Cradle of Fear is a 2001 UK horror anthology that features four tales and one wraparound story and it will certainly polarise audiences. Most people will struggle to get past the dreadful acting and the ‘oh look how shocking we are’ teenage death metal fan pandering cheap shocks. Fans of […]
anthology
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XX is a four part horror anthology is a fairly standard mix of horror tales linked with some creepy stop-motion and a gimmick that all the stories are seen from a female perspective (as well as written and directed by women).
Given our love of ’80s movies and horror anthologies, it is safe to say that we finally discovered this 1987 pormanteau a tad late. However, From a Whisper to a Scream (also known as The Offspring) was worth the wait. It’s a by-the-numbers genre flick that manages to hide some […]
There are only so many portmanteaus out there and we hadn’t checked out a new one for a while. Tales of Halloween was sat there waiting to be watched but we had to psyche ourselves up for this one as it kind of looked rubbish. We’re idiots though and actually […]
This 1990 anthology horror movie is a little different to the norm. Grim Prairie Tales is a collection of four spooky tales set in the Old West and uses the good, old-fashioned campfire setting as the hub for the tales. *Spoilers ahead* The linking story features Brad Dourif as […]
Bloody hell. This very English portmanteau is possibly the oddest film we’ve covered here on T8MC. The Monster Club (1980) is a three-parter anthology horror film and it is ridiculous on so many levels. The linking story features the peerless Vincent Price as Erasmus, a vampire that bites a horror […]
Now we are really cheating. While our remit is to cover films from the ’80s, we are relaxed enough that we’ll consider late ’70s and early ’90s efforts if they are in keeping with the spirit of the site. 2006 is probably pushing things all a bit too far but […]
Our sixth portmanteau horror anthology comes in the form of After Midnight (1989), a three-parter which, unlike the other genre examples we’ve covered recently, actually also has a decent story tying together the whole movie. Also, it has to be noted that the opening music is completely excellent, echoing a […]
Of all the portmanteau nonsense we’ve posted up so far, Creepshow is probably the most famous one of the lot. Like Cat’s Eye, this film was also based on a collection of Stephen King short stories and, with five stories (six if you include the comic-book based one that ties […]
Based on some Stephen King short stories, Cat’s Eye is a mostly-brilliant three part portmanteau with each story being linked loosely by a wandering cat.
Now we’re talking. This 1983 portmanteau treat, Nightmares is a classic example of the genre. Four short stories that vary in content, ambition and, of course, quality and featuring loads of actors who went on to have just as varied careers. It’s complete nonsense! Just how we like them…
Okay, we’re cheating a bit here. John Carpenter’s portmaneau horror, Body Bags actually hit our screens in 1993 and is therefore out of our remit but it’s so literally dripping in 80s portmanteau cliches that it serves as the perfect introduction to this series of articles.