Rise of the Random Horror Anthology Film

Historically, horror anthology films were written by the same writer and helmed by the same director. The wraparound and individual tales were all linked -- dramatically, thematically and aesthetically. This was true of the first such film, Dead of Night (1945). It was true of Amicus's anthology cycle (1965-74) and of Creepshow (1982).

Spirits of the Dead (1968) and Two Evil Eyes (1990) are rare examples where the shorts had different directors, but they were specifically produced with the final feature in mind. All the stories were dramatically and thematically linked; in both films, all shorts were inspired by Edgar Allan Poe.

Fast forward to the 2000s. The proliferation of horror film festivals, YouTube, and cheaper and easier digital filmmaking equipment, led to a massive increase in the production of short horror films. At which point, distributors come up with an idea. Why spend money shooting an entire feature film, when you can just buy up some shorts, shoot a wraparound for them, and call it a feature?

And thus was born the random horror anthology film, which has become so prevalent as to practically be its own subgenre.

Unlike the Amicus films, I'm not sure a random horror anthology film even qualifies as a "feature" film. If a producer cobbles together a bunch of disparate shorts, which have already played at film festivals, and often even on YouTube, then shoots an unrelated wraparound for them, is that a feature?

All Hallows' Eve 2 (2015) was so sloppily constructed that some of its shorts are foreign films with subtitles. That lack of aesthetic unity is emotionally jarring, reminding us that this is not a coherent feature but merely a collection of shorts. It hinders our suspension of disbelief. The wraparound itself is merely a woman watching these shorts on TV. We don't need this wraparound; we're already doing that by watching this film.

All Hallows' Eve 2 is the sequel to the far superior All Hallows Eve (2013), which introduced Art the Clown. Art only appears briefly in All Hallows' Eve 2's wraparound, not in any of the shorts. I'm guessing the producers wanted to cash in on the success of All Hallows' Eve, but quickly and on the cheap. Maybe they weren't sure, at the time, that Art had staying power or was worth the investment.

Obviously, they changed their minds, hence, Terrifier (2016) and its sequels.

Even so, All Hallows Eve 2 is dreadful. So too the Red Book Ritual series (more random shorts with a disconnected wraparound). And many other random horror anthology films too numerous to mention.

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For more information on subgenres and aesthetics, see Horror Film Aesthetics: Creating the Visual Language of Fear. This blog represents a continuing discussion of my views on horror, picking up from where the book left off.