Horror and thriller anthologies
by JetFred | created - 13 Aug 2021 | updated - 4 months ago | PublicThis is my obviously incomplete watchlist of TV series or movies that are compilations of shorter stories, mostly horror plus a few more accurately thriller or sci-fi. Individual stories are usually 20 minutes to an hour. Some are connected by a host, narrator, or other narrative device, and others are simply separate stories packaged together. A few include more dark humor or a dash of that cheesy 1990s-2000s cable TV "erotica"-lite, which is frankly about as naughty as my relatively tame collection gets. The quality, of course, varies all over the place. I have certainly not made it through all of these yet.
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1. Masters of Horror (2005–2007)
TV-MA | 1,531 min | Horror
Anchor Bay's collection, which has amassed some of the best horror film anthologies.
Stars: Karen Elizabeth Austin, J. Winston Carroll, Miho Ninagawa, Anthony Harrison
Votes: 13,286
2. The Hunger (1997–2000)
R | 24 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
"The Hunger" was a horror anthology series where the hosts Terence Stamp (in season 1) and David Bowie (in season 2) eccentrically introduce each of the steamy, erotic and often supernatural tales of power, sex, lust, and driving urges.
Stars: Terence Stamp, David Bowie, Richard Jutras, Kim Feeney
Votes: 1,144
3. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
PG | 101 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Four horror and science fiction segments, directed by four famous directors, each of them being a new version of a classic story from Rod Serling's landmark television series.
Directors: Joe Dante, John Landis, George Miller, Steven Spielberg | Stars: Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Doug McGrath
Votes: 41,212 | Gross: $29.50M
4. The Twilight Zone (1959–1964)
TV-PG | 50 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Ordinary people find themselves in extraordinarily astounding situations, which they each try to solve in a remarkable manner.
Stars: Rod Serling, Robert McCord, Jay Overholts, James Turley
Votes: 93,245
5. Amazing Stories (1985–1987)
TV-PG | 30 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Truly amazing, fantastical, funny, and odd, and sometimes scary, sad, and endearing stories are portrayed. Many famous actors, actresses, and directors made guest appearances.
Stars: Charles Durning, Douglas Seale, Sharon Spelman, Louis Giambalvo
Votes: 6,422
6. Tales from the Crypt (1972)
PG | 92 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Five strangers get lost in a crypt and, after meeting the mysterious Crypt Keeper, receive visions of how they will die.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Ralph Richardson, Geoffrey Bayldon
Votes: 13,027 | Gross: $1.70M
7. Asylum (I) (1972)
PG | 88 min | Horror
In order to secure a job at a mental institution, a young psychiatrist must interview four patients inside the asylum.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Barbara Parkins, Richard Todd, Sylvia Syms, Peter Cushing
Votes: 8,183
8. The Vault of Horror (1973)
R | 87 min | Horror, Thriller
An anthology of five horror stories shared by five men trapped in the basement of an office building.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Curd Jürgens, Terry-Thomas, Tom Baker, Dawn Addams
Votes: 6,266
9. Two Evil Eyes (1990)
R | 120 min | Horror
A duo of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations about a greedy wife's attempt to embezzle her dying husband's fortune, and a sleazy reporter's adoption of a strange black cat.
Directors: Dario Argento, George A. Romero | Stars: Adrienne Barbeau, Harvey Keitel, Ramy Zada, Bingo O'Malley
Votes: 8,151 | Gross: $0.35M
10. Creepshow (1982)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
"Creepshow" is a 1982 movie that tells five grisly tales from a children's comic book: a murdered father rising from his grave, a bizarre meteor, a vengeful husband, a mysterious crate's occupant, and a plague of cockroaches.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: Hal Holbrook, Leslie Nielsen, Adrienne Barbeau, E.G. Marshall
Votes: 53,281 | Gross: $21.03M
11. Tales from the Crypt (1989–1996)
TV-MA | 25 min | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy
"Tales from the Crypt" was a 1989 horror story anthology series based on the gruesome E.C. comic books of the 1950s presented by the legendary "Crypt Keeper", a sinister ghoul obsessed with gallows humor and horrific puns.
Stars: John Kassir, Roy Brocksmith, Miguel Ferrer, Cam Clarke
Votes: 27,096
12. Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
To stall a witch plotting to eat him, a boy reads her horror tales dealing with a collegian's resurrection of a mummy, a murderous cat, and an artist's pact with a gargoyle.
Director: John Harrison | Stars: Debbie Harry, Matthew Lawrence, Christian Slater, David Forrester
Votes: 19,369 | Gross: $16.32M
13. Tales from the Darkside (1983–1988)
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
"Tales from the Darkside" was a horror anthology series where the viewer is taken through ghost stories, science fiction adventures, and creepy, unexplained events.
Stars: Paul Sparer, Catherine Battistone, John Marzilli, Karen Shallo
Votes: 6,963
14. Hammer House of Horror (1980– )
TV-14 | 54 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
This British anthology series, which was produced by England's leading exporters of horror films, told tales of haunted houses, demons, ghosts, and other supernatural wonders.
Stars: Peter Cushing, Denholm Elliott, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Anna Calder-Marshall
Votes: 2,286
15. Creepshow 2 (1987)
R | 92 min | Fantasy, Horror
Three macabre tales from the latest issue of a boy's favorite comic book, dealing with a vengeful wooden Native American, a monstrous blob in a lake, and an undying hitchhiker.
Director: Michael Gornick | Stars: George Kennedy, Lois Chiles, Domenick John, Tom Savini
Votes: 28,366 | Gross: $14.00M
16. Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
Approved | 98 min | Horror
Aboard a British train, mysterious fortune teller Dr. Schreck uses tarot cards to read the futures of five fellow passengers.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Neil McCallum, Ursula Howells
Votes: 7,507
17. Body Bags (1993 TV Movie)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Three short stories in the horror genre: the first about a serial killer, the second about a hair transplant gone wrong, and the third about a baseball player.
Directors: John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, Larry Sulkis | Stars: John Carpenter, Tom Arnold, Tobe Hooper, Robert Carradine
Votes: 12,618
18. The Uncanny (1977)
Not Rated | 89 min | Horror
Wilbur Gray, a horror writer, has stumbled upon a terrible secret, that cats are supernatural creatures who really call the shots. In a desperate attempt to get others to believe him, Wilbur spews three tales of feline horror.
Director: Denis Héroux | Stars: Peter Cushing, Ray Milland, Joan Greenwood, Roland Culver
Votes: 2,198
19. Tales of Terror (1962)
Not Rated | 89 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Three tales of terror involve a grieving widower and the daughter he abandoned; a drunkard and his wife's black cat; and a hypnotist who prolongs the moment of a man's death.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Vincent Price, Maggie Pierce, Leona Gage, Peter Lorre
Votes: 8,386
20. The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
PG | 102 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
An anthology of four horror stories revolving around a mysterious rental house in the U.K.
Director: Peter Duffell | Stars: John Bryans, John Bennett, Denholm Elliott, Peter Cushing
Votes: 7,515
21. Torture Garden (1967)
Not Rated | 93 min | Fantasy, Horror
An anthology of four short horror stories about people who visit Dr. Diabolo's fairground haunted-house attraction show.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Jack Palance, Burgess Meredith, Beverly Adams, Peter Cushing
Votes: 3,358
22. From Beyond the Grave (1974)
PG | 97 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
An anthology of four short horror stories revolving around a mysterious antique shop owner and his antique pieces, each of which hides a deadly secret.
Director: Kevin Connor | Stars: Peter Cushing, Ian Bannen, Ian Carmichael, Diana Dors
Votes: 5,299
23. The Storyteller (1987–1989)
TV-Y7 | 24 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
An old storyteller tells European folk tales to his sarcastic dog.
Stars: John Hurt, Brian Henson, Frederick Warder, David Greenaway
Votes: 5,008
24. The Storyteller: Greek Myths (1991)
TV-PG | 24 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A storyteller in a labyrinth tells his dog the stories of Perseus and Medusa, Icarus and Daedalus, Theseus and the Minotaur, and Orpheus and Euridyce.
Stars: Michael Gambon, Brian Henson, Steve Varnom, Derek Jacobi
Votes: 1,864
25. Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962)
TV-14 | 25 min | Drama, Mystery
Series of unrelated short stories covering elements of crime, horror, drama, and comedy about people of different backgrounds committing murders, suicides, thefts, and other sorts of crime caused by certain motivations, perceived or not.
Stars: Alfred Hitchcock, Harry Tyler, John Williams, Patricia Hitchcock
Votes: 19,336
26. The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962–1965)
TV-14 | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" was a continuation of the dramatic anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) hosted by the Master of Suspense and Mystery.
Stars: Alfred Hitchcock, Hinton Pope, Jimmy Joyce, Lew Brown
Votes: 5,159
27. Cat's Eye (1985)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
A stray cat is the linking element of three tales of suspense and horror.
Director: Lewis Teague | Stars: Drew Barrymore, James Woods, Alan King, Kenneth McMillan
Votes: 28,186 | Gross: $13.09M
28. Deadtime Stories (1986)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
"Deadtime Stories" is a 1986 horror anthology, where a babysitting uncle tells his nephew three horror stories about killer witches, Little Red Riding Hood and a werewolf, and "Goldi Lox" and the three bears.
Director: Jeffrey Delman | Stars: Scott Valentine, Nicole Picard, Matt Mitler, Cathryn de Prume
Votes: 2,573 | Gross: $2.75M
29. The Monster Club (1981)
Unrated | 104 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical
A writer of horror stories is invited to a "monster club" by a mysterious old gentleman. There, three gruesome stories are told to him; between each story some musicians play their songs.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Vincent Price, John Carradine, Anthony Steel, Roger Sloman
Votes: 4,537
30. Night Gallery (1969–1973)
TV-PG | 50 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Rod Serling presents tales of horror illustrated in various paintings.
Stars: Rod Serling, Larry Watson, Joanna Pettet, Matt Pelto
Votes: 6,186
31. Dead of Night (1945)
Approved | 77 min | Drama, Horror
Guests invited to a weekend in the country share their supernatural stories, beginning with Walter Craig, who senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality.
Directors: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer | Stars: Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Roland Culver, Mary Merrall
Votes: 14,229
32. The Outer Limits (1963–1965)
TV-PG | 51 min | Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
An anthology series of insightful science fiction tales.
Stars: Bob Johnson, Ben Wright, William Douglas, Robert Culp
Votes: 9,312
33. The Dungeonmaster (1984)
PG-13 | 73 min | Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
A demonic wizard challenges a modern-day computer programmer to a battle of technology vs. sorcery, with the programmer's girlfriend as the prize.
Directors: David Allen, Charles Band, John Carl Buechler, Michael Karp, Peter Manoogian, Ted Nicolaou, Steve Stafford, Rosemarie Turko | Stars: Jeffrey Byron, Richard Moll, Leslie Wing, Gina Calabrese
Votes: 2,917
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