Tales from the Murder Room

Tales from the Murder Room, created by the Hollins brothers, started as a television series. Now, writers / directors King Jeff and Gorio have re-edited these episodes into a mystery-noir anthology. Each segment starts in the real world with a random (or maybe not so much) person picking up a copy of the title book. The real meat and potatoes are the black-and-white cases (chapters) that the wordless individual reads.

The stories all begin in the “murder room,” the interrogation room of a Louisiana police department. Detective Jerry July (King Jeff), Lieutenant George Rook (Gorio) and Detective Brian Lane (Brian Lanigan) are to solve, among other things, the death of a postman, the murder of a callgirl and the murder of a gang member. These stories are taken directly from the original show and plop inside the new perimeter … and that’s part of the problem.

Throughout Tales from the Murder Room, it is useless to understand how or why this is the reader being followed. The first person is bandaged from head to toe and makes a sandwich. How or why is he wrapped up? The next is an older man feeding his dog than reading the book. Why did the movie jump from the bandaged person to this new guy? Is there a connection between the cases they read and the character of the cover? If so, it will never be properly alluded to or set up, nor is it obvious.

“…shall solve the death of a postmanthe murder of a callgirl and the murder of a gang member … “

But the cases themselves are ingenious. The black and white cinematography of the Hollins brothers adds a great sense of atmosphere. Each segment feels mysterious and gritty, even when the silly comes into play. The close-ups of the suspects appear appropriately intense, helping to sell these people as potentially violent. Given that the stories vary in length from 8 to 20 minutes (approximately), there is not much time to set it all up, so the amazing film language being used helps tremendously.

The manuscript for Tales from the Murder Room is also pretty good. The dialogue is somewhat absurd, as seen in the first case, which concerns the death of a postman. The detectives explain the number of mistakes their suspects have made, but are stumbled upon which number they are on. It’s fun while never breaking the tone of a given segment. An ongoing joke involving pictures of the victims being drawn by the detective’s grandson is really funny.

King Jeff and Gorio are more than just talented directors and writers, as the two also prove to be strong actors. Of course, they perform their roles as Detective Jerry and Lieutenant George and play the sometimes silly lines quite straight. Their underselling of it makes the moment both more fun and more creepy. They also carry out the seriousness of the crimes with the right amount of disgust and anger.

King Jeff and Gorio apparently poured a lot of sweat, blood, tears and love in Tales from the Murder Room. Despite a few questions about the wrap, all their hard work pays off. The segments are exciting and intense, with excellent camera work to start. We hope the Hollins brothers can keep their creative spirit alive and well into their next project.