Halloween is fast approaching, so horror fans are no doubt in the middle of month-long marathons of all their favorite movies to get them in the mood. One of the great traditions in the horror genre is that of the horror anthology, ranging from classics like Creepshow to the upcoming V/H/S/99.
While there now seems to be at least one horror anthology released every year, the subgenre has a long history in Hollywood and beyond, with filmmakers the world over putting their stamp on it. For fans looking for the cinematic equivalent of a collection of short horror stories, one can look at Rotten Tomatoes to see which ones earned the most critical praise.
Cat's Eye (1985): 69%
In addition to his numerous novels, Stephen King is also famous for his short stories, and this adaptation of his Night Shift collection was one of the first to bring them to the screen. A series of three shorts connected by the presence of the titular cat, Cat's Eye is an underrated movie that effectively combines scares with some dark humor.
While General the cat is only the true star of the final segment, "General," he's a very sympathetic character, having to go through horrific experiments and witnessing the brutal world of organized crime. When he gets his moment to shine in the climax, the audience is more than sold on him, making his silly but surprisingly badass takedown of a well-earned payoff.
V/H/S/2 (2013): 70%
Although the original V/H/S garnered a mixed reception from critics, it was evidently popular enough to spawn a five film franchise. V/H/S/2 was released just a year after its predecessor, with returning directors, Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard, joined by the likes of Gareth Evans (The Raid) and Eduardo Sánchez (The Blair Witch Project).
Like the first film, V/H/S/2 is certainly hit or miss, but when one of its segments works, it works very well. "Slumber Party Alien Abduction" is considered by some fans to be one of the best alien horror films, with the classic Greys being mysterious, intimidating monsters.
ABCs Of Death 2 (2014): 73%
An anthology of gore-filled tales for every letter of the alphabet, ABCs Of Death 2 takes an international group of directors and gives them a sandbox to have fun with all the blood and guts they could ever want. Like many films in the subgenre, the movie is uneven, but its diversity of shorts and darkly comedic tone make it worth a watch.
Like V/H/S/2, ABCs Of Death 2 was a follow-up to a not very beloved movie that is often considered by critics to be a major improvement over its predecessor. Part of what helps the film work is that it's a horror comedy that still works hard to be scary, particularly in the body-horror segments like "X is for Xylophone."
Tales Of Halloween (2015): 77%
With Halloween right around the corner, horror fans might want another movie that pays tribute to the holiday, and Tales Of Halloween definitely fits the bill. The movie features 10 shorts that all take place on Halloween night, directed by horror veterans like Neil Marshall (The Descent) and Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II-IV).
Unlike some horror anthologies, Tales Of Halloween, for the most part, doesn't aim for disturbing scares, instead preferring dark humor that keeps even the gorier moments fun and fairly light. Tying the segments together is frequent John Carpenter collaborator Adrienne Barbeau, playing a D.J. who provides commentary on the stories in the wraparounds.
Trick 'R Treat (2009): 81%
Before Michael Dougherty went the blockbuster route with Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, he made his directorial debut with Trick 'r Treat. The movie tells several stories that all take place on a single Halloween night, ranging from that of a school principal who's secretly a serial killer to a bitter old man who hates the holiday trying to make it through the night.
Despite positive responses at various festivals, Trick 'r Treat was sadly delayed for two years before being release direct-to-video. Fortunately, its creepy, darkly humorous stories earned a cult fanbase, and a sequel is currently in development with Dougherty returning.
Scare Package (2020): 81%
Released on Shudder during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Scare Package is a horror comedy anthology with a framing device of a video store owner and his patrons describing each segment as a film-within-a-film. While the lack of a theatrical release means it's not as well known as it could be, the movie is worth watching for both its scares and its laughs.
Although Scare Package features plenty of humor, it never feels like the filmmakers are mocking the genre and it's clear that everyone involved loves horror. When one of the segments features an unfulfilled husband going to a self-help meeting where every other attendee is a werewolf, one can applaud the movie for poking fun at horror tropes and celebrating them at the same time.
Southbound (2016): 81%
A collection of five tales following travelers on an isolated desert highway, Southbound is one of the more underrated recent horror anthologies. Featuring segments directed by modern horror experts like David Bruckner (The Night House) and Radio Silence (Ready or Not), the movie received positive reviews for being a rarer anthology "without a dud" (via Film Comment).
Unlike many horror anthology films, Southbound largely eschews comedy, instead opting for high-octane horror befitting its nightmarish, purgatory-like location. This helps each story maintain a level of consistency, with all of them feeling like they take place in the same universe even when they feature completely different horrors.
Three ... Extremes (2005): 83%
East Asian cinema is filled to the brim with excellent horror films, with South Korea, in particular, knocking it out of the park as of late, so it makes sense that an Asian horror anthology would deliver lots of scares. Three ... Extremes features three segments, each from a different country, that explore misfortunes befalling creatives from an actress to a novelist.
Unsurprisingly, icons Park Chan-Wook and Takashi Miike knock their segments out of the park, but the lesser-known Fruit Chan also delivers an interesting one with "Dumplings," about an aging actress desperate to regain her lost youth. In fact, the segment is a short version of Chan's feature film Dumplings, which was released the same year.
V/H/S/94 (2021): 91%
Before V/H/S/99 hits Shudder, fans will surely want to revisit the franchise as a whole, and V/H/S/94 offers plenty of thrills for horror fans seeking gore and disturbing atmosphere. It also does a great job of feeling very much like a product of the '90s, particularly in "Terror", which features an anti-government militia that hearkens back to the days of Ruby Ridge and Waco.
After the disappointment of predecessor Viral, 94 was a return to form earned by far the best reviews of any movie in the series. A big part of this has to do with greater consistency in quality, with all the segments being terrifying and tying together into a larger story of a dangerous cult.
Dead Of Night (1946): 93%
British oldie Dead Of Night may be one of the earliest horror anthologies, but as evidenced by its sky-high critics' score, it's one of the best horror movies of the 1940s. Produced in the waning days of World War II, the film's segments are all based around a party where the guests tell tales of supernatural happenings.
The company behind Dead of Night, Ealing Studios, was mainly known for comedy, so it's impressive that they were able to turn out a movie that's genuinely scary as well as darkly funny. The most famous segment is probably "The Ventriloquist's Dummy," which undoubtedly had an influence on later films like Magic and Child's Play.