Horror Scribes Lists Have we mentioned that we’re huge horror fans? Here’s where we list what we actually like... or absolutely hate. Having recently caught up with the new series of Black Mirror, we thought we’d list some of our favourite, but lesser known, anthology films. I enjoy concept almost as much as narrative in horror. The antichrist as a kid is a concept. A host family trying to raise him is the narrative. The best horror films excel at both. I’m content with one, which is why I’m a huge fan of horror anthologies. These are, above all, a medley of concepts presented in bite-sized chunks. My equivalent of an open buffet or a free bar. I’ve been a huge fan since the days of Creepshow all the way through to the recent revival of the genre with V/H/S and the ABCs of Death. I’ve seen bad ones and I’ve seen good ones. Here are three stellar ones that might have flown under your radar: Dead of Night (1945) Dead of Night is perhaps one of the most insidiously influential films of all time. Its segments have been copied and imitated so much that watching the original now might feel like a rehash of clichés. Might… but won’t. The eeriness of the film is still as effective today as it was when it came out, helped in no small way by the Victorian veneer of the setting in the wraparound story: a country home in rural England. It is there that guests have gathered, with one in particular getting increasingly agitated by the feeling that he knows everyone else without having ever met them. And what they will do. And say. The other guests, in an effort to share their own disturbing experiences, tell their tales of the macabre which include a malevolent antique mirror, a strange child dressed in 19th century clothes at a birthday party, a couple of golfers who refuse to let something as trivial as death get in the way of their rivalry and the best of the lot, a ventriloquist dummy with a mind of its own. Dead of Night’s wraparound story is a particular highlight. While these tend to be fillers in most anthologies, this one is as unsettling as any of its segments. And packs quite a punch. Three… Extremes (2004) Three Extremes consists of 3 short films from high-profile directors from Hong Kong (Fruit Chan), Korea (Park Chan-wook, director of the record-breaking Oldboy) and Japan (Takashi Miike of Audition and Ichi the Killer fame) respectively. All three segments are extremely effective and show off each of the directors’ unique vision as storytellers. The three stories are independent of each other with no wraparound story tying them together. What they have in common is everyday people’s
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