The Jaded Horror Fan – Anthologies
Creepshow 1/2, Tales from the Dark Side, Tales from The Crypt, The Twilight Zone Movie and Tales from the Hood (my column, and I loved this one). What do they have in common? Well, they laid the foundation for the resurgence of anthologies springing up since the late 2000’s. In my opinion, these are still far superior to anything else that came after. Back then, big name actors and directors would take part in these anthologies, but now we’re left with basically genre directors and no name actors, which is unfortunate but hopefully can change.
I have very, although probably too early, fond memories of Creepshow 2 in particular. I remember watching the segment “The Raft” and being completely petrified of water from that point on – I think I was about 5. I’m still not entirely sure what my parents were thinking when allowing me to watch some of these types of movies.
Then something happened, major releases with big named actors suddenly stopped. Sure, there were still some releases in the 70’s and 80’s but none which would warrant any kind of mention. The “slasher” genre really took off during these times and I believe that cluttered the horror genre and didn’t leave much room for anything else besides the generic bloodfest.
However, the resurgence I mentioned earlier, while oversaturated, is still worth noting and there have been at least five really great entries into the anthology subgenre, regardless of cast/crew notoriety. Some people may have differing opinion on what an “anthology” film actually is, but the definition states that an anthology is a film consisting of several shorts, and MAY or may NOT have an overlapping storyline. I don’t really have a preference, but I will say that if you’re going to have an overall story, please make it interesting (talking to you V/H/S series). My favorite is Trick ‘r Treat, which is somewhat a different type of anthology since its only one movie, but with self contained stories spanning several minutes, with an overlapping plot as well. I know I said I have no preference, but now that I think about it, I like when there is something tying the shorts together.
Some other notable work would be The ABC’s of Death series, and the more recent Tales of Halloween, A Christmas Horror Story and the awesome Southbound. Unfortunately, the latter was victim of the uninteresting connecting story syndrome.
Looking back at The Twilight Zone Movie, I don’t think we’ll ever get back to the days of marquee actors starring in a horror anthology, but who cares, as long as we have some quality stories I’ll be happy. I know there are more than the ones I’ve listed, so does anyone care to share some little gems or simply comment on what I’ve brought up?
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