A subgenre I never thought I’d be interested in but I’ve seen more than I originally thought are anthologies.
1 film, but you’re giving me 3-5 different stories, sometimes they all tie into together to one epic conclusion, sometimes they don’t but above anything, they should be entertaining and unique. Also, I like when there are various directors involved, that takes a lot of organization, talks, communication with other creatives involved, the end result is to make the best horror story that they can and to see different styles of directing, writing and cinematography is also great to note.
The year is coming to a close and I haven’t been watching as many films as I used to. I’ll touch on that in my final post of 2021 with my horror watchlist, BUT, I did want to share some of my favorite anthology films overall and some are perfect to watch for this holiday season!
I will be highlighting my favorite(s) segments without giving too much away in case you want to check these out yourself.
Body Bags (1993), dir. John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper – Only 3 overall segments but I enjoyed “The Gas Station” which features Wes Craven in a very creepy cameo, and David Naughton (from An American Werewolf in London) and “Eye” which stars Mark Hamill.
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990), dir. John Harrison – Based off the tv series created by George A Romero, I really enjoyed “Lover’s Vow” followed closely by “Cat from Hell.”
Tales of Halloween (2015), dir. Neil Marshall, Darren Lynn Bousman, Axelle Carolyn, Lucky McKee, Andrew Kasch, Paul Solet, John Skipp, Adam Gierasch and Jace Anderson, Mike Mendez, Ryan Schifrin and Dave Parker – “Sweet Tooth” and “Bad Seed” are my top two favorite out of ten. But I think this is a fun anthology film overall. 
V/H/S (2012), dir. Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, and Radio Silence – “10/31/98” is possibly my favorite, which were directed by Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Southbound and now the 5th installment Scream).
Trick r Treat (2007), dir. Michael Dougherty – I am obsessed with Sam so anytime he is on screen, heart eyes to that little bundle of Halloween joy. The “Halloween School Bus Massacre” got me cheering and “Sam” is just…he crawls on the ceiling and it ties in with the conclusion.
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), dir. John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante and George Miller – Despite the tragedy that surrounds this film, I like Segment Three aka “It’s a Good Life” and Segment Four aka “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”. The other two segments are good but if I had to pick…
Tales from the Hood (1995), dir. Rusty Cundieff – I still stand by how relevant this film is to this day, the topics the film covers from gang violence, police brutality, racism domestic violence. The ending is great but if I can pick a segment, I’d go for.. “Hard Core Convert”, followed by “Boys Do Get Bruised
”.
Creepshow (1982), dir. George A Romeo – One of my all time favorite anthologies ever, I can watch Creepshow all day, everyday. I love “Father’s Day” and “The Crate” but the creepiest is “They’re Creeping Up on You”.
Creepshow 2 (1987), dir. Michael Gornick – I mean, it doesn’t match the original and from what I read, some segments were cut, the reason why there’s only 3. I do like “The Raft” and “The Hitch-Hiker” the best.
Scare Package (2019), dir. Aaron B. Koontz, Courtney Andujar, Hillary Andujar, Anthony Cousins, Emily Hagins, Chris McInroy, Noah Segan, and Baron Vaughn – A recent watch from October, I did like this anthology. The only one I liked the most was “M.I.S.T.E.R.” which was unique.
Trilogy of Terror (1975), dir. Dan Curtis – Each segment stars Karen Black (just saw her in Burnt Offerings) and it is a television anthology but let’s be real; the best one is “Amelia” aka the final segment aka the one with the Zuni fetish doll.
All the Creatures were Stirring (2018), dir. David Ian McKendry, Rebekah McKendry – Not a bad anthology film but not the best or greatest. “Dash Away All” and “In a Twinkling” are possibly the best ones, in my opinion. 
An honorable mention is Nightmare Cinema which I started and didn’t finish so I wanted to throw this one on the list. Another one that I’ve heard a lot about is All Hallow’s Eve which has a branch off with Terrifier and its upcoming sequel, A Christmas Story, Southbound, the sequels to V/H/S, and various classic horror ones that eventually I’ll get around to these.
What movies would you suggest to me or others reading this post? Leave a comment below! And I’ll see you guys… Saturday with the last post of 2021 aka my watchlist!
Shots of Horror 