{"id":15503,"date":"2013-10-25T02:16:19","date_gmt":"2013-10-25T06:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=15503"},"modified":"2015-06-05T04:31:53","modified_gmt":"2015-06-05T08:31:53","slug":"return-of-the-horror-anthology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2013\/10\/25\/return-of-the-horror-anthology\/","title":{"rendered":"Return of the Horror Anthology"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Anthologies have always been a favorite of mine. They’re usually a very entertaining source of storytelling that works more toward the horror genre, providing films like “Black Sabbath” and the series “The Twilight Zone.” Both genre fixtures changed my view of horror and storytelling altogether. After the eighties boom of anthology series and films, the anthology unfortunately peaked after “Tales from the Crypt” ended and suffered a sad death. The occasional gem like “Campfire Tales” popped up directly to video, while shows like “Night Visions” and “Ghost Stories” brought excellent horror entertainment only to be cancelled and tucked away in to obscurity.<\/p>\n

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The anthology was long gone for over a decade being reserved mainly for the art houses and experimental directors, remaining a cinematic format studios wouldn’t really bank on for a long time. 2004 saw “Three… Extremes,” a terrifying and gory Asian horror anthology featuring directed segments by Takashe Miike and Fruit Chan, the movie was lauded among horror fans, and critics, but didn’t entirely revive the format. For a long time, storytellers provided the anthology but with twists, including Takashe Miike who offered his “Vengeance” trilogy, a trio of revenge films based on different characters.<\/p>\n

To add to the idea that studios were no longer willing to invest in the anthology, Michael Dougherty created what he called the quintessential Halloween movie entitled “Trick r Treat” in 2006. Though promoted and hyped among horror fans as the Halloween film for horror buffs, “Trick r Treat” remained in limbo for two years thanks to a studio that didn’t know what to do with it, or how to market it. The film remained tucked away for a while until finally being unleashed on the horror world in 2009 on DVD and Blu-Ray. Welcomed with open arms and mostly rave reviews, director Michael Dougherty delivered what I consider the definitive Halloween film.<\/p>\n

Though it’s not an anthology in a traditional structure, director Dougherty channels “Pulp Fiction” following a long group of characters that experience a terrifying supernatural event on Halloween night. The consistent thread that ties the entire narrative together is the now iconic horror character Sam, a sentient trick or treater donning a burlap mask, who watches as the horror unfolds throughout the duration of the film, and even seems to revel in the bloodshed. He even takes part in the closing segment of the film, wreaking havoc on a crusty old man who delights in torturing kids on Halloween night. The film is brilliantly structured and features a ton of Easter Eggs that, if you look closely, reveal the film to be one long stream of continuity that assemble as a whole flawlessly.<\/p>\n

It took a few years for the horror community to finally catch on, but the film has gained immense love and adulation by the fans, proving the anthology is still teeming with creativity. For a long time though, studios still didn’t know what to make of the anthology format or how to market it, airing half baked shows like “Masters of Horror” that promised a big bang, but ended up as nothing more than a thud. Even with the forces of directors like George Romero, John Carpenter, and Dario Argento, “Masters of Horror” was a huge missed opportunity stymied by a studio lacking innovative horror tales, and nervous to allow these filmmakers to really open up and display gruesome entertainment for the viewers. Take for example the episode “Imprint” by Takashe Miike that proved to be too violent and intense for the Showtime network in America.<\/p>\n

After being held from airing for a long time, fans finally viewed it, confused as to why it caused such a stir. With the advent of the internet and the rise of independent filmmaking changing the way Hollywood has not only continued making movies, but distributing them, anthology films have changed their form of thinking. They’ve now become bastions of indie filmmaking, nurturing the rise of the indie scene. What was once a stomping ground for veterans like Stephen King, George Romero, and Steven Spielberg now has begun welcoming independent filmmakers anxious to be noticed by studios. Hollywood has banked tremendously by investing in independent filmmakers, building the careers of folks like James Wan, and Oren Peli.<\/p>\n

Using the anthology film format has become a wise and unique investment that promises to discover indie directors we’ve never seen before. The horror film “V\/H\/S\/” has seen a welcome changing roster of horror filmmakers with every new installment. Meanwhile, the polarizing but very interesting 2013 horror film “ABC’s of Death” has built a humongous list of filmmakers, while holding an online contest for indie filmmakers to submit their own three minute segment based on the letter M. The contest has opened up a world of creepy, disgusting, and original horror shorts, allowing hundreds of indie directors to vie for a spot in a very well publicized and often controversial film series.<\/p>\n

Based around short segments built on the letters of the English alphabet, “ABC’s of Death” garnered twenty six novel and innovative directors, to deliver twenty six really interesting short segments that had horror audiences divided. Many horror fans despised it, while others enjoyed it. I found the film to be bold and daring, despite the segments’ varying degree of quality. “ABC’s of Death” brought a wonderful pedigree of independent filmmakers which included Adam Wingard, Ti West, Jason Eisener, and Simon Rumley just to name a few. Despite the mixed reactions, Magnet Releasing fast tracked “ABC’s of Death 2,” allowing filmmakers once again to provide their own segment. The result of which was Lee Hardcastle’s animated short “T is for Toilet” featured in the first film.<\/p>\n

Chiller Films in America have also taken part in the anthology film series, bringing on five very popular indie filmmakers aboard to direct five short horror films reliant on the five human senses. The result of which was “Chilling Visions: 5 Sense of Fear.” Released by Scream Factory in 2013, the separate television shorts were combined to form a very memorable and creepy anthology. The studio brought aboard “My Sucky Teen Romance” director Emily Hagins, short filmmaker Nick Everhart, “Madison County” director Eric England, “Pet Semetary” actor Miko Hughes, and “Yellowbrickroad” auteurs Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton.<\/p>\n

For filmmakers that don’t want to go through the middle man, they’ve begun building their own anthology horror films. This year Scarlet Frye released “VHS of Death,” while in 2011, acclaimed filmmakers Adam Green, Joe Lynch, and Tim Sullivan teamed to deliver “Chillerama.” Based around a drive in theater where a zombie outbreak has begun, the oblivious patrons watch five short horror comedy segments on the big screen, including a story about a killer sperm, a Jewish Frankenstein, and a gay werewolf biker gang. Director Green made waves in the film community with horror films like “Hatchet” and “Frozen,” while Lynch and Sullivan have been fan favorites for years.<\/p>\n

With their combined talents, fans welcomed “Chillerama” with mostly raves. In 2012, the filmmaking group The Collective introduced fans to a new amalgam of anthology and found footage film entitled “V\/H\/S.” Mostly experimental, the horror film touched on the VHS nostalgia, chronicling an investigative team who break in to a house and begin watching cursed VHS tapes that feature shocking footage. Though greeted with mostly mixed reactions, “V\/H\/S” definitely took the anthology in to a bold new direction, supplying startling and gory tales with directors like Ti West, and Joe Swanberg at the reins.<\/p>\n

“V\/H\/S\/ 2” (formerly “S-VHS”) was a much more focused and polished, as well as much more acclaimed follow-up that increased the shock factor and didn’t disappoint. Though the pair of films themselves have been polarizing and divided the horror community, they’re remarkable and often entertaining twists on the formula. There’s no denying the sheer creativity and terror behind tales like Gareth Evans’ “Safe Haven,” and “A Ride in the Park” a fun take on the zombie apocalypse as filmed by the men behind “The Blair Witch Project.” Even Jason Eisener’s “Slumber Party Alien Abduction” managed to be mercilessly creepy and fun.<\/p>\n

Whether or not the fans could come to an agreement on the quality of the films, they changed the genre, pure and simple. These very talented directors were able to tell the stories they wanted to, and proved that the anthology film was very much a concept of storytelling that could be fashioned for modern audiences. Even television shows have begun to adapt the anthology format in very creative ways. The acclaimed series from FX in America entitled “American Horror Story” began life as a tale about a doomed family living in a sentient haunted house. Horror fans wondered how far the premise could go beyond a season, until FOX revealed they were basically going to include not only a new cast every season, but a brand new story arc.<\/p>\n

Season one brought a tale of a dysfunctional family in a haunted house, season two brought a tale of an insane asylum and twisted nuns, while season three has featured the tale of a coven of witches. The series has not only been met with great acclaim, but has earned a huge fan base that has accumulated over the course of three seasons. Fans not only want to see what “American Horror Story” can offer now, but they want to see what the writers can offer in terms of new storylines every season. To boot, many other networks have begun bringing back the anthology series with shows like “The Haunting Hour” based on R.L. Stine novels, and “Deadtime Stories” centering on a nanny who delights in telling her kids terrifying–albeit PG rated–horror stories before bed time.<\/p>\n

While the anthology format hasn’t made a splash on television just yet, studios are re-thinking anthology heavyweights for feature film treatments. A new feature length version of “The Twilight Zone” has been in the works for years, while “Creepshow” has been considered for a remake. Meanwhile, fans are still clamoring for a “Trick ‘r Treat” sequel. The best result of the revival of the anthology horror film has been the allowance of creative new minds to come aboard and wow us with their storytelling abilities. I didn’t love “ABC’s of Death,” and I’m not sure yet how I’ll feel about the sequel, but they’ve become opportunities for artists to build an audience, and I applaud that. I am anxious to see what the new renaissance of the anthology film brings horror fans, as I’m sure there’s another “Black Sabbath” or “Creepshow” waiting in the wings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anthologies have always been a favorite of mine. They’re usually a very entertaining source of storytelling that works more toward the horror genre, providing films like “Black Sabbath” and the series “The Twilight Zone.” Both genre fixtures changed my view of horror and storytelling altogether. After the eighties boom of anthology series and films, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,13],"tags":[103,477,501],"class_list":["post-15503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-halloween-horror-month","category-pcthugs","tag-anthology","tag-horror","tag-indie-film"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15503"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15506,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15503\/revisions\/15506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}