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6 Epic Animated Fantasy Horror Movies to Watch Ahead of ‘The Spine of Night’!
The animated fantasy-horror movie The Spine of Night is coming to theaters, Digital, and On-Demand on October 29, 2021, just in time for Halloween.
Written and directed by Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King, the animated film stars Richard E. Grant, Lucy Lawless, Patton Oswalt, Betty Gabriel, and Joe Manganiello. Abby Savage, Larry Fessenden, and Rob McClure also star.
“The Spine of Night is an ultra-violent, hand-rotoscoped epic fantasy inspired by the cult classic works of animators Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta. The film is set in a fantasy land ripe with magic and intrigue where a dark force is unleashed, sending humankind into an age of ruin. It falls on heroes from different eras and cultures to fight back.”
It’s an existential fantasy horror that embraces carnage in a big way and serves as a bloody reminder that not all animation is aimed at children. This R-rated epic is a loving ode to the fantasy-horror epics of yesteryear.
To get a feel for The Spine of Night (our review) ahead of its October 29 release, here are six mature-themed horror-fantasy movies worth watching.
The Black Cauldron
Consider this a toe-dip into the black waters of fantasy-horror, to ease you into the madness to come. Sure, The Black Cauldron is a PG Disney fantasy film, which makes it reasonably tame in terms of content. But the “Cauldron Born” undead warrior army is pure nightmare fuel. So is the Horned King. Naturally, being a Disney movie, the ending is happy, and the power of friendship proves key in keeping evil at bay. In other words, this is still kid-friendly, but for the braver kid. It’s still a solid and artistic gateway into this niche subgenre.
Rock & Rule
In this dystopian musical fantasy, a singer gets kidnapped by an aging rock star and forced to aid in the summoning of a demon. Her bandmates seek to rescue her. Oh, and the characters are all animal humanoids. It’s an animated rock opera set in a post-apocalyptic world. It features an earworm soundtrack that features Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Lou Reed, and Cheap Trick, all of who provide singing voices for the characters.
Heavy Metal
This 1981 animated anthology was adapted from Heavy Metal magazine and ran the gamut of science fiction and fantasy, spanning time and space. The segments were united by a core theme of unstoppable, vast evil. The anthology incorporated rotoscoping and boasted a soundtrack worthy of the film’s title- so much so that licensing the music for home video release became a massive headache. It also features plenty of gore, violence, sex, and nudity, which was terrible news for unsuspecting parents that rented it for their kids, unaware that animation could push the R-rated content far.
Wizards
If you’re looking for a thematic and narratively similar feature to The Spine of Night, Wizards is the best bet. Ralph Bakshi, who wrote and directed, served as a significant influence on Galen King and Gelatt. The story follows two warring factions led by powerful wizards; one represents the power of technology, and the other wields magic. It’s a heady dystopian sci-fi fantasy with an impressive voice cast, including Mark Hamill and Susan Tyrell.
Fire and Ice
A dark epic fantasy collaboration between Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta, Fire and Ice marks another highly influential feature for Galen King and Gelatt. From an icy palace, an evil queen and her son seek to control the world through magic. The lone survivor of an attack aims to stand up to her with the help of the Fire king. It’s classic sword and sorcery by way of rotoscoped animation. This prehistoric high fantasy might be one of the more straightforward offerings, but its methodical pacing and adult themes mean it’s not for young viewers.
Belladonna of Sadness
Directed and co-written by Eiichi Yamamoto and inspired by Jules Michelet’s 1862 non-fiction book La Sorcière, Belladonna straightaway shatters any expectations for an uplifting animated movie. It follows Jeanne, a village girl who’s raped on her wedding night by a tyrannical warlord, an event that causes a ripple effect on her and her husband Jean’s lives. As things grow worse, she makes a pact with the devil for the power to fight back against injustice. Belladonna offers a strange juxtaposition of soft, delicate artwork against the lurid, dark subject matter. Expect a very psychedelic trip into madness, turning a straightforward narrative into something far more abstract and bizarre. In other words, this pick is for the adventurous, fans of experimental cinema, and those that think they’ve seen it all.
Look for The Spine of Night in theaters, Digital, and On-Demand on October 29, 2021.
A luxury team-building trip descends into a bloody fight for survival against a vengeful retreat leader in Corporate Retreat, out today in theaters. It’s the latest entry in a cathartic subgenre of workplace horror that examines every harrowing aspect of job employment.
No job is safe from horror, either, from babysitting to even the most white-collar gigs. But if you work an overnight shift? All bets are off. Vengeful co-workers and bosses aside, the night shift is likely to come armed with witches, creatures, demons, and all manner of things that go bump in the night. Even deadly outbreaks.
Corporate Retreat, along with these five horror movies centered around some of the worst night shifts, will make you glad the weekend has finally arrived.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
Passenger director André Øvredal goes full throttle for the scares in this quiet little chiller that sees a father and son coroner team stumped over the bizarre mysteries contained within the body of an unidentified young woman during an unexpected night shift. Well-executed scares, clever twists, and earnest performances by Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch give this supernatural haunter serious heft. While the narrative bides its time unveiling the truth behind Jane Doe’s battered body, it’s heavily steeped in witchcraft. In other words, The Autopsy of Jane Doe presents a new take on the subgenre. More importantly, it’s seriously scary.
Cold Storage
COLD STORAGE, StudioCanal 2023
A lethal, mutated fungus breaks free from confinement deep within the bowels of a storage facility. At the frontlines of the madness are Teacake (Stranger Things’ Joe Keery) and Naomi (Barbarian‘s Georgina Campbell), two employees thrust into the middle of the chaos when they investigate an alarm beeping somewhere deep within the building. Director Jonny Campbell (Netflix’s Dracula), working from a script by David Koepp based on his novel, helms the goopy madness with workman efficiency. This lighthearted, goopy horror comedy romp makes the deadly night shift a bit more bearable.
Graveyard Shift
Graveyard Shift follows new hire Hall (David Andrews) tasked by his mean boss Warwick (Stephen Macht) to assist with the insane rat infestation beneath their mill. They find something much most monstrous as the cause. Though the film was panned, it’s a fun creature feature with an always welcome appearance by Brad Dourif as the intensely eccentric exterminator. The film also opts for a happier ending, whereas (spoiler), the story sees both Hall and Warwick getting devoured by the mutated rats, the crew in the upstairs mill none the wiser.
Last Shift
‘Last Shift’
Rookie Officer Jessica Loren (Juliana Harkavy) has been assigned to watch over a closing precinct on its final night of operation…alone. With nearly everything already moved over to the new station, including rerouted 911 calls, it should be a pretty quiet night as she waits for a Hazmat team to arrive to remove biohazardous waste. Instead, it becomes a waking nightmare as she’s forced to deal with unsettling visitors. Last Shift, co-written by Scott Poiley and director Anthony DiBlasi, brings the scares.
Intruder
The overnight stock crew of a local grocery store finds themselves falling victim to an unseen killer in this highly infectious late ‘80s slasher. The deaths are delightfully gruesome and inventive; look for this killer to make excellent use of grocery store items as weapons. Frequent Raimi collaborator Scott Spiegel directed this bloody slasher, which means a lot of overlap with the Evil Dead II. That means putting Sam Raimi in front of the camera for a change, along with Ted Raimi and Evil Dead II’s Dan Hicks. Look for a cameo by Bruce Campbell as well!
Corporate Retreat releases in theaters today; get tickets now.
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