B Movies Blog

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping horror anthology series into the ol’ VCR. 

We all know I’m a SUCKER for a good horror anthology movie, so it should come as no surprise that I’m a sucker for a good horror anthology series. 

Now, I’m going to go ahead and address the elephant in the room. American Horror Stories isn’t on this list. Not only is it way too hit or miss for my liking, but I can’t really give it my seal of approval based on what Emma Roberts allegedly said to Angelica Ross. 

Purposely misgendering and/or making transphobic jokes is unacceptable. 

I digress. 

The horror anthology subgenre is interesting to me for a few reasons. 

First and foremost, each episode or segment of an anthology has to tell a story within a few minutes, as opposed to that of a full length feature. Creators have to build an entire world within a matter of a couple of minutes, or, sometimes, even seconds. They have to make us care about these characters. The balance between dialogue and action is much more tedious. You name it. 

Secondly, you get a wraparound segment. It can bookend the film, drop in periodically, or set the background for the rest of the anthology. The Cryptkeeper had his crypt, and Rod often popped up in the same setting as his characters to give us the intro. 

However, as horror anthologies evolved, they ditched the wraparounds and hosts and threw us straight into the action like Black Mirror and Fear Itself.

I, too, sometimes feel like a disembodied eyeball floating through space 

Last, but certainly not least, I love horror anthologies because we get to see a variety of content. Each episode, segment, or season has a new director, cast, and crew, so you get to see different works in a centralized location. It’s also a great way for new creatives to show their style to the world. 

Anyway, that’s my long-winded way of saying I love horror anthology series. 

If you’ve made it this far, bravo! 

Without further ado, here are seven of my favorite horror anthology series: 

• The Twilight Zone
• Outer Limits
• Tales from the Crypt
• Freddy’s Nightmares
• Fear Itself 
• Creepshow 
• Black Mirror