Macabro Monday: Horror Anthologies Ranked from Best to “Better Not Even Watch Them”

By Chuck Pereda for www.elsalvavidas.mx

Horror and film anthologies would seem like a marriage made in Hell, but there aren’t that many that are worth it, and the truth is they’re kind of hard to find on Netflix, HULU and, heck, even the dealer of horror movies from La Lagunilla has to hustle to get them.

So, to keep you from running around in circles, here’s a practical guide to which anthologies are cool, in descending order (the bottom of the list is only worth watching when you’ve got nothing better to do), and, whenever possible, we’ll tell you where to find them or even drop the video right here so you can watch them.

Creepshow.- No longer available on Netflix, but it’s the queen of horror anthologies, partly because it’s the joint work of Stephen King and George A. Romero. It’s 5 stories taken from the original comic book, one of the most celebrated comics among horror fans worldwide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDTpWFGnBek (abre en nueva pestaña)

Tales From The Darkside.- Available on the American Netflix, Tales From The Darkside is almost as important as Creepshow, and it’s also based on a series, but a TV one. Either way, it hasn’t aged all that well, which is why it lands in our second spot. (luckily someone uploaded it to YouTube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUD15hMurmE (abre en nueva pestaña)

Three Extremes.- Famous for the story by Park Chan Wook, Dumplings, in which an actress eats human fetuses to stay young. Dumplings was later turned into a standalone film, but it’s worth watching the rest of the episodes included in this anthology too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXOjMbI9MJ0 (abre en nueva pestaña)

Cat’s Eye.- Another one from Stephen King, less effective and less famous than Creepshow, but still a great addition to this prolific author’s canon. Unfortunately, you’ll have to order that one from Amazon, because it’s not on streaming for now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqzTazrYx5M (abre en nueva pestaña)

Kwaidan.- This one’s on HULU because it’s part of the Criterion Collection, much more artistic and atmospheric than the rest of the films mentioned here, but fans of movies like Kuroneko, Onibaba or Jigoku will be happy with this anthology of Japanese ghost stories. It doesn’t look THAT great, but someone uploaded it to YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7kl-wnzgto (abre en nueva pestaña)

Twilight Zone: The Movie.- One of the best horror anthologies that ranks this low because it has more fantasy elements than horror ones (the segment directed by Steven Spielberg is honestly cheesy), but the highlight is the segment starring John Litgow that is great and terrifying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmZdYN05NlM (abre en nueva pestaña)

Trick R’ Treat.- The first modern film that will actually earn a place among the new horror classics — one of the anthologies you watch every Halloween, you can even rent this one from what used to be known as Blockbuster (now B Store). Oh, and it looks like a sequel is coming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMoiNyyXSwU (abre en nueva pestaña)

Tales of Halloween.- I bought it yesterday, and all I had to do was use Hola.org and pay with PayPal. It’s pretty fun, even if not all 10 stories are good.

https://vimeo.com/140730156 (abre en nueva pestaña)

V/H/S 2.- This one’s also no longer on Netflix and, in fact, it doesn’t reach the level of Tales of Halloween or Trick R’ Treat, but it’s not bad — it actually has some really fun sequences and is without a doubt much better than the first one. Maybe its weakest point is that it absolutely has to be “found footage.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7hXgRGm7Os (abre en nueva pestaña)

The ABCs of Death 2.- One of the few you can watch directly on the Mexican Mexican Netflix, much more decent than the first one, mostly because it feels a lot more cohesive. Even so, it’s wildly uneven, and it’s the only one on the list you can skip without much fuss…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9eP4GEXM1w (abre en nueva pestaña)