Canter Buried Tales
Canter Buried Talesis a sly take on Chaucer’s Canterbury tales with a macabre twist, with tales, such the miller’s tale, the Knight’s tale, etc.
Logline:
A group of men tell horrific tales of murder to win a free meal, but one of them intends to kill the others.
Geoffrey Chaucer dreams that a woman’s chest is splayed open by a witch, where he is warned that the harbinger of death is coming – he must go to the Tabard Inn. After an amulet is burned into the palm of his hand, he bolts awake and discovers an amulet-shaped burn scar on his hand.
Chaucer arrives at the Tabard Inn, where Harry invites him to join a storytelling contest. Chaucer begrudgingly agrees to take part when he discovers he can’t leave the Tabard Inn.
Harry introduces Chaucer to Palamon, Placebo, Oswald and Robin. They recognise Robin from somewhere, but he denies ever meeting them before tonight.
Palamon tells the story of how he wrongfully kills a group of villagers, thinking he is saving an innocent, young woman from a witch’s death. She tries to kill Palamon in exchange for eternal youth.
Palamon proves his story in the form of a voodoo doll that looks like the witch that was created by the villagers.
Robin tells a tale of when he turns a pirate into a supernatural wolf-like creature in order to hunt down the Orb of Hades. He finds the orb, but it’s protected by a woman.
The bar wench brings their food, it’s mouldy and crawling with bugs. Chaucer turns on the bar wench, convinced she is the harbinger of death. He glances back at the food, there’s nothing wrong with it.
Oswald tells a tale of two students who prove a miller is stealing grain by using a potion that gives his dreams physical form. They accidentally use too much potion. The dream turns into deadly nightmare.
Chaucer pulls a knife on Placebo when he remembers the harbinger of death will arrive after the fourth tale is told. The other storytellers restrain Chaucer and tie him to his Chair, convinced of his madness.
Placebo tells the tale of a seer who shows a knight a brief glimpse of his wife’s murder in a vision. He races home to save his wife from her attacker only to kill her himself.
Robin is furious that he didn’t win and causes the storytellers to argue over who should have won. When it’s too late, Palamon spots Robin setting up five voodoo dolls besides the fire. One moment they’re all in the tavern, the next they’re in a forest clearing from Palamon’s tale. Robin is the witch.
The witch begins her eternal youth spell that feeds on the sins of the storytellers. The victims of each man’s tale crawl out of the ground and attack them. As the men slowly die, the witch grows younger. Palamon breaks free and stops the spell.
In the blink of an eye, they’re all back in the tavern. Harry is dead and Palamon dies after telling them to destroy the voodoo doll that looks like the witch.
The witch summons the wolf-like creature from Robin’s tale. All but Chaucer are killed.
Chaucer defeats the witch using the amulet shaped scar on his hand, turning her into a wolf-like creature. He’s about to behead the creature when a mob of villagers burst into the bloody scene of corpses. Pages shown are examples of art and pages inside each Graphic Novel.