It’s also a great way for some of the more popular directors to play out a story that must meet a time limit requirement.
Even if the anthology as a whole isnt the most entertaining film youve ever seen, we all know that theres at least one segment in every feature thats worth mentioning. Thats why Ive put together a list of my favorite horror anthology segments, in the hopes that some of these entries will gain wider exposure.
Enjoy! And note there are spoilers ahead!
Did any of your favorite segments not make the list? Comment below with your own choices!
Top 10 Anthology Horror Segments 1980 - Today
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10
Tales From the Darkside: The Movie - A Lover's Vow directed by John Harrison
James Remar's Preston is down on his luck. His art isn't selling, his agent dumps him, and just when he thinks his life can't get any worse, his best friend is killed in the alleyway by a mystical being while the two are walking home.
Preston thinks he'll be next, but then the beast speaks, and agrees to spare Preston's life in return for a promise: Preston can never tell anyone the truth about what happened that night. Preston reluctantly agrees; desperate for the chance to live another day. As he drearily makes his way back to his apartment, Preston runs into a beautiful young woman named Carola (Rae Dawn Chong), whom he falls in love with and eventually marries. In the ten years they spend together, Carola figuratively and literally saves Preston's life. She acts as his muse, inspiring Preston to create unique sculptures that put his work back on the map again, and gives Preston beautiful little babies to complete their happy family.
Preston is so overjoyed with how his life has turned out, he offers to give Carola the one thing he has never given her: the truth. He tells her about how he and his friend were attacked in the alley, recalls how the beast spoke to him, and made him promise to never utter a word about its appearance, and shows her a figurine he made of the demon so she can understand can see for herself what it looked like. Suddenly, Carola cries out in disdain, "You said you'd never tell!"
At first it seems she doesn't believe him, but to his terror, Carola begins to transform before his very eyes. Horns erupt from her skull, wings pierce through her back, and razor-sharp spikes poke out of the skin on her knees. All this time, the creature that haunts Preston's dreams has been sharing his bed. All he had to do was keep his promise, but now he must pay for breaking his lover's vow.
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9
V/H/S - Amateur Night directed by David Bruckner
A couple of stereotypical macho men think they're pretty smooth when they purchase a pair of glasses with a hidden camera in the lens, but they're in for a surprise.
They aim to pick up some easy women and film them while they're in the act, but what they don't know is that this time, they messed with the wrong woman. Just when it seems that things are getting hot and heavy, the boys' new companion gets a little too excited about the evening's activities, and begins devouring one of the pursuers - literally.
As the other two boys scramble to escape the cheap motel room with their lives, they watch in horror as the everyday woman begins to transform into a horrific beast, with sharp, ragged teeth, a splitting head, and claws. This time, it's the female that's to be feared, and all the men can do is try to run away.
In a sick and twisted cautionary tale, this film acts as a Fatal Attraction for the new generation, showing men what happens when they try to take advantage of their female peers. With its mounting tension, cool creature effects, and hunted-turned-hunter scenario, director Bruckner shows that a found footage film can still be scary, even if it's only a few minutes long.
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8
Body Bags - The Eye directed by Tobe Hooper
Brent Matthews (Mark Hamill) has baseball stardom in sight. He's been knocking it out of the park lately -- literally -- and everyone's noticed. His teammates invite his out for a celebratory drink, but on the drive over, tragedy strikes.
Brent loses control of his car when he swerves out of the way of a deer standing in the middle of the rainy road, and crashes nearby. Brent lives through the accident, but his left eye couldn't be saved. Desperate to continue his baseball career, Brent jumps at the chance for an eye transplant, despite the fact that he's the first person to ever undergo such a surgery, and the odds of it working are slim to none. Luckily, the operation is a success, and it seems that everything will go right back to normal. That is, until the nightmares start.
Brent begins seeing things -- sick, repulsive things, like dead women in his backyard, and in his bed. Convinced that his new brown eye has something to do with his hallucinations, Matthews begins investigating the origins of the eye, and discovers that its owner went by the name of John Randall.
Randall was imprisoned for molesting and murdering dozens of women, and burying them in his backyard. He was eventually executed by the state, but not before he could agree to donate his organs to lucky patrons like Brent Matthews. Even with his wife's news that a baby is on the way, Brent can't find the strength to hold on to reality, and succumbs to the dark side of John Randall.
This segment isn't just memorable because of the shocking images, but because it plays on the fear of taking on the personality of one's organ donor.
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7
ABCs of Death - X is for XXL directed by Xavier Gens
In this segment, which is the best in the entire ABCs of Death film, in my opinion, an overweight woman is bullied by her peers until the taunting becomes too much to bear, and she takes it upon herself to lose all of weight -- in a single evening.
The constant humiliation, teasing and staring has driven her to madness, and she takes her frustrations out on her body with a blade, carving the woman she wants to be out of her own flabby skin.
Although it's clearly shocking and grotesque, what really makes this entry stand out is the clever social commentary that director Xavier Gens manages to squeeze out in less than seven minutes.
Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that despite the fact that director Gens was assigned the letter "X" for his entry in the anthology, instead of throwing up his arms and claiming it was too difficult of an assignment, he took the challenge as an opportunity, and still created the best short in the entire piece.
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6
Three…Extremes - Dumplings directed by Fruit Chan
Aging is never easy, but for an actress, more often than not, it means losing your career as well as your youth. That's why this starlet will stop at nothing to slow the process and reclaim her fame, even if that means eating dumplings with a secret ingredient, guaranteed to keep one young and beautiful for as long as possible.
No one ever made it to the top without making a few sacrifices, so what does it matter if she has to pay a hefty fee, and eat some questionable snacks? Who hasn't ingested gluten-free pizza, or swallowed a few rice cakes here and there, or even…unborn babies?
When it comes to starring in the movies, older actresses are inevitably faced with a choice: keep your morality intact, and possibly be forgotten, or make a few alterations here and there, with the help of a doctor, and stay in the headlines.
Although the premise of this segment may seem far-fetched, the vanity that consumes the protagonist stands as a metaphor for the narcissism that leads so many celebrities to go under the knife in the name of fame.
Dumplings serves as a drastic illustration of what such a mindset can lead to. The only question that remains is whether or not these sacrifices are worth it.
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5
Creepshow 2 - The Raft directed by Michael Gornick
Teenagers are the craziest kind of people. They'll drive over fifty miles just to swim through freezing water to a tiny raft in the middle of a lake. Adolescents are notorious for believing that they're invincible, but Deke, Laverne, Randy and Rachel will soon find that it couldn't be farther from the truth.
The four friends eagerly dive into the icy cold waters of the abandoned lake without a second thought, but something seems off. Randy is the first to point out a strange round, dark spot in the lake next to the raft, and tells the others that it looked like the spot was "trying to get the girls". His friends shrug off his weird remark as a side effect of the herbal remedies they enjoyed earlier, but it isn't long before the harmless "oil slick" claims its first victim, swallowing Rachel whole and burning her skin like acid she melted into the tar-like sticky liquid.
As the three remaining kids try to make sense of what they just saw, the black gooey structure creeps up between the boards of the raft and grabs onto Deke's foot, pulling him through the surface and into the murky surface below, proving that the other two kids don't are anything but safe.
The Raft is a segment that starts like any typical '80s horror flick, then takes a sharp left turn and turns out to actually be pretty terrifying, with some eerily impressive makeup and special effects.
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4
V/H/S/2 - Safe Haven directed by Timo Tjahjanto & Gareth Evans
Lena, Adam, Malik, and Joni believe in their hearts that they're doing the right thing by filming a documentary about an Indonesian cult.
They have their own opinions about what goes on inside the establishment's walls, but their goal is to give an unbiased medium for the followers to express themselves through clearly, so they keep their thoughts to themselves and focus on honestly portraying the group as it is: just another new religious movement. However, it soon becomes clear that the crew is in over their heads, when the leader of the group who goes by the name "Father" begins ranting over the P.A. system that their time has come, and reveals the bloody, carved chest hiding beneath his shirt.
Chaos breaks out in the institution, as followers start taking their own lives, and various members begin viciously attacking the camera crew. What’s great about this segment is it gives you everything you would want from a cult horror film, in such a rapid succession that it maintains its shock factor throughout the entire piece, and stays in your mind long after V/H/S/2 rolls end credits.
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3
Twilight Zone: The Movie - Nightmare At 20,000 Feet directed by George Miller
John Valentine (John Lithgow) is a logical man. He knows that there's no such thing as monsters, and that the thing he saw on the wing of the plane was just a figment of his imagination.
Flying is scary enough on its own, but with the wind and the rain, it's clear that John's just feeling a little stressed, and that's why he saw a creature destroying one of the engines. Even if he's not totally sure, he does know that he needs to calm down before he lands himself in airport security.
The other passengers are gawking at him, and soon he'll be labeled as hysterical. But what if it's true? What's worse? People assuming you're crazy, or being right and watching the creature crash the plane?
I made the mistake of watching this film for the first time when I was about five years old, the night before I boarded a plane to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I took an early morning flight with my parents for a little vacation, and of course, it rained the whole time. I couldn't keep my eyes off of the window for the entire ride, for fear that a monster might creep up and tap on the glass.
This is a segment that has stuck with me for a long time, and even though it's a remake of an episode from the original Twilight Zone (featuring William Shatner), it is one of my first memories of being scared by a horror movie.
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2
Trick 'r Treat - Surprise Party directed by Mike Doughtery
Every culture has its own rites of passage. The Spartans used to bathe their babies in wine to determine if they were weak or strong, and the weak ones were thrown into an abyss on Mount Taygetos. In West Africa, the Akamba tribe waits three days after a baby is born before celebrating by sacrificing a goat and naming the newborn.
In America, we stick to simpler routines, like learning how to drive from our parents when we turn sixteen, or drinking too much on our 21st birthday.
However, when it comes to Laurie and her friends, they have their own definition of tradition. Dressed as Snow White, Little Bo Peep, Cinderella and Red Riding Hood, the girls set out on Halloween night, determined to teach Laurie how to go about handling her "first time".
The rules for the night are as follows: get a costume, grab a date, and head to the Halloween party. It all seems fairly harmless, until Laurie is hunted in the forest, all alone on her way to the party.
Panic abounds, as it seems that she's come to personify her costume; the little victim being overpowered by a dangerous predator in the darkness. But the fight isn't over yet. Laurie shows her teeth, and the predator becomes the prey when it is revealed that Laurie and her friends are actually werewolves.
The man, who turns out to be Stephen Wilkins, a character from earlier in the film, has played right into her trap, for without her first kill, Laurie would never complete her coming-of-age story. This entry is great because it really encompasses the Halloween spirit, and is a joy to watch during the holiday.
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1
Creepshow - Something To Tide You Over directed by George A. Romero
Richard Vickers (Leslie Nielsen) thinks he's really smart. He knows the truth about his wife, Becky, and her adulteress ways, and he's thought up the perfect punishment for her crimes.
He kidnaps her and her lover, Harry Wentworth (Ted Danson), takes them to the beach, and buries them up to their necks in sand.
As the tide rolls in, Richard assures them each separately -- for to bury them next to each other to comfort one another would be far too merciful a privilege -- that if they hold their breath long enough, they might not drown, and they can wriggle free when the sand loosens. The chances of this happening, of course, are about as likely as Richard forgiving Becky and wishing her the best of luck with her new life with Harry.
After leaving the two in the dirt, Richard retreats to his mansion where he watches each victim slowly drown in the salty waters, resting comfortably in front of his television. Forcing them to suffer an excruciatingly slow death isn't enough; he needs to see it happen. That's why he's left cameras on the shorelines, one in front of his wife, and one for Harry, so he can see it all go down without the burden of getting his feet wet.
As intelligent as Richard is, he couldn't possibly fathom that someone as well off as he would be struck down with the curse of karma. Just when he thinks he's rid of the pair forever, Becky and Harry show up in his home, skin swelled and eyes puffed shut; bodies permeated with water. They've come to take him to the beach, and it doesn't matter how many bullets he unloads into their chests, they're already dead, and soon, he will be too.
