Back before the rise of prestige television programming and streaming productions that blur the line between the big and small screen, it was basically understood that TV shows were meant to be cheaper and more formulaic than whatever was playing at your local theater. The only exception to this came in the form of the anthology format, with pioneer programs like The Twilight Zone proving that, with a little effort, you could cram in all of the narrative thrills of a feature film into a single episode.
However, you can’t exactly shoot a short action film every week without breaking the bank, so it makes sense that most anthology shows chose to focus on genres that could still work within a limited budget, with the most popular choice being horror. And with decades of television providing us with short-form thrills, we’ve decided to come up with a list recommending six of the best horror anthology stories to watch during this Halloween season!
For the purposes of this list, we’ll only be including entries from episodic series, so no segments from made-for-TV films like Trilogy of Terror. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own short-form favorites if you think we missed a particularly memorable story.
With that out of the way, onto the list…
6. Class of ’99 – Night Gallery (1970-1973)
Rod Serling’s lesser-known follow-up to The Twilight Zone may not be as popular as the ground-breaking show that turned the writer into a household name, but this spooky little program featured some of the best horror stories ever broadcast on the small screen.
A great example of this is the second episode of season two, which features a mind-bender about the inherent insanity of human prejudice. Starring horror legend Vincent Price as a professor instructing a class of mechanical students, the 18-minute-long Class of ‘99 is still scarier and more impactful than many feature-length genre films – and that’s why it’s an easy choice for spooky season viewing.
5. Safe at Home – Freaky Stories (1997-1999)
As a horror-obsessed ’90s kid who grew up in Canada, Freaky Stories was exactly the kind of show I looked forward to whenever I turned on YTV. And while this animated anthology was generally about as kid-friendly as Goosebumps and Tales from the Cryptkeeper, it could still surprise viewers with the occasional extra-freaky yarn.
Case in point: Safe at Home, an eerie adaptation of the classic urban legend where a girl finds herself home alone with her pet dog and gets a surprise visit from an escaped maniac. It may clock in at less than five minutes, but this is by far one of the most memorable segments of the entire show even if it sanitizes the tale just enough to keep it from traumatizing the show’s younger audience. Just keep in mind that this is a true story, it happened to a friend of a friend of mine – I swear!
4. Itchy – Room 104 (2017-2020)
Despite featuring episodes tackling (and often subverting) nearly every conceivable genre throughout its four seasons, Mark and Jay Duplass’ Room 104 had a particular knack for telling unsettling tales about deranged characters in disturbing situations. That’s why it’s appropriate that one of the show’s standout episodes happens to be a deeply unsettling Found Footage story written by Mark Duplass and helmed by Creep director Patrick Brice!
Following Arturo Castro as a troubled man who isolates himself in the titular motel room in order to record a bizarre series of videos about his horrific skin condition, Itchy soon devolves into paranoid horror as we begin to question the protagonist’s mental state as well as the intentions of his unseen “Doctor.”
Just thinking about this minimalist romp is enough to make my skin crawl, and that’s why it had to make it onto the list.
3. Skin & Bones – Fear Itself (2008)
Better known as the Canadian successor to Masters of Horror (with some fans even calling it the show’s unofficial third season), Fear Itself had quite a few memorable episodes despite not being quite as popular. One of my personal favorite stories here happens to be Larry Fessenden’s Wendigo yarn, Skin & Bones.
Following rancher Grady Edlund (Doug Jones) who returns as the sole survivor of a hunting trip out in the mountains, this episode chronicles the family man’s descent into body-horror induced madness as he slowly transforms into a ravenous creature of Native-American myth. Scary, atmospheric and straight to the point, this is a must-watch for spooky season that also happens to feature one of my favorite performances from Jones.
2. The Outside – Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (2022)
Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour and starring Kate Micucci of Garfunkel and Oates fame, this avant garde web-comic adaptation is so good that I kind of wish it were a standalone movie rather than part of Del Toro’s short-lived anthology. In the episode, Micucci plays an awkward woman who embraces a new skincare product in an effort to be accepted by her peers. However, her overuse of this mysterious lotion ends up having horrific consequences.
I won’t go into further detail in order to avoid spoilers, but suffice to say that the episode’s stylish visuals and stellar performances (with even Dan Stevens making a memorable appearance) make it one of the best entries on the list. And with recent films like The Substance reminding audiences that body-horror can also be used to tell deeply human stories, I think this is the perfect time to revisit Amirpour’s criminally underseen gem.
1. Cigarette Burns – Master of Horror (2005-2007)
I admit that I’m split when it comes to the subject of John Carpenter. On one hand, this intrepid filmmaker is responsible for so many memorable movies that he’s more than earned the right to stay at home playing video games and watching sports for as long as he wants. On the other hand, one of the greatest genre creators of all time is still alive and kicking but we haven’t seen a new movie from him in decades!
And while some critics point to the director’s 2010 thriller The Ward as a sign that he was right to retire, Carpenter released one of his best “films” only a few years earlier as a part of the Masters of Horror anthology. Titled Cigarette Burns in reference to the circular markings indicating that a film reel is reaching the end, this incredibly meta thriller combines the narrative scares of The King in Yellow with the gritty neo-noir of moves like 8mm – and all that in less than an hour!
If you’re only going to watch one episode on this list, make sure that it’s this one.
The post Six of the Best Horror Anthology Episodes to Watch for Halloween appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
