The Halloween Season means grinning pumpkins, haunted houses, and enough candy to fill an empty graveyard. So grab your snack-filled pillowcases because here are 13 anthologies packed with enough gore, ghouls, and gaffs to pair your bite-sized candy bars with bite-sized horror.
Creepshow 2 (1987)
The original Creepshow has cemented itself at the top of most horror anthologies lists, written and directed by horror icons Stephen King (author of over 60 novels including It, The Shining, The Stand, and The Dead Zone) and George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead). However, Creepshow 2 lives in the shadow of its predecessor and remains criminally underrated. The film finds Romero in the writing role, with direction by long-time collaborator Michael Gornick (cinematographer of Creepshow, Dawn of the Dead, and Martin), and King solely providing the concepts for each story. In an interesting departure from the first film, Creepshow 2 inserts an animated wraparound sequence while returning to themes of bullying and parental neglect. The film’s segments star George Kennedy (McHale’s Navy, The Boston Strangler, and the Airplane franchise), Holt McCallany (Fight Club, Mindhunter, and The Iron Claw), and Stephen King returning in a cameo appearance as Truck Driver in the segment “The Hitchhiker.” Bonus Trivia: Legendary special effects artist and director Tom Savini is behind the creep mask during the brief live-action scenes of the wraparound sequence.
Where to Watch:
Body Bags (1993)
From legendary horror icon and filmmaker John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing, and Christine) comes an anthology film in the vein of Tales from the Crypt, with Carpenter starring in the wraparound segment as a ghoulish Coroner alongside cameo appearances by Tom Arnold and the film’s co-director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist, and the Salem’s Lot miniseries). Body Bags is a fun, grotesque, and macabre collection starring Robert Carradine, Stacy Keach, and Mark Hamill, with further cameo appearances by David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London), Sam Raimi (creator of the Evil Dead franchise and director of Drag Me to Hell), Wes Craven (director of The Last House on the Left and A Nightmare on Elm Street), Debby Harry (lead vocalist of the new-wave rock band Blondie), English model, actor and singer Twiggy, and genre legend Roger Corman (director and producer of over 500 films, including The Little Shop of Horrors, starring Jack Nicholson, and House of Usher, starring Vincent Price). From serial killers to parasitic hair implants and a haunted eye transplant, Body Bags will leave you grinning like a jack-o-lantern.
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Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)
It would be a great disservice to make this list without including Tales from the Darkside: The Movie as it is considered by some to be the true Creepshow 3. Directed by John Harrison, another long-time collaborator of George A. Romero, with a screenplay written by Romero and the underappreciated horror writer Michael McDowell (Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the Blackwater series of novels), Tales from the Darkside: The Movie includes segments written by Arthur Conan Doyle (the creator of Sherlock Holmes), Lafcadio Hearn (who is credited with introducing Japanese culture and literature to the West), and Stephen King (whose segment “The Cat From Hell” was originally meant to be included in Creepshow 2). The cast consists of a murderer’s row of genre actors, including Debbie Harry (see Body Bags), Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs, The Big Lebowski, and Boardwalk Empire), Christian Slater (Heathers, Gleaming the Cube, and Mr. Robot ), Julianne Moore (The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Hannibal, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay parts 1 and 2), David Johansen (lead vocalist of the porto-punk band New York Dolls), and James Remar (The Warriors and Dexter). The segments explore themes of deceit and guilt in this stylized collection of bite-sized horror.
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Tales from the Hood (1995)
A list of horror anthologies would be incomplete without Rusty Cundieff’s 1995 cult-classic Tales from the Hood. Cundieff, whose work spans The Bernie Mac Show, Chappelle’s Show, and The Wanda Sykes Show, perfectly blends humor with social commentary in this exploration of the black experience in America. Tales from the Hood is idiosyncratic in its fun, funny, horrifying, and at times downright nihilistic presentations of gang violence, police corruption, and racism. Starring Clarence William III (Purple Rain, Half Baked, and American Gangster), Samuel Monroe Jr. (Menace II Society), Brandon Hammond (Mars Attack! and Space Jam), Paula Jai Parker (Friday and Hustle & Flow), David Alan Grier (Jumanji, They Cloned Tyrone, and The American Society of Magical Negroes), and Ricky Harris (Bones, Everybody Hates Chris, and various voices in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas). Bonus Trivia: Cundieff’s parents appear in the segment “KKK Comeuppance.”
Where to Watch:
XX (2017)
A lesser talked about anthology, XX is a collection of short horror films written and directed by some of the most influential and creative women in the modern horror canon. Jovanka Vuckovic, director of the post-apocalyptic Riot Girls; Annie Clark, better known as alternative-rock visionary St. Vincent; Roxanne Benjamin, producer of Southbound and the first three entries in the V/H/S franchise; and Karyn Kusama, director of Jennifer’s Body and The Invitation; present stories exploring the horrors of the feminine experience, with an utterly creepy stop-motion wraparound directed by Mexican filmmaker Sofia Carrillo. With segments written by their subsequent director (with the exception of “The Box,” an adaptation of Jack Ketchum’s short story of the same name) the film explores themes of motherhood, loss, presumptions regarding feminine fragility, and agency. Guiding talent aside, you’ll be pleased to see Jonathon Watton (Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale), Melanie Lynskey (Showtime’s Yellowjackets, and Netflix’s I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore), Joe Swanberg (Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, A Horrible Way to Die, and You’re Next), Breeda Wool (Mr. Mercedes), and Kyle Allen (American Horror Story: Apocalypse). Sometimes bleak but always insightful, XX balances terror, humor, and absurdity, perfectly aligning with the spirit of the spooky season.
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Three… Extremes (2004)
Not for the faint of heart, Three… Extremes is an unflinching presentation of gross-out and absurdist horror that will leave you laughing between wretches and questioning the divide between reality and fantasy. A collaboration between Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, the film unites writers Lilian Lee, author of Dumplings (which inspired the first segment in this film); Park Chan-wook, director of Oldboy and Thirst; Bun Saikou; and Haruko Fukushima, of CSI: Crime Scene Talks and Tokumei Shikikan Goma Ayaka; and directors Fruit Chan, of Dumplings and Tales from the Occult; Park Chan-wook; and Japanese genre-legend Takashi Miike, whose films Audition and Ichi the Killer can be found on the shelf of many genre-lovers. Three… Extremes was originally conceived and released as a sequel to the film Three, only for it to be released as a standalone in the US, and for the original to be re-released under the title Three… Extremes 2. Three… Extremes is the perfect anthology for anyone seeking something more from their horror consumption, with themes of guilt, beauty, and fame.
V/H/S (Franchise)
When I began crafting this list, the V/H/S franchise immediately came to mind. Beginning with the first film in 2012, the V/H/S films are the most peculiar and newest (see V/H/S/85 and the upcoming V/H/S/Beyond). V/H/S relies on the nostalgia of yesteryear’s technology without the EC comics aesthetic found in Creepshow, Tales from the Darkside, and Body Bags. While each film seems to suffer from forgettable wraparound segments and bouts of eye-rolling misogyny, there are moments of true greatness that solidify the series among the top horror films of the last 15 years.
V/H/S (2012)
The first entry in the franchise, V/H/S blends found-footage stylings with the anthology format. V/H/S was written by Simon Barrett (You’re Next and The Guest), David Bruckner (The Signal, The Ritual, and The Night House), Ti West (The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers, X, Pearl, and Maxxxine), Glenn McQuaid (I Sell the Dead), and Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream (2022), and the upcoming Escape from New York remake); and directed by Adam Wingard (You’re Next, The Guest, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire), Bruckner, West, McQuaid, Joe Swanberg (see XX), and Radio Silence. The film spans themes of paranoia, home invasion, extra-dimensional killers, aliens, and monsters.
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V/H/S 2 (2013)
The second installment in the franchise sees the return of Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard, along with genre innovators Eduardo Sánchez and Gregg Hale (The Blair Witch Project), Timo Tjahjanto (May The Devil Take You), Gareth Evans (The Raid and Apostle), and Jason Eisener (Hobo with a Shotgun). V/H/S 2 remains faithful to the original film, with a series of found VHS tapes revealing the corresponding segments. The film’s strengths include distinctly original segments with an emphasis on the use of a GoPro camera in the segment “A Ride in the Park,” and spans themes of technology, zombies, demonic cults, and aliens.
V/H/S: Viral
Following the previous two entries’ reliance on the found-footage format, V/H/S Viral relies on a more modern approach through the use of social media-esque video footage. While the film attempts a deeper approach to its storytelling, with mild social commentary, the segments vary significantly more than the previous films. The segments were directed by Marcel Sarmiento (Deadgirl), Gregg Bishop (Siren, a spinoff of David Bruckner’s “Amateur Night” segment from the first film), Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes and Colossal), and filmmaking duo Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead (The Endless and After Midnight). The film deals with themes of cosmic horror and ghosts.
V/H/S/94 (2021)
Following an eight-year hiatus, the franchise returns in what is considered the second phase of the V/H/S franchise, with the second trilogy placing each installment within a particular year. V/H/S/94 sees the return of franchise contributors Simon Barrett and Timo Tjahjanto, along with series newcomers Jennifer Reeder (Knives and Skin and Perpetrator), Chloe Okuno (Watcher), and Ryan Prows (Lowlife). Most notable is the film’s segment “Storm Drain” for its use of practical effects on the monstrous Raatma. This is also the first entry to tie a segment to its wraparound story. For fans of creature features, social commentary, and body horror.
V/H/S/99 (2022)
With a new year and a new cast of directors, V/H/S/99 continues the series sequel trilogy by jumping ahead to 1999. Maggie Levin (The Black Phone), Johannes Roberts (The Strangers: Prey at Night and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City), Flying Lotus (Kuso, Ash, and seven studio albums), Tyler MacIntyre (Tragedy Girls and It’s A Wonderful Knife), and duo Vanessa and Joseph Winter (Deadstream) The wraparound sequence harkens back to home movies like those made by many of the franchise’s directorial contributors. V/H/S/99 presents themes of revenge, vengeance, possession, and demons.
V/H/S/85 (2023)
The latest installment in the franchise, and the last of the sequel trilogy, sees a throwback to 1985 through the guise of a documentary broadcast that had been recorded onto a VHS tape, with each segment appearing as vignettes recorded throughout. This installment is distinctly different in that the “wraparound” segment doesn’t appear at the beginning of the film. David Bruckner returns to direct the film’s wraparound, alongside Scott Derrickson (Sinister, The Black Phone, and Doctor Strange), Gigi Saul Guerrero (Satanic Hispanics), Natasha Kermani (Lucky and Imitation Girl), and Mike P. Nelson (The Domestics and the Wrong Turn reboot). While static, scanlines, and analog artifacts have been used in the past, this film seems to benefit the most from them, strengthening the digital and practical effects used throughout. The film explores themes of paranoia, reanimation, mythology, possession, virtual reality, and premonitions. In another series first, two of the segments appear to be directly related, with the murders in “No Wake” appearing to be the result of “Ambrosia.”
V/H/S/Beyond (2024)
While little is known about the upcoming seventh installment in the franchise, it is slated to hit Shudder on October 4th. Previous entries have varied in subject, featuring the occult, monsters, demons, and ghosts, but V/H/S/Beyond promises to be a full-throttle sci-fi nightmare. This is not, however, the series’ first time incorporating science fiction, with segments like “The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger,” “Slumber Party Alien Abduction,” and “Parallel Monsters” appearing in the first three films, respectively. “Slumber Party Alien Abduction” was later spun off into the film Kids vs. Aliens (2022), with writer John Davies and director Jason Eisener returning in their respective roles. From directors Jordan Downing, of Thankskilling and The Head Hunter; Justin Long, star of the 2022 horror hit Barbarian; Justin Martinez, co-creator of Radio Silence Productions (see V/H/S); Virat Pal; director of Night of the Bride; Kate Siegel, star of Hush, and the popular Netflix series’ The Haunting of Hill House and The Fall of the House of Usher; and Jay Cheel, writer and director of the Cursed Films docu-series.
