#horror anthology recommendations
THE TWILIGHT ZONE (2019)
Horror Anthology Recommendations
A desperate mother attempts to save her college-bound son from dying at the hands of a crooked police officer by using an old camcorder she recently discovered has the power to turn back time in this, the most topical, relevant, and important episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE (2019).
Of all the different incarnations of this series, a series that so regularly calls the injustices of our society into question, this is the episode that deals with racism most directly. There is no ambiguity here. There are no space aliens or monsters that allow the writers to deal with issues of racism in a metaphorical way; there’s just an innocent black family and a police officer doing what police officers so often do to innocent black people. It’s so real that it feels genuinely prophetic of the mass protests that would occur only one short year after its initial airing. It’s a powerful episode and I encourage you all to watch it.
This series was received pretty poorly when it came out, and I believe that was because it had the intestinal fortitude to do exactly what the original series did: take a stand for what its creators believed in. It wears its beliefs proudly on its sleeve, and I hope it continues to do so in season two because stories like this are relevant and important in helping to open the eyes of people who may not understand just how serious and widespread issues like police brutality are.
I’m spotlighting this episode in my horror anthology series not only because it’s excellent, but also because I feel like I haven’t done enough to help and I think it would be a nice post to encourage people to donate. If you’re looking to donate to Black Lives Matter but don’t know how, you can use this ActBlue link to split your donation between more than 70 different bail funds, mutual aid funds, and racial justice organizers.
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TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1989)
S02E12: FITTING PUNISHMENT (1990)
Horror Anthology Recommendations
When crooked, miserly funeral director Ezra Thornberry is forced to take in his well meaning nephew Bobby, they strike a deal: room and board in exchange for Bobby working for free as an apprentice mortician. Their personalities instantly begin to clash, with Bobby trying to make things work and his uncle constantly mistreating him. As tensions escalate, an expensive workplace mistake brings Ezra’s hatred for his nephew to murderous levels…
This is easily the bleakest episode of TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1989). It’s just so grim! It starts dark, with Ezra (excellently played by Moses Gunn) taking his stinginess so far as to literally rip the gold teeth from his corpses, and descends further and further into darkness with each passing moment. Ezra is just evil, and the lengths he’ll go to to save a penny become more sinister as the episode rolls on. When it’s time for the finale, which is one of the show’s very best, you just can’t wait to see him get his comeuppance. And, boy, does he ever get his comeuppance. Karma comes calling for him the way it comes calling for only the most wicked of characters, and what happens has to be seen to be believed.
Such an excellent episode. Well cast, well written, and directed to perfection.
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MONSTERS (1988)
Horror Anthology Recommendations
When four teenagers break into a haunted house, they decide to play a game to see who scares the fastest. They sit in a circle and start conjuring up a scary story, taking turns by lighting matches and narrating until the flames die. It’s all fun and games until the story itself seems to come alive around them, thrusting the group into a hellish horror show of their own creation.
This episode is sogood!MONSTERS (1988) in general is vastly underrated, but this one stands out from other episodes of the series by going for actual scares. It features likable characters and great acting, with genre icon Ashley Laurence and television icon Tori Spelling both giving excellent performances that really bring home the horror of their situation. It also features fantastic creature effects; the fiend they run afoul of is worthy of a proper film, and its first appearance is genuinely startling. It’s a shame this one isn’t part of a more popular series because it’s one of the best horror anthology episodes ever made.
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MONSTERS (1988)
Horror Anthology Recommendations
Miles Magnus leads a double life. By day, he’s a renowned author of horror fiction, not unlike your Stephen Kings or your Clive Barkers. By night, however, Miles is something else: a faithful servant to his Master, the toothy, Lovecraftian horror that lives inside of his bed and helps him with story ideas. The Master wants only to feed, and so Miles feeds him well, bringing home dates and luring them into his bedroom… not to make love, but to sate his Master’s evil appetite.
Yes, you read that correctly.
This is, hands down, the strangest anthology episode I’ve written about so far. But that’s what makes anthology horror so great! The stakes are lower than with feature length, big budget projects; you get to explore the truly weird and wildly creative ideas that are normally discarded because they’re too strange to devote a whole movie to. And while this one is verystrange, it’s still excellent, with great practical effects, a dry sense of humor, and a twist that’s just ridiculous enough to feel appropriate for this kind of story.
MONSTERS (1988), as a whole, is an underrated series - if you can get your hands on it, check this episode out first.
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TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1989)
S04E11: SPLIT PERSONALITY (1992)
Horror Anthology Recommendations
Academy Award winner Joe Pesci stars as Vic, a no good hustler who happens to have a fetish for twins. After pulling a con he finds himself face to face with twin sisters who are almost too good to be true: rich, beautiful, and naive enough to fall for one of his plots. Vic creates a fictional twin sibling of his own and starts to court both women, making excuses for why the brothers are never together. But it’s only a matter of time before his secret comes to light…
As you’ll likely expect, it’s Pesci’s performance that makes this episode so great. He’s as charismatic as ever, playing up his character’s sleaziness to delightful effect. It doesn’t hurt that he has great material to work with - the script is written by horror hound Fred Dekker, the man behind NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986)andTHE MONSTER SQUAD (1987). With two icons of that magnitude coming together, you just know you’re in for something special.
This one doesn’t sound much like horror on the surface, but believe me, it is. It’s more comedic than horrifying, but it has perhaps the most gruesome ending in TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1989) history! And, believe me, that’s saying a lot.
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