This is an anthology series that was released in 2018, consisting of seven unrelated short films.
All of them except "The Little Mermaid" are part of the Crypt Monster Universe.
The Little Mermaid (6:12)
Crypt TV Wiki; Facebook; IMDb; Vimeo; YouTube
This 2011 short film was presented by Crypt TV in 2016 on Facebook and in 2017 on YouTube.
When Crypt TV first released this, I'm pretty sure the "Fables" series didn't exist yet, but when it was started, this was retroactively made the first installment. Anyway, I'm not sure when it's set, but I would guess the late 1800s or early 1900s. A man has a small circus tent set up in a swamp, where he keeps a mermaid in a tub, as an attraction for spectators. The mermaid, of course, would like to be released, but the man doesn't seem to have an intention of letting her go. And that's definitely a dangerous decision. I'm not sure what else to say, except that I liked the visuals and atmosphere of the film, but the story itself was rather slight.
Rapunzel: "Sorority House" (4:58)
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This, I think, was the first film to be made specifically for the Fables series. There's a college girl (I'm not sure if her actual name is Rapunzel) who decides to stay in with her boyfriend, Luke, instead of going out with her sorority sisters. Later that night, a fire severely burns both Rapunzel and Luke, and Rapunzel is blamed, even though she's innocent. The fire may have actually been started by one of the other girls in the sorority, and Rapunzel and Luke want to find out who and exact revenge. It's an okay story, but it would work better as a miniseries than a one-off film, since we never learn who's actually responsible.
tek's rating: ¼
MIRA MIRA: "Vanity Kills" (3:57)
Crypt TV Wiki; Facebook; IMDb; YouTube
A woman gets pulled through a mirror by a monster woman who takes her place on this side of the mirror. The story is extremely slight, but I give the film points for the creepiness of the monster.
In 2021, there was a web series on Facebook Watch.
tek's rating: ½
KinderFänger: "Piper's Song" (6:37)
Christopher Alender; Crypt TV Wiki; Facebook; IMDb; YouTube
Like "The Little Mermaid," this is another short that was released by Crypt TV sometime prior to the start of "Crypt Fables." Unlike that film, I think Crypt TV was the first platform on which this film was released.
A bunch of people are out looking for a bunch of missing children. Among the search party is woman and her nearly deaf daughter, Jordan. They're mainly interested in finding Jordan's brother, Max. It turns out the missing children had been lured away by the sound of a flute being played by a ghostly sort of grim reaper (or a grim reaper-ish ghost). Jordan manages to find Max and all the other kids, apparently breaking the ghost-reaper's spell, but there's another twist in store.
In 2020, there was a webseries on Facebook Watch.
tek's rating: ¼
Geppetto: "A Real Boy" (6:02)
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This is another story that I feel like I probably saw before it became part of the Crypt Fables series, though I'm not absolutely certain of that. Anyway, an old man makes a puppet to replace his lost son, and the puppet apparently comes to life. But he says he needs a friend in order to stay alive, so the old man tempts a little girl to come into his house. And that's all I want to say.
tek's rating: ½
Cheshire: "Break Through" (7:38)
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A woman named Autumn goes to a psychiatrist named Dr. Broach to help her get over the trauma of having been abused by her mother throughout her childhood. She ends up experiencing a fantasy of killing her mother, while a scary clown (Cheshire) watches. Beyond that, I don't want to reveal anything, but it's a pretty disturbing short.
tek's rating: ½
Knave: "Queen of Hearts" (5:17)
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A high school queen bee named Quinn is hanging out with her GBF, Nathan, when they discover via social media that a new girl in school named Fern is running against Quinn for class president. Soon after that, Fern is chased by someone wearing a knight's helmet and carrying an axe, who apparently means to kill her. It's a pretty safe bet who the "knave" is. I don't want to say any more about the story, but I thought it was okay as a short film, but might have been better as a feature, with more characters and more depth.