The Horror Network Vol. 1

Just wanted to write a few lines on each segment in this anthology. I've just seen it and boy was I blown away by the quality that I've yet to see in most recent horror anthologies.

Story 1: It's called "3:00 am" and revolves around a young woman that receives odd calls in the middle of the night. This one highly benefits from atmosphere, sound and cinematography. I have to admit I jumped a few times.

Story 2: It's called "Edward" and focuses on a boy suffering from mental health issues. This one is well written and acted perfectly by it's two leading men.

Story 3: Arguably my favorite segment, it's called "The Quiet" and centers around a young deaf girl on her way home from school one day and the nightmare she endures. Lavish cinematography and well structured sound design elevate an already remarkable piece.

Story 4: Possibly the most disturbing, it's called "Merry Little Christmas" and showcases some award worthy special effects to say the least. It's about a mother and daughter facing demons brought on by an abusive father.

Story 5: The final story is called "The Deviant One" and it's about a man that uses religion to excuse his sick and depraved behavior. Shot in B&W, with no dialogue it's ambitious and worthy closure to an excellent anthology.

Highly recommended to horror fans, especially anthology junkies. This one is at the top of it's genre game! 10/10

Each story worst than the last. The only one with any real horror elements was the Christmas one. But the rest were awful. Terrible acting in most and most had stories that went nowhere. The "Quiet" one wasn't all bad, but it was more like an episode of a kids horror show or something. Pass on this if you like horror anthologies. This one could possibly bore you to death. But maybe that's what they were going for.

I am a huge horror movie buff with a definite weakness when it comes to Horror Anthologies! They are my absolute favorite!! I don't know if it's the "2 for the price of 1" mentality; that feeling that I've gotten just a little bit more then was advertised. Creepshow, Tales from the Crypt, Dead of Night, these are some of my favorite movies. With anthologies, you just get that quick, little, sneak peek. Just a short little, burst of shock and horror to get your adrenaline going. Horror anthologies are just so much fun! Usually... So, imagine my delight at seeing something described as a "frightening anthology" that pays homage to the greats, like Creepshow and Tales from the Crypt! Well, unfortunately, this proved to be a less than accurate description. What I found as I watched the five shorts play out was what felt more like some film student's final project. My God! I waisted an hour and 24 minutes of my life watching someone's senior thesis and I didn't even know anybody involved in the project! I mean, I wasn't expecting a masterpiece, but this just felt like a betrayal. No, a trap! I had been lured by the promise of excellence and was handed a cardboard box. Now, I could have easily overlooked a shoddy production value and low budget work, if only the storytelling had been engaging. But they just didn't work. In the best case scenarios, the acting was abysmal and I had no idea what the hell was going on half the time. The stories dragged, meandered, fell asleep. When we finally did get a little action in some of the shorts, it was tasteless, crass, and absurd. The scenes were bloody, violent, and wholly unoriginal. Ultimately, it's down to me for wasting my eyes on this incomprehensible mess of someone's final project in film school.

Here's how I would rate the 5 stories : 3Am: ffwd 50% of it. Who can endure this? It's atrocious. 1/10

Edward: ffwd 75% of the conversation. The end was alright. 3/10

Quiet: More boring 2/10

Merry little Christmas (AKA "The one with the monster from the poster".): Made my body shiver, my heart race, my eye tear up as I clench my teeth through most of it. I want to be shocked. I was. No clue what this masterpiece does hiding inside this pile of pure garbage. 9/10

The deviant one: Garbage that was funny for a second. 2/10

So final verdict is, if you need a good fix of hardcore horror, watch Merry little Christmas but dismiss the rest.

I'd read unfavourable reviews of this anthology but despite that I spent my £3 in the cheap section of Asda. Worth a punt. First story, very short, almost pointless. Second story, very boring. Third, filmed in England, probably the best in terms of tension & believability, nicely filmed in the countryside too. Fourth, filmed in Spain, concerns some serious domestic abuse: very gruesome & disturbing, but another story that makes little or no sense. Finally the fifth, with no dialogue & filmed in b&w, is simply an older man killing & sexually abusing a young guy. I like the idea of taking independent shorts from 3 different countries but the reality is that most of these are rubbish & there is no wraparound story. Currently averaging 6.1/10, probably received a lot of high scores from people associated with it. Don't be fooled! It's crap!