Horror anthologies are tough to pull off. For every Tales from the Hood, Creepshow, or Mortuary Collection, there are countless forgettable ones. The 100 Candles Game feels like a hasty project with a tiresome wrap-around and very few stories that stick. There are some cool visuals and one or two stories that warrant attention, but the movie as a whole stumbles in its execution often.

A group of friends gathers in a spooky abandoned house to play a game in which each takes a candle and then tells a ghost story. After concluding their story, they must go into a room alone and stare into a mirror. On paper, this is a cool concept. However, the friends are lackluster characters, and what they see in the mirror borders on the cliche. The candle game serves as little more than a vehicle to get to the next short.

As for the stories, few are memorable. Some of them are snuffed out before ever hitting a high mark. Some rely on jump scares or special effects, but that alone is not enough to hold a viewer’s attention. A few, however, work really well. One of the most intriguing concepts involves a man who hides a kid in a house, telling him that there are monsters in fog attracted to the scent of children. This one feels like a fully realized story, and the fact you never see the monster works quite well. Further, the story has an unexpected turn and conclusion that’s really clever.

Another story involves a woman trapped in a coffin and buried alive. This is always a horrifying concept. Add a rat to torment her, and it’s enough to give anyone the willies. However, the film is in Spanish and mostly told through text messages and voice messages. International contributions are always great, but without subtitles, it’s impossible to tell what’s happening in the narrative.

Amy Smart is the most well-known actress in the film. She plays a mother off her meds who sees a monster and thinks it’s attacking her daughter. Again, this is a great concept, but it flames out too soon.

One of the only other memorable stories involves a woman haunted by someone or something in her apartment, taking pictures of her while she showers. When she sees watery footprints on her floor,  it’s simply chilling. This is one of the few stories that feels like it was given enough room to breathe. It’s one of the anthology’s strongest contributions, tense and creative.

Overall, The 100 Candles Game, which was convened by Nicolas Onetti as the main director, comes across as a rushed project. Maybe the other directors needed to talk to each other more and form a more cohesive anthology. There is no unifying connection between the separate stories, and the wrap-around is boring at best, leading to a conclusion that feels forced. One or two contributions are memorable, but it’s painful sitting through some of the others for 10 or 15 minutes of solid frights.

4 out of 10 Candles