout.

It’s goofy but I enjoyed it. Then again, I always like anthology films.