Anthology films – or portmanteau films, or omnibus films, as they are also called – have been with us almost since the dawn of the motion picture industry. This form of film-making can be a tricky beast, requiring a careful juggling of topic and tone to get the right effect; but executed skilfully, such a film can become a great deal more than the sum of its parts.
There are anthology comedies, anthology dramas and anthology romances out there; but, from the very beginning, it was horror that made best and most frequent use of the format: a history now stretching all the way from 1919’s Unheimliche Geschichten to 2017’s XX and A Taste Of Phobia—and with many more, no doubt, to come…
So join us as we take a trip on the omnibus—
It’s ROOM FOR ONE MORE…all through August at the B-Masters’ Blog!
Liz Kingsley is the insane genius behind And You Call Yourself a Scientist!
#1 by ronald on July 31, 2018 - 9:07 am
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Hi. Not on-topic in any way, but are you familiar with this film? I think perhaps you might want to be…
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3120314/?ref_=ttexst_exst_tt
#2 by The Rev. on August 1, 2018 - 3:16 pm
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If I Hate Everything’s review is anything to go by, it might be appropriate for Ken. Or maybe El Santo since he reviews everything, without the “unknown” focus Keith B. has. I’d suggest my dear Lyzzy as it’s a shark movie, but I think she has gone (and no doubt will continue to go) through enough suffering with the Amityville series.
I haven’t inflicted it on myself, but after that review I’m in no hurry to. Considering how many crappy shark movies I’ve watched over the years, this is saying a lot.
#3 by lyzard on August 5, 2018 - 7:22 pm
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I am constantly struck by the fact that we live in a world where there are SO MANY SHARK MOVIES even *I* can’t keep up with them… 🙂
#4 by ronald on August 6, 2018 - 1:25 pm
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But it’s also an Exorcist ripoff, and IIRC you once announced you were on a mission to find all of those, too. So it’s a double-header, although not necessarily a two-headed shark.
#5 by Braineater on August 5, 2018 - 8:09 pm
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I’ll see your Shark Exorcist and raise you…
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8387464/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Look at the synopsis. Look at the character names. Yes, it really is that stupid. Also: it features a guy dressing up like a sexy girl shark to lure the House Shark out of his toilet. Sigh.
#6 by lyzard on August 5, 2018 - 8:12 pm
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I console myself with the thought that I have literally 40 years of shark movies to work through before I get to that one.
#7 by ronald on August 6, 2018 - 1:39 pm
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(this clip needs some set-up; from Episode 4 (Avalanche) of the MST3K relaunch)
“Tom: We’d like to get serious for a moment and talk about a real problem.
“Crow: Hybrid B-movies. Sharktopus, Piranhaconda, and the like.
“Jonah: It’s not okay to just combine an animal with a disaster and release it as a bad-on-purpose movie.
“Crow: So we’re drawing a line in the sand.
“Jonah: No longer shall the public be fooled by deliberately stupid junk disguised as sincere, heartfelt junk.
“Tom: And we’re going to patent as many as-yet-unmade hybrid B-movie titles as we can just to keep them out of the hands of those who would use them for wrong.”
And, rather than create a super incredibly long post by posting the list of such titles itself, here’s a page that includes said list:
http://agentpalmer.com/16309/media/a-brief-classification-of-b-movies-and-an-mst3k-infomercial/
#8 by ronald on August 9, 2018 - 11:42 am
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Nothing, huh? Oh well…
#9 by The Rev. on August 7, 2018 - 3:27 am
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Ah, yes. I saw the trailer for that some time back. I could tell what they were going for, and as such I made no effort whatsoever to see it. Gave me a Thankskilling vibe, and if you want me to watch your movie that’s a really bad way to go about it.
#10 by JASON FARRELL on July 31, 2018 - 11:19 am
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If anyone is looking for suggestions, TERROR TRACT, with John Ritter in the Cryptkeeper position
#11 by The Rev. on August 1, 2018 - 3:19 pm
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I’d throw out Creeptales or Night Train to Terror if I thought Ken was going to be able to join in this go-round. No one else should even think about either one, or that really low-budget one I saw that I thankfully cannot remember the name of. They’re just awful.
#12 by GalaxyJane on August 3, 2018 - 9:08 pm
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No-one should have to sit through Night Train to Terror a second time. How could you even think about inflicting a further five iterations of the “Dance” song on Ken, you heartless bastard!
At least the weird song and dance interludes in “The Monster Club” have some redeeming value as a time capsule of the transition between British Punk and New Wave. Oh and they are also all different. And sort of don’t suck.
#13 by The Rev. on August 5, 2018 - 5:13 pm
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Ken is responsible for numerous cinematic atrocities being inflicted upon my psyche, in particular The Lonely Lady, and you call ME the heartless bastard?! Feh, madam!
Indeed, multiple viewings wouldn’t even BEGIN to pay him back for the years of torment with the Jilla-Jalla-Jellyfish! Bah! BAH I SAY!!
#14 by lyzard on August 5, 2018 - 7:25 pm
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Note to self: overhaul Megaforce…
#15 by Braineater on August 5, 2018 - 8:02 pm
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I thought about Creeptales. Briefly. But then I thought: life is short, and time is too precious.
I thought about Night Train to Terror, too, but only in the sense that that was precisely what I wanted to avoid.
#16 by The Rev. on August 7, 2018 - 3:31 am
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See, you can easily avoid those. You didn’t make the worst movies in existence your site’s raison d’etre.
Admittedly, of the two, Creeptales has exactly one segment with an interesting idea and kind of a “Tales From the Darkside” feel to it. Not nearly enough to make it worth slogging through, but that puts it one up on NTtT, which has no reason I can recall to ever watch it.
#17 by GalaxyJane on August 8, 2018 - 12:16 pm
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NTtT has the cutest stop-motion Cosmic Horrors(TM) ever. That is it’s sole redeeming value. And you can surely find stills of them online, which would keep you from having to see any of the rest of it.
Have I mentioned how much I hate that movie?
#18 by The Rev. on August 8, 2018 - 12:23 pm
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When I don’t even remember there being stop-motion critters, that is a sign of an utter lack of quality.
#19 by JASON FARRELL on August 2, 2018 - 11:01 am
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Lyz, You would think there must be some AMITYVILLE anthology out there somewhere, right?
#20 by lyzard on August 5, 2018 - 7:23 pm
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That’s pretty much the only thing that’s missing, yes! 🙂
#21 by Ken on August 3, 2018 - 10:04 pm
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I’m having fun enough trying to identify everyone on the omnibus.
Needs more Amicus, maybe?
#22 by lyzard on August 5, 2018 - 7:24 pm
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It’s a great banner, isn’t it??
Weirdly enough, our first round of selections was also rather Amicus-free; though that’s being worked on…
#23 by Braineater on August 5, 2018 - 7:58 pm
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If it’s any help, the winged woman in the far back shouldn’t be dressed. The production still I found for her was clothed, though, and this IS a family-friendly site. Sort of.
Also, technically she shouldn’t have legs, either, but I just couldn’t get her to look right, sitting there with half a body… so I took some more liberties.
(The evil doll leaning into the middle is from the same series.)
#24 by ronald on August 6, 2018 - 1:22 pm
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“If it’s any help, the winged woman in the far back shouldn’t be dressed”
Some people will tell you that’s true of any winged woman…
😉
#25 by ronald on August 6, 2018 - 2:08 pm
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“Note to self: overhaul Megaforce”
Not implying that you’d need “help” on that, of course, but here’s a very extensive Megaforce review that you might find entertaining. You provide me with so much entertainment that I try to return the sentiment whenever feasible. 🙂
https://www.agonybooth.com/megaforce-1982-a-recap-part-1-56520
#26 by lyzard on August 10, 2018 - 6:08 pm
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Or more to the point, this.
#27 by ronald on August 10, 2018 - 7:20 pm
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Well, yes, but I figured you were already familiar with that one. Besides, I have a policy to not post links to Jabootu.