Tales of the Uncanny

Initially I wasn't overly keen on sitting down to watch the 2020 documentary "Tales of the Uncanny", as horror anthologies usually tend to be somewhat bland. But still, I opted to sit down to watch it, because I do find myself curious about what gold out there in the horror genre is there yet for me to discover.

And as it turns out, then director David Gregory actually managed to concoct a wholesome documentary here with "Tales of the Uncanny", one that goes way back to the early days of horror anthology and carries on up to this day and age. So the information here was wide-spanning, and I definitely found some interesting things throughout the course of this documentary.

Take heed though, that a documentary such as "Tales of the Uncanny" is something for the avid fan of the horror genre. Yeah, if you sit down to watch "Tales of the Uncanny" as a casual viewer, I am pretty sure that you will find it tedious and boring.

But for us horror aficionados out there, then there were a fair amount of interesting information to be found in "Tales of the Uncanny".

My rating of "Tales of the Uncanny" lands on a five out of ten stars.

An entertaining and breezy look at horror anthologies throughout time. As expected, some films get more airtime than others and many are mentioned for a few seconds and not talked about again. The people being interviewed are a qualified and engaging group, but I do wish it were a little bit longer.

A documentary looking back an anthology horror films which was apparently made throughout lockdown with the 61 so called experts all giving their views from their homes. Whilst it is undoubtedly fun to look back at the many portmanteau films that have been made and you are spoilt for clips, most of the experts (I should say there are one or two real pros here) had something to do with one or two straight to video productions and all think everything made is amazing, astonishing, brilliant! Having seen most of the films they discuss this is patently not the case, although you must applaud their undying enthusiasm.

As a documentary, it is a bit limp as it pretty much shows throughout its running time a bit from each trailer, praises the film to the skies and then moves on to the next one. There is no real attempt to analyse anything just to say how clever and wonderful it is and to get as many films into the running time as they can. Overall then, fun for horror fans looking for a bit of nostalgia, but that's all.

The supplemental feature documentary wizard and head of Severin Films David Gregory (Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson, Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau) has spent part of his time in the midst of a global pandemic expanding what was to be a bonus feature documentary to Severin Films release of The Theatre Bizarre into it's own feature length documentary. Tales of the Uncanny is an exploration of the anthology horror film format that features dozens of filmmakers, critics and notable fans, providing brief commentary and impressions about major anthology titles. It's a history that expands from the silent film era to today--a much longer history that is much deeper than I realized before viewing this film.

For those unfamiliar with anthology horror or portmanteaus as they are often called by our friends across the pond, consist of several short films often linked by a wrap around narrative. These stories often are adaptations of literary shorts, with Edgar Allen Poe being a constant inspiration throughout much of the format's history. As expressed in the documentary, the anthology format lent itself to experimentation and freedom for filmmakers resulting in some terrifying, bizarre, funny and unforgettable segments throughout the format's history.

Tales of the Uncanny is about breadth rather than depth, which frankly is perfect since this film is likely to introduce fans to at least a few new titles. Films are generally covered quickly, often one or two segments from each film are focused on. It's apparent which films, or more specifically studio, is most influential on the pool of folks contributing to this documentary since Amicus' anthologies are covered most extensively. This makes sense, give the small British studio's commitment to the format and their influence over anthology horror films but this will likely leave younger viewers or those unfamiliar with these films wishing for equal time to be given to more contemporary examples.

Tales of the Uncanny is an enjoyable overview of a much loved film format that should offer many views a string of titles to discover and fall in love with and the blu ray is highly recommended as it contains a few very rare horror anthologies for viewers to enjoy. This is a must watch doc for any horror lover!