The anthology is making a welcome comeback on television. With Shudder’s Creepshow and the The Twilight Zone revival both finding success, there appears to be a movement towards self-supporting storytelling again. At one time, though, traditional anthologies were prolific. They date as far back as the 1950s, and they were the natural avenue for science fiction and horror. The Twilight Zone introduced thought experimenting as entertainment, whereas the likes of Tales from the Darkside ushered in more macabre invention.
In today’s television landscape, there’s an undeniable push for less filler in scripted programming. We also want to feel invested in the characters and plot. However, there’s no reason why a freestanding story can’t be just as engaging. There’s a certain enthusiasm to anthologies that’s made possible because of brevity and an emphasis on pacing. A punchy, indelible ending in a twenty-minute episode can be just as effective as a feature-length film.
With the season of the witch upon us, we naturally look to horror movies to fill our schedules until All Hallow’s Eve. But if you’re up for some short-form horror from the small screen, then here are thirteen underrated recommendations for your viewing pleasure this Halloween.
Two Sentence Horror Stories: Hide
Plot: When a woman babysits a rich couple’s daughter, she does everything in her power to protect her charge once two masked intruders break in.
Two Sentence Horror Stories began as a web series before it was picked up by the CW. The network then produced new episodes to fill the rest of the season. This high concept anthology is diverse and socially conscious, but for the most part, its stories are more nuanced than blunt. Overall, “Hide” plays out like a home invasion movie. At the very last second, however, the rug is swept from beneath your feet, and you’re reminded of the bleak reality we’re living in today.
Inside No. 9: Tempting Fate
Plot: As a trio of government workers clears out a dead tenant’s council house, they find a hare statue that grants three wishes.
Inside No. 9 is a clever and habitually wry anthology that is no stranger to horror. Little by little, the show is now finding an audience outside the U.K. But anyone looking to narrow down their choices to only top-tier episodes will find themselves in a dilemma. That’s because the entire series runs the gamut of solid to exceptional.
“Tempting Fate” leans towards the end of the spectrum. It was revealed the brass hare statue has had a cameo in every episode so far. Now, it’s central to this twisted morality tale, acting as a Monkey’s Paw-like talisman. “Tempting Fate” incidentally doubles as an origin story of sorts. It strongly hints at the significance of the number nine in each episode’s setting.
Night Visions: The Occupant
Plot: An anxious divorcée is convinced someone has broken into her home. She claims things have been moved around, but the police are skeptical.
Night Visions was an anthology hosted by Henry Rollins. The Fox series went under many people’s radars in the summer of 2001 before it was abruptly cancelled. Thankfully, the Sci-Fi Channel saved the show by airing it in its entirety.
The series was notable for its cast of familiar faces. For instance, “The Occupant” stars Bridget Fonda as the nervous homeowner. Her nuanced, fragile performance is downright haunting. The episode is a bit of a departure for Joe Dante, too, as the horror is more psychological than overt.
Tales of the Unexpected: The Flypaper
Plot: As the authorities search for the body of a missing, local girl, young Sylvia has her own run-in with a man she suspects to be the killer.
For the first few seasons of this long-running British anthology, episodes were mainly based on the works of Roald Dahl. The opener to the third, however, was from a short story of the same name by Elizabeth Taylor. No, not that Elizabeth Taylor. “The Flypaper” is by and large an adolescent mystery about how society has failed children. The outcome hits hard and grim, and it leaves viewers to worry about what will happen after the episode ends.
Night Gallery: The House
Plot: For ten years, Elaine has had a recurring dream where she drives to the perfect house in the countryside. In reality, Elaine has been an in-patient at a sanitarium. And after being discharged, she finds the house from her dreams. Elaine immediately moves in, but in time, she comes to think it is haunted by a ghost.
While Night Gallery is a worthy addendum to The Twilight Zone, it strays far from science fiction and more towards uncanny horror. “The House” may lack a bit when it comes to thought provocation, but the artful, dreamlike execution of the episode makes it one of the series’ best.
Chillers: Something You Have to Live With
A woman is surprised by an intruder one night. She is imperiled by the burglar, and in turn, she retaliates. How she now lives with what she’s done truly bewilders everyone around her.
Chillers — originally Mistress of Suspense — was a 1990 British anthology hosted by Anthony Perkins. The episodes are based on stories by author Patricia Highsmith, who is best known for The Talented Mr. Ripley. In “Something You Have to Live With”, Tuesday Weld’s character goes through something traumatizing. And yet, when her reaction doesn’t live up to others’ expectations, she becomes a source of frustration. The episode could have ended twenty minutes earlier, but then we never would have witnessed the best parts of Weld’s manifold performance.
The Twilight Zone (1985): The Shadow Man
Plot: Danny is harassed by his classmates on a daily basis. But when Danny discovers he has a boogeyman-like bodyguard called the Shadow Man hiding beneath his bed, he feels safer. Although the other kids might not feel the same way as they’re being targeted by a nocturnal prowler. Is Danny’s Shadow Man behind this rash of attacks?
Though the ’80s reboot of The Twilight Zone isn’t as revered as its predecessor, there are a number of gems sprinkled throughout the series. One that springs to mind is Joe Dante’s “The Shadow Man”, which ends in a delectably unforeseen way. It’s not the most undeserved outcome for the main character, but one would be remiss to not mention the cruel conclusion.
Tales from the Darkside: Ursa Minor
Plot: Things get uneasy after Richard and his wife Joan gift their daughter Susie a stuffed teddy bear. Not only is Richard’s drinking problem causing tension, Joan suspects something is not quite right about Susie’s new toy. It would appear the child has conceived an imaginary friend, but it becomes clear that Teddy is more alive than not.
Made on a small budget and often confined to a single location, Tales from the Darkside episodes relied more on story than special effects. In fact, this is why co-creator George A. Romero’s role in the series diminished over time. Among other issues, he simply couldn’t get past the meager production values.
That being said, entries like “Ursa Minor” illustrate what the series achieved in spite of its limited resources. This is one story — an odd interpretation of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” — where the horror is unadulterated and not aiming for sheer campiness.
Folklore: Toyol
Plot: Numerous dead fish are turning up in the local waters of a Malaysian fishing town. To remedy the situation, a member of parliament named Zul hires a mysterious woman who gives him a serious case of déjà vu. The stranger does as she promises, but the price for her services is higher than Zul ever expected.
The Malaysian installment in Folklore, a six-part East Asian anthology, is a no-holds-barred tale of witchery and vengeance. It seems like “Toyol” meanders at first, but the episode’s own madness is more insidious than instant.
Fear Itself: Eater
Plot: One night at a nearly deserted police station, a rookie cop is tasked with watching over a serial killer. The prisoner — who is notorious because he ate his victims — soon escapes from custody and plays supernatural mind games with the officers on duty.
Fear Itself is considered an extension of Masters of Horror. The general consensus, though, was Fear Itself was too restrained. Its airing on network television dampened the anthology’s chances of pushing the envelope like Masters did. On the other hand, exceptions like Stuart Gordon’s “Eater” proved otherwise. This slasher is hypnotic and baleful; it forges ahead regardless of network limitations.
Hammer House of Horror: The Two Faces of Evil
Plot: On a rainy day, a family picks up a hitchhiker wearing a yellow raincoat. The stranger then attacks the husband, who crashes the car shortly after. At a nearby hospital, the husband’s throat is severely damaged so he cannot speak. Meanwhile, the wife is asked to identify the face of their attacker in the morgue. To her shock, though, the assailant looks just like her husband. Doubt now overcomes the wife as she questions her own memories.
Hammer House of Horror was produced by Hammer Film Productions, the studio known for its brand of Gothic horror between and 1950s and 1970s. It was a diverse series whose subject matter ranged from cannibals to werewolves. To all appearances, “The Two Faces of Evil” is a giallo. From the color palette and style to the jumbled logic of the story. Surely there are aspects that say otherwise. Just the same, this is one of many fantastic episodes in a remarkable anthology.
Amazing Stories: The Amazing Falsworth
Plot: During his act, a nightclub mentalist with psychic abilities crosses paths with a serial killer. Unfortunately, he was blindfolded and has no idea what the murderer looks like.
Amazing Stories is one of the best-looking anthologies from the 1980s, but one wouldn’t expect anything less when Steven Spielberg is involved. And for every couple of lows the series had, there were standouts like Martin Scorsese’s “Mirror, Mirror” or Robert Zemeckis’ “Go to the Head of the Class”. Another strong contender is Peter Hyams’ “The Amazing Falsworth”. This white-knuckled game of cat-and-mouse, starring Gregory Hynes as the titular character, has the most unexpected ending.
Monsters: The Match Game
Plot: Four teenagers break into an abandoned Victorian house once owned by a man named Herbert Waverly. Inside, the group plays a game where one person makes up part of a story until a match flame goes out. Then, the next person continues the story, and so on. Unbeknownst to the players, though, their ghoulish tale about Waverly returning from the dead is coming true.
Monsters was a spiritual successor to Tales from the Darkside. It premiered just as Darkside was ending in 1988, and it was also produced by Richard P. Rubinstein. Although, every episode was strictly about a monster of some kind. “The Match Game” was atonal to a lot of the series’ other episodes because it was played straight. There was no campiness or humor to undercut the suspense. It’s actually quite gruesome — if you ever wanted to see Tori Spelling’s head get crushed by a zombie, here’s your chance — and, most of all, scary.
