This collection of four horror tales consists of five directors who are all conditioned to fall short due some terrible material here! Attempting to pull off an anthology in the tradition of "Creepshow" and "Tales from the Crypt", "Trapped Ashes" simply embarrasses the film makers it under-utilizes with obstructed short concepts that contain not an ounce of wit, clever construction or creepiness, which makes it a horrible waste. The wrap-around story - directed by Joe Dante ("Pirhana" and "The Howling") - begins with a group of tourists who are allowed by their guide to explore the set of an old horror movie (a lop-sided "haunted" house), but soon find themselves hopelessly trapped inside. Apparently, the key to escaping is to tell non-fictional scary tales about personal experiences. The first story - directed by Ken Russell ("Gothic" and "Altered States") - IS probably the most enjoyable since it features the most nudity and gore of the entire movie and is about an aspiring young actress whose breast implants have a vicious thirst for blood... The second - directed by Sean Cunningham ("A Stranger is Watching" and "Friday the 13th") is a lame-ass "ghost story" set in Japan that makes no sense. The third - director Monte Hellman ("Two-lane Blacktop" and "The Terror") - struggles to be the "classy" story about a young screen-writer who falls in love with his best friend's chick who turns out to be a blood drinker... Boring and senseless! The fourth, and thankfully final, segment - by John Gaeta ("The Matrix") - is a pretentious, go-nowhere short about a girl who was born with a tape worm in the womb! Really!? THAT'S what they consider a "horror story"? I would recommend just checking out the first segment since it has nipples biting people in the face... Otherwise, this is just weak!