Editorials
Dead of Winter: 5 Modern Tales of Christmas Horror from TV Anthologies [Series of Frights]
A holiday as conspicuous as Christmas will undoubtedly attract the most thrills and chills at this time of year. In the past, TV’s genre anthologies have been a remarkable and plentiful source of wintry terror, be that of the Christmas variety or otherwise. The original Twilight Zone submitted the strangest of strange holiday stories, Tales from the Darkside provided the macabre classics “Seasons of Belief” and “The Yattering and Jack,” and Tales from the Crypt put a new spin on the EC-era slasher “And All Through the House.”
Christmas horror only became more weird and wild as the century changed. And as these five festive frighteners from more recent anthology series suggest, there’s never a better season for horror than winter.
Black Mirror (2011-)
White Christmas
Black Mirror, “White Christmas”
Before Charlie Brooker‘s critically acclaimed sci-fi anthology Black Mirror moved to Netflix, the series concluded its on-air run with the memorable segmented episode “White Christmas.” Multiple stories were combined into a one-off holiday special. Had it actually been the series’ finale, it still would have been a wonderful sendoff.
As with the multi-storied episode “Black Museum,” ‘White Christmas” divides itself into defined chapters. Although, there is a wraparound device to help glue all the pieces together. Jon Hamm plays unreliable narrator Matt, who has been Joe’s (Rafe Spall) roommate for the last five years. They live together in an isolated cabin, and on one fateful Christmas Day, the two finally decide to have a conversation.
Matt explains his tech jobs up to this point, which all entailed some less than upstanding behavior, before Joe explains how he himself ended up in this cabin. He recounts a troubled relationship with a woman who “blocked” Joe from her life when they disagreed about a major life change.
What ultimately comes out of this bonding experience between the two main characters is dark and emotional. It’s nothing traditionally scary, but like other episodes, it does warn against the ulterior uses of advanced and intrusive technology. There’s no cheer to be found in this especially chilly episode.
American Horror Stories (2021-)
The Naughty List
American Horror Stories, “The Naughty List”
It never begins to look a lot like Christmas in “The Naughty List,” on account of the fact that this episode is set in sunny California. Don’t expect any white snow here. While this spin-off of American Horror Story included extensions of pre-existing plots in the flagship series, Max Winkler and Manny Coto delivered a self-contained tale about Christmas evil.
It’s an oh too familiar setup in “The Naughty List;” obnoxious influencers prove why they’re the scourge of the internet again. The audience is launched into the social media sewer that is the Bro House. The four bros in question are Barry, Zinn, James and Wyatt (Kevin McHale, Nico Greetham, Dyllón Burnside, Charles Melton). And these four dudes have amassed a huge following, not to mention a glut of wealth, after bestowing the world with their potent cocktail of immaturity and insensitivity.
However, the Bro House is cancelled when they record a random man’s suicide right around Christmas. Rather than try to help or at least show some compassion, the bros post the video in hopes of gaining more likes and subscribers. The plan obviously backfires, and the group rockets into a series of desperate attempts to save their brand. This includes an embarrassing display of queerbaiting and, most importantly, harassing a mall Santa Claus (Danny Trejo). The last crack is what seals their fates.
“The Naughty List” is another example of extreme comeuppance around Christmas, and it borrows a timeless trope from horrors of yesteryear: a killer Santa. It’s nothing particularly deep or even original, but at the very least, it offers a quick and bloody end to some despicable influencers. That in itself is a gift.
Two Sentence Horror Stories (2019-)
Quota
Two Sentence Horror Stories, “Quota”
Two Sentence Horror Stories continues to be timely with Season 2’s “Quota,” an episode directed by Lynne Stopkewich (Kissed) and written by Melody Cooper. It’s not difficult to figure out what this story was inspired by, especially in recent years as Amazon’s warehouse practices come under fire in the public eye. Zombies are then thrown in so the metaphors are unmistakable.
It’s Christmas Eve when an e-commerce fulfillment center becomes ground zero for a mysterious virus. But before the outbreak begins, relatively new shift manager Sarah (Sabryn Rock) is faced with a dilemma; she has to exceed quota that night if she wants her Christmas bonus, otherwise she might lose her house. One bad joke between Sarah and her boss ends with the exhausted workers all being locked inside the building so they can’t leave.
Sarah is given a door code for emergencies, yet she’s also expected not to use it if she values her job. To make matters worse, rats have spread the ailment that reduces people to monstrous zombies. Sarah and her friend and coworker Tina (Marci T. House) are given a hard choice as chaos erupts inside the warehouse, and they fight to go outside.
While “Quota” is hardly subtle about its intentions, it’s also an entertaining slant on the “work yourself to death” concept with convincing action and sufficient scares.
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (2022-)
The Outside
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities, “The Outside”
“You are lovely, inside and out.” Neither sincerity nor platitude can stop Stacey (Kate Micucci) from continuing with her “transformation” in “The Outside.” The awkward bank teller and amateur taxidermist is dead set on letting a highly sought-after lotion called Alo Glo work its magic, no matter how much pain it causes her at first.
Ana Lily Amirpour‘s Christmas-set episode of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities, written by Haley Z. Boston and based on a webtoon by Emily Carroll, exists in a time and place that’s flecked with anachronisms. However, the odd thing about this story isn’t so much the confusing co-existence between certain retro fashions and current devices. No, it’s this goopy, coveted lotion that’s full of retinol, peptides, and some other ingredient that triggers a total bodily and mental metamorphosis. Alo Glo at first causes an allergic reaction, but given some time, Stacey experiences the most extraordinary makeover.
Being surrounded by catty and comparatively stylish women all day, it’s no wonder Stacey feels like something is wrong with her. She doesn’t fit in with any of her coworkers, and her desperation to belong comes out in full force as the spokesperson (Dan Stevens) of an Alo Glo ad urges her to continue using the product, even if it causes her skin to itch and peel. “It’s a process,” he explains.
“The Outside” is a fairly lighthearted blend of New Weird and Body Horror, and sequences will definitely evoke memories of Annihilation and a particular Tales from the Crypt episode. It drives its point home with the force of a mallet, but the performances, humor and a general sense of oddness all elevate the story.
Inside No. 9 (2014-)
The Bones of St Nicholas
Inside No. 9, “The Bones of St. Nicholas”
A British tradition is sharing ghost stories at Christmas. This custom began in the Victorian age, and it peaked years ago in modern times. However, Inside No. 9 honors the habit of holiday horror with its Christmas creeper, “The Bones of St Nicholas.” The 2022 special is a real warning to the curious (if you know, you know).
A Dr. Jasper Parkway (Steve Pemberton) has booked a church on Christmas Eve, claiming he’s there to visit his mother’s grave nearby. Plans change when he receives two unwanted visitors, a couple (Shobna Gulati, Reece Shearsmith) who have also reserved the church that same night. As the three share the space, they also indulge Dick (Simon Callow), the warden who whips out a spooky story about St. Nicholas and his missing jawbone said to be stashed away inside this very church.
George Kane directs this episode about human rationalization. The church is said to be haunted, but Pemberton’s character is a man of science and dispels any suggestion of the supernatural. In the meantime, he’s the one who’s most susceptible to the goings-on, such as weird noises and shadows in the corner of his eye. Is this the standard story of a man of logic being shown the existence of the uncanny? As usual, Inside No. 9 is an exercise in subverting expectations.
“The Bones of St Nicholas” is a beautifully shot and effectively eerie episode about the power of wonder. To be expected, the quality in performances is high, particularly those from Callow and Gulati. The episode is never quite what it seems, though that’s always a plus in the twisted world of Inside No. 9.
Series of Frights is a recurring column that mainly focuses on horror in television. Specifically, it takes a closer look at five episodes or stories — each one adhering to an overall theme — from different anthology series or the occasional movie made for TV. With anthologies becoming popular again, especially on television, now is the perfect time to see what this timeless mode of storytelling has to offer.
Editorials
Before ‘The Blair Witch Project’, ‘Alien Autopsy’ Showed How Real Found Footage Could Feel
The line separating artist from con man is a lot thinner than you might initially believe. While I think we can all agree that lying for the sake of profit is actively malicious behavior, isn’t it also true that the faux documentary aspect of The Blair Witch Project is half the reason why that film became such a cultural phenomenon? After all, if there’s one thing filmmakers have in common with stage magicians, it’s that misleading and misdirecting audiences is simply part of the job.
That’s why I’ve developed a habit of mostly ignoring the moral quandaries behind many of film and television’s biggest “hoaxes” in favor of appreciating the narrative elements that drive productions like Mermaids: The Body Found and even Animal Planet’s highly underrated The Cannibal in the Jungle. However, if there’s a definitive case of a highly publicized broadcast fooling the world into taking it seriously, it has to be Fox’s infamous 1995 TV special Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction.
It’s been over three decades since that eerie footage first haunted television screens right at the peak of the ’90s ufology craze, and in that time, the video has taken on a life of its own. From countless parodies and references in everything from The X-Files to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (as well as John Dower’s recently released tell-all documentary The Alien Autopsy Scandal, which I’d highly recommend to genre fans everywhere), there’s no denying the legacy of the Alien Autopsy video. However, I rarely see the tape discussed as what it truly is: a highly convincing found footage film directed by a passionate stage magician and brought to life by masterful practical effects work.
That’s why I’d like to invite readers to join me on a deep dive into one of the most infamous broadcasts of all time in an attempt to reevaluate the footage as a fascinating narrative experience rather than a complete hoax.
The TV Special That Convinced Millions It Was Real
Ray Santilli next to Extraterrestrial replica in ‘The Alien Autopsy Scandal’
For starters, regardless of whether or not you believe that there was in fact an extraterrestrial crash in Roswell during the summer of 1947 and that some form of autopsy was performed on the victims, the producers behind the black & white recordings, Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield, insist that their video was a “restoration.” Though I’d argue that the proper word is “remake”of genuine footage that was too damaged to air on television. That’s why the duo went on to recruit filmmaker and eccentric magician Spyros Melaris and sculptor/monster designer John Humphreys to bring their version of the autopsy to life and sell it to the highest bidder.
This is where the story of the Alien Autopsy as a narrative experience really begins. Melaris claims that his approach to the faux recording consisted of striving for extreme period accuracy in both shooting equipment and setting while also planting subtle details that would initially seem like mistakes but could later be revealed to actually fit the time period. That being said, the filmmaker was under the impression that the short would be released for free as a PR stunt, with the team later producing and selling an informative documentary chronicling exactly how the footage was faked and commenting on how easy it is to manipulate public perception with a good old-fashioned magic trick.
This obviously isn’t how things went down, and that’s likely the reason why Melaris has since distanced himself from everyone else involved with the project. Yet, no amount of behind-the-scenes drama can undermine the genuine effort that went into making the short as impressive as it is. From the sourcing of real animal organs from a local butcher to make the organic part of the creature more lifelike to the highly detailed sculpt that made use of a hollowed-out underlayer that could be filled with fake blood and assorted viscera, there’s a reason why so many Hollywood specialists are still impressed with the artistry on display here.
Of course, the believability is only half the story, as I think that the best part of the autopsy is how Melaris builds on the existing tension by obscuring certain details and often embracing the chaos of what a real examination of extraterrestrial life could feel like. The camera often goes out of focus at just the right time to make certain effects hit even harder, and we can only speculate as to what the hazmat-suited doctors are gesticulating about during the operation. There’s a real air of mystery to the whole thing that almost makes it feel like a cosmically terrifying, cursed film containing forbidden knowledge that civilians were never meant to see.
So when Fox’s Fact or Fiction brings in the specialists to comment on the film and its otherworldly subject, it’s no surprise that we end up with one of the most memorable mockumentaries of all time – albeit one where the participants are unaware that the footage they’re commenting on is basically a large-scale practical joke. A joke that the network was obviously in on, as many participants claim that the TV special cut out significant portions where guests point out that they believe the footage to be an elaborate hoax.
The Lasting Impact of the Hoax Turned Cultural Event
Regardless, I remember going to bed terrified after watching reruns of the special and thinking about the respected pathologist who claimed that the body was almost certainly inhuman, with even effects maestro Stan Winston commenting on how difficult it would be to recreate some of these visuals through practical puppetry. That’s not even mentioning Jonathan Frakes’ dramatic hyping up of the disturbing imagery as if he was talking about the tape from The Ring, with his spooky demeanor here likely being responsible for his later role as the host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction a few years later.
Personally, I’d argue that the Alien Autopsy phenomenon had just as much of an impact on me as a horror fan as The Blair Witch Project, a film that was almost certainly influenced by the success of this immensely popular hoax (to the point where they even produced their own TV special commenting on Heather’s found footage). Even if Fox didn’t intend to produce a narrative feature about the aftermath of the Roswell crash, the end product still holds up remarkably well as a highly entertaining mockumentary exploring the idea that we may not be alone in the universe.
While neither Santilli nor the rest of the production team has ever commented on this, I also think it’s very likely that the idea of a faux Alien Autopsy could have been influenced by Dean Alioto’s The McPherson Tape/UFO Abduction. I’ve already written about how this granddaddy of found footage was co-opted by rogue ufologists who began selling bootlegs of the tape at conventions as if it were real evidence of a close encounter, so it’s not that much of a stretch to imagine that Santilli and company could have heard about this phenomenon and been inspired to come up with their own highly profitable hoax.
At the end of the day, it’s unlikely that the Alien Autopsy film is recreating any real footage from Roswell, but I can still appreciate the short and the accompanying television event as a standalone horror story that still influences the way we see found footage to this very day.
After all, the possibility that something could be real is often much scarier than finding out for sure – and that’s why I think Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction is still worth revisiting three decades down the line.
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