10 Best Horror Anthology Movies Of All Time, Ranked – Armessa Movie News

While there are many good horror anthology movies, only a select number of them could be called the best of all time. The horror anthology movie is a tricky beast. Not only does an anthology movie need to offer viewers not one, not two, but three or more compelling horror stories, but it also has to have an engaging framing device. Often, horror anthology movies contain one or two interesting segments, only to be let down by a lackluster framing narrative or closing story.

This is part of the reason why Tales from the Crypt is TV’s most successful horror anthology: the show’s episodes only had enough screen time to offer two goofy Cryptkeeper segments and one self-contained story. Few horror anthology movies can boast the same impressive level of success as that HBO series since they are often let down by a weak link or two. However, the best horror anthology movies not only have a string of solid stories but build on these as they unfold to create a satisfying whole.

10 Body Bags (1993)

The campy ’90s horror anthology Body Bags was originally intended to be a Showtime series that hoped to recapture the gory, funny, playful spirit of HBO’s Tales from the Crypt. Although the series never materialized, Body Bags succeeded in this ambitious endeavor. Horror movie legend John Carpenter pulls double duty as the co-director of the first two segments while The Texas Chain Saw Massacre filmmaker Tobe Hooper helmed the final story. This one includes Carpenter’s story of a serial killer at a gas station, a segment about an alien parasite infesting a hair transplant, and Hooper’s inspired story about an eye transplant leading to murderous madness.

9 Tales From The Crypt (1972)

The original 1972 Tales from the Crypt movie is surprisingly unsettling and more grounded than its later TV incarnation. However, this cult classic also has a campy fun side. Before the Cryptkeeper was tormenting TV viewers with tortured puns, his more reserved British iteration brought together a group of strangers in an underground crypt and told them the gruesome stories of their own impending deaths. One of the scariest PG horror movies ever made, Tales from the Crypt has held up surprisingly well in the decades since its release.

8 Tales From The Darkside: The Movie (1990)

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie was a spinoff of the TV series of the same name and, like its small-screen inspiration, this theatrical outing is sillier than most horror anthology movies. However, there is not a single dud among its inventive trio of stories, and Debbie Harry is a hoot as the framing story’s wicked witch. Stephen King authored one of the stories here, but it is the final segment, a surprisingly moving and creepy story called “Lover’s Vow,” that sticks with viewers.

7 V/H/S (2012)

V/H/S uses the found footage format in a range of clever, original ways to reinvigorate the horror anthology format. The experiment worked, with the likes of 2015’s Southbound, 2016’s Holidays, and 2018’s XX soon following. However, even as these imitators and more V/H/S movies in the franchise flooded in, few of these later films could recreate the original’s impact. The eponymous V/H/S format ensured that this indie hit had a discomforting atmosphere, with every segment feeling like a forbidden tape found hidden somewhere in a disused video rental store.

6 Black Sabbath (1963)

Director Mario Bava’s vibrant Italian horror Black Sabbath helped lay the blueprint for Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento’s signature styles, even if this anthology horror film is a little less gore-forward than their most famous efforts. That said, Black Sabbath still packs a punch. Viewers expecting quaint vintage horror should be warned that the jolts of this classic have shed surprisingly well, as evidenced by one infamously terrifying scene where an unfortunate character understandably dies of fright.

5 Dead Of Night (1945)

The classic anthology horror movie Dead of Night is most famous for its terrifying final story of a malevolent ventriloquist’s dummy, but each segment works in this memorable chiller. While Dead of Night’s creepy talking dummy did inspire everything from 1978’s Magic to episodes of Goosebumps, the rest of the anthology horror movie’s stories match it with a deadly game of hide-and-seek, a haunted mirror, and even a seemingly ghostly golfer. However, it is the killer framing device that makes this a stone-cold classic.

4 Kwaidan (1964)

Kwaidan is a classic Japanese horror anthology film that is surprisingly moving and persistently unsettling. The opening story, “The Black Hair,” had an outsized influence on the imagery used by Japanese horror cinema in the decades that would follow. However, “Hoichi the Earless” is as influential judging by its most striking image, one borrowed by Clive Barker for Books of Blood. Meanwhile, the enigmatic final story is a haunting, offbeat coda.

3 Tales From The Hood (1995)

There isn’t a weak link in director Rusty Cundieff’s exceptional horror anthology movie Tales from the Hood, which blends social commentary, dark comedy, and effective scares perfectly. The film manages to bring topics as diverse as police brutality, gang violence, and the Ku Klux Klan together within its limited runtime. Not only that, but Tales from the Hood does so with a sense of humor, visual style, and a killer twist that rivals Dead of Night’s final reveal.

2 Trick ‘R Treat (2007)

Trick ‘r Treat remains the benchmark that Halloween horror anthology movies are judged by, and one of the best horror anthologies ever to boot. Not only does each story build on the last, but the lack of a traditional framing device means that Trick ‘r Treat’s silent star, Sam, became an instant horror icon. Sam’s wordless performance allows stars like Anna Paquin and Brian Cox to take center stage in their stories, resulting in an anthology movie that is creepy, funny, and altogether brilliant.

1 Creepshow (1982)

This collaboration between Stephen King and George A. Romero brought the cartoon-y style of EC Comics to life onscreen with a set of stories that are gruesome, funny, scary, and unforgettably gross. While the Creepshow movie franchise eventually led to a disastrous in-name-only sequel in 2006, the original was a colorful, creepy triumph. It is tough to meld campy comedy and horror together without leaning too hard in one direction, but King and Romero’s segments make this delicate balance look effortless. Not only is it the genre’s best anthology movie, but Creepshow is one of the best ‘80s horror movies period.