Looking for some good anthology horror movies other than Amicus? Well, here are five you might like to see:
Dead of the Night (1945) – This black and white masterpiece was the first real horror movie. Martin Scorsese once described her as “the granddaddy of all anthology horror movies.” The Ealing Studios production certainly has some seriously creepy moments, and in the tradition of all good horror movies, it has an excellent framing story about an architect (Mervyn Johns) who arrives for a date in a house he’s never visited before. . However, it isn’t long before she realizes that she has vivid memories of the place and all the people gathered in it from a dream. Then, one by one, each guest recounts his own strange experience, as an oppressive sense of impending doom grows in the house. Among the tales told are “The Story of Golf” and “The Haunted Looking Glass” (featuring the lovely Googie Withers). But the story that really stands out in Dead of Night is “The Ventriloquist’s Dummy,” in which Michael Redgrave plays an actor terrified of his wooden partner.
Black Saturday (1963) – No, not the group, but the film. Starring the Master of Horror himself, Boris Karloff, as the narrator of the framing story (in addition to appearing in one of the tales as a Russian vampire), this acronym classic features three stories: “The Telephone,” “The Wurdalak, and “The Water Drop.” The English version of the film differs a bit from the Italian one, although both versions are extremely effective gothic chillers.
Horror Trilogy (1975) – This is the made-for-TV movie that stands out especially for its “Amelia” story, in which Karen Black is terrorized by a malevolent Zuni fetish doll. Produced by Dan Curtis and based on a trio of short stories by Richard Matheson, Trilogy of Terror is an extremely entertaining and funny film, and if you ever manage to find a copy on DVD – especially the special edition released by MPI Home Video – I highly recommend that you I bought it for your collection as it is worth having. A sequel, Trilogy of Terror 2, was released in 1996, in which the crazed Zuni doll returns in the story “He Who Kills”, this time to terrorize a young female doctor.
Trick or Treat (2007) – The ideal horror anthology to watch on Halloween night, as its title seems to suggest. Bearing some similarities to Stephen King’s Creepshow in its comic book credits, this film was initially planned for a Warner Brothers theatrical release for Halloween 2007, but fell through, so the film went straight-to-DVD in 2009. story starring True Blood actress Anna Paquin, who plays a virginal Little Red Hood turned into a supernatural being. The bus full of seriously disturbed children and Dylan Baker as a sinister school principal are other memorable and creepy segments. The four stories are tied together by a mysterious boy named Sam, who wears faded orange pajamas with a burlap sack over his head. This entity appears in all the stories whenever someone blurs the traditions of Halloween. Over the years, Trick ‘r Treat has amassed quite a cult following.
Grave Tales (2011) – In the tradition of old British Amicus movies, Grave Tales is a great little movie that the minute I saw it I HAD to add it to my DVD collection. A tough enough movie to wrap up, Grave Tales stars Brian Murphy (who played George Roper in Man About The House and George and Mildred) as an old gravedigger who’s eager to share hair-raising stories with a visiting genealogist (Heather Darcy), each of which relates to a certain grave in the cemetery. There are four stories in total: “A Man’s Meat”, “Calistro’s Mirror”, “The Hand”, and “Dead Kittens”. – and they’re all great. The late great Christopher Lee actually starred in the original theatrical release, but does not appear on the DVD release.
