Creepshow and Beyond

The only notable American anthology during Amicus' run was 1975's made-for-TV Trilogy of Terror (featuring the now-iconic killer Zuni fetish doll), but after Amicus' run ended in the early '80s, the onus of maintaining the horror anthology tradition shifted to the US. Picking up the mantle in 1982 were horror legends George Romero and Stephen King. With King writing and Romero directing, Creepshow rejuvenated the demand for anthologies.

They two added their own campy, fun spin to the genre, gaining inspiration from 1950s horror comics.

A slew of similar American productions followed throughout the '80s and into the '90s, including a sequel to Creepshow in 1987. King also worked on 1985's Cat's Eye, which used an ominous cat to tie its stories together, while Romero teamed with famed Italian horror director Dario Argento on 1990's Two Evil Eyes -- again, Poe-inspired. Fellow horror masters John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper, meanwhile, jumped into the fray in 1993 with the TV movie Body Bags. Other noteworthy efforts from this time include feature film versions of the TV shows The Twilight Zone and Tales From the Darkside (which itself was created in the '80s as a continuation of Creepshow), as well as an "urban horror" semi-parody entitled Tales From the Hood.

Since the '90s, American anthologies have died down in prominence, but the rise of Asian horror as a whole -- from Japan to Korea to China to Thailand -- has meant an influx of Asian anthologies.

The one that has made the biggest splash in the US is Three...Extremes (2004), a collaboration between major directors from Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. The film in many ways embodies Asian horror's penchant for serene, high-concept yet edgy and controversial material. Three Extremes II, made by Hong Kong, South Korean and Thai directors, was released in the US as a sequel but was actually made in 2002 before the "first" movie.

Notable Horror Anthologies:

• Eerie Tales (1919)
• Destiny (1921)
• Waxworks (1924)
• Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1943)
• Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
• Dead of Night (1945)
• Tales of Terror (1962)
• Black Sabbath (1963)
• Twice Told Tales (1963)
• Kwaidan (1964)
• Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
• Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors (1967)
• Torture Garden (1967)
• Spirits of the Dead (1968)
• Night Gallery (1969)
• The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
• Asylum (1972)
• Tales From the Crypt (1972)
• From Beyond the Grave (1973)
• Tales That Witness Madness (1973)
• Vault of Horror (1973)
• Trilogy of Terror (1975)
• The Uncanny (1977)
• Monster Club (1980)
• Creepshow (1982)
• Nightmares (1983)
• Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
• Cat's Eye (1985)
• Deadtime Stories (1986)
• Creepshow 2 (1987)
• The Offspring (1987)
• After Midnight (1989)
• Grim Prairie Tales (1990)
• Tales From the Darkside: The Movie (1990)
• Two Evil Eyes (1990)
• Body Bags (1993)
• Necronomicon (1993)
• Tales from the Hood (1995)
• Trilogy of Terror II (1996)
• Campfire Tales (1997)
• Quicksilver Highway (1997)
• Strange Frequency (2001)
• Three Extremes II (2002)
• Three...Extremes (2004)
• Dark Tales of Japan (2005)
• J Horror Anthology: Legends (2005)
• J Horror Anthology: Underworld (2005)
• Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror (2007)
• Amusement (2009)
• Deadtime Stories (2009)
• Trick 'r Treat (2009)