10 Amazing Horror Anthology Films You Have To See

One complaint often lobbed at horror movies is that there's so much screen time that's just pure filler. Before any of the good stuff can happen, boring characters have to sit around and engage in unnecessary conversations to pad out the running time, and audiences naturally get bored. If you're one of those people who's tired of having to wade through crappy scenes devoid of anything interesting, look no further than some of these excellent horror anthologies. 

See, what's great about an anthology is that there is usually no wasted time whatsoever. Most horror movies are one story stretched out to 90 minutes, but with an anthology, you have many stories, and each one only gets about 10-20 minutes to make an impact. In the same way a short film has to really consolidate and ensure that every second is meaningful, the same is true of each minute of an anthology film. As a result, you'll rarely feel like the filmmaker is wasting your time because they simply can't afford to.

That's the case with all of these movies, which combine a bunch of bite-sized horrors together into easily digestible packages that are perfect for those who easily get bored with other genre fare.

 Here are 10 of the best horror anthology films you should check out. 

From the author of Psycho and the director of Scars of Dracula comes this interesting British horror anthology film which has never quite gotten the attention it deserves. Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) arrives at an asylum to be interviewed for a job, but he soon discovers he won't just be sitting down for some questions. Instead, Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee) reveals that one of the inmates is the former head of the asylum, Dr. Starr, who suffered a mental breakdown. Martin is given the task of interviewing a series of patients and figuring out which one of them is Dr. Starr. His potential job is on the line.

That's the frame narrative, and then each segment is based on a story that one of the inmates tells Martin. They include a woman plotting to murder the wife of her lover, a man producing a suit from a fabric that can animate the dead, and a man attempting to bring a mannequin to life. Asylum is a bit more subdued than some of its horror anthology counterparts, focused more on ratcheting up the tension rather than shocking the audience with blood and guts. Even if the segments do vary in quality throughout, its a creepy and atmospheric ride with an excellent cast that's certainly worth a look.