Popular in the 1960s and early 1970s with more rare appearances in the 1980s, 1990s and the 2000s, the anthology-style horror film has made a solid resurgence in recent years with such portmanteau releases as The ABCs of Death films and the V/H/S series.
With Mexico Barbaro, Fear Paris and other projects in various stages of completion, the anthology horror film looks to continue to be an important part of the horror cinema landscape.
Some anthology films employ a framing or wraparound sequence in an attempt to connect the segments that make up the film while others dispense with this classic Amicus-style approach entirely and simply present a collection of short films connected by genre.
Either way, a horror anthology film is ultimately about the quality of its individual segments and this article will take you on a tour of the greatest horror anthology segments of all time.
With Mexico Barbaro, Fear Paris and other projects in various stages of completion, the anthology horror film looks to continue to be an important part of the horror cinema landscape.
Some anthology films employ a framing or wraparound sequence in an attempt to connect the segments that make up the film while others dispense with this classic Amicus-style approach entirely and simply present a collection of short films connected by genre.
Either way, a horror anthology film is ultimately about the quality of its individual segments and this article will take you on a tour of the greatest horror anthology segments of all time.
- 10/25/2014
- by Terek Puckett
- SoundOnSight
Montreal World Film Festival
Director George Sluizer's Spanish-language picture "The Stoneraft" is a paean to the virtues of absurdity. In a kind of bent-out-of-shape science fiction story, Sluizer ("The Vanishing") uses quirky humor and New Age philosophizing to chart the journey of an eclectic band of pilgrims searching for the cause behind a mind-boggling geological event. The bulk of the film is marred by a contrived effort to appear obscure, though a meditative finale ultimately provides some food for thought.
"Stoneraft" received its world premiere In Competition at Montreal, where the idea of one country detaching itself from another touched a nerve with independence-minded Quebecois viewers. Festival appearances are a probability, but this Netherlands-Spain co-production is probably too esoteric to do much business internationally.
The film, based on a book by Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago, begins with a strange event. A giant rift appears down the Pyrenees, detaching Spain and Portugal from France. The new island then begins to sail away from Europe toward America at high speed. Blame for the happening falls on a motley quintet of citizens that includes a man pursued by a giant flock of starlings and a woman with a never-ending ball of wool. Cramming themselves first into a tiny 2CV car, then into a pony and trap, this confused crew sets out on a pilgrimage around the country to try and discover what really happened and whether they were indeed responsible.
The theme of the film seems to be the old nugget that the world's ultimately an illogical place, so why waste time trying to understand it logically? But instead of staying in an absurdist "Blow-Up" world, New Age-ism creeps in when the characters decide that the answers to their questions are in their feelings and intuitions. If you're true to your feelings, the film says, you'll find solutions, and everything will come right.
The main problem is that Sluizer's focus on events and phenomena means he never pauses to fill out his characters. Consequently, they're too sketchily drawn for the viewer to notice their feelings, let alone accept them as a route to spiritual transformation. Only in the final third does enough conflict occur for some personalities to shine out. Here, tension over the two women in the group finally causes some bite, and the characters develop as a result of it.
The film's at its best when Sluizer diverts to poke cheeky fun at the geographical ramifications of a free-floating Spain. Some laughs are had at the expense of the Americans, who are initially called in to try and winch Spain back to continental Europe (they fail). The Brits, meanwhile, are happy, as Gibraltar becomes detached from Spain -- this brings the difficult debate over the rock's sovereignty to an unexpected end. Funny special-effects shots of Spain whizzing through the waves contrast nicely with the generally droll verbal humor.
THE STONERAFT
MGS Film and Sogecine present
Credits:
Director: George Sluizer
Screenwriters: Yvette Biro, George Sluizer
Producers: George Sluizer, Fernando Bovaira, Luis Bordallo Silva
Executive producers: Anne Lordon
Director of photography: Goert Giltaij
Art director: Felix Murcia
Costume designer: Jany Temime
Editor: Jan Dop
Sound: Antonio Bloch, Peter Flamman
Music: Henny Vrieten
Cast:
Pedro: Federico Luppi
Maria: Iciar Bolla
Running time 117 minutes
no MPAA rating...
Director George Sluizer's Spanish-language picture "The Stoneraft" is a paean to the virtues of absurdity. In a kind of bent-out-of-shape science fiction story, Sluizer ("The Vanishing") uses quirky humor and New Age philosophizing to chart the journey of an eclectic band of pilgrims searching for the cause behind a mind-boggling geological event. The bulk of the film is marred by a contrived effort to appear obscure, though a meditative finale ultimately provides some food for thought.
"Stoneraft" received its world premiere In Competition at Montreal, where the idea of one country detaching itself from another touched a nerve with independence-minded Quebecois viewers. Festival appearances are a probability, but this Netherlands-Spain co-production is probably too esoteric to do much business internationally.
The film, based on a book by Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago, begins with a strange event. A giant rift appears down the Pyrenees, detaching Spain and Portugal from France. The new island then begins to sail away from Europe toward America at high speed. Blame for the happening falls on a motley quintet of citizens that includes a man pursued by a giant flock of starlings and a woman with a never-ending ball of wool. Cramming themselves first into a tiny 2CV car, then into a pony and trap, this confused crew sets out on a pilgrimage around the country to try and discover what really happened and whether they were indeed responsible.
The theme of the film seems to be the old nugget that the world's ultimately an illogical place, so why waste time trying to understand it logically? But instead of staying in an absurdist "Blow-Up" world, New Age-ism creeps in when the characters decide that the answers to their questions are in their feelings and intuitions. If you're true to your feelings, the film says, you'll find solutions, and everything will come right.
The main problem is that Sluizer's focus on events and phenomena means he never pauses to fill out his characters. Consequently, they're too sketchily drawn for the viewer to notice their feelings, let alone accept them as a route to spiritual transformation. Only in the final third does enough conflict occur for some personalities to shine out. Here, tension over the two women in the group finally causes some bite, and the characters develop as a result of it.
The film's at its best when Sluizer diverts to poke cheeky fun at the geographical ramifications of a free-floating Spain. Some laughs are had at the expense of the Americans, who are initially called in to try and winch Spain back to continental Europe (they fail). The Brits, meanwhile, are happy, as Gibraltar becomes detached from Spain -- this brings the difficult debate over the rock's sovereignty to an unexpected end. Funny special-effects shots of Spain whizzing through the waves contrast nicely with the generally droll verbal humor.
THE STONERAFT
MGS Film and Sogecine present
Credits:
Director: George Sluizer
Screenwriters: Yvette Biro, George Sluizer
Producers: George Sluizer, Fernando Bovaira, Luis Bordallo Silva
Executive producers: Anne Lordon
Director of photography: Goert Giltaij
Art director: Felix Murcia
Costume designer: Jany Temime
Editor: Jan Dop
Sound: Antonio Bloch, Peter Flamman
Music: Henny Vrieten
Cast:
Pedro: Federico Luppi
Maria: Iciar Bolla
Running time 117 minutes
no MPAA rating...
- 10/15/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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