Here's my problem with anthology films like Black Sabbath: they are a real pain to review. Do I review the movie as a cohesive whole? Do I review each story individually? I'm not sure. So all I can do is try to review its worth as a film-going experience. The American version of Black Sabbath (also known as the only version they had on Netflix) is comprised of three different stories that are connected with tongue-and-cheek scenes starring Boris Karloff. The first, The Telephone, tells of a Parisian call-girl who falls prey to a sinister and malevolent ghost. Then, The Drop of Water examines a case where a simple act stealing a ring from a corpse leads to ghastly consequences. The film ends with The Wurdalak, basically a vampire tale set in 19th century Russia. Are the segments scary? Well...because of edits made as part of the American version, The Telephone isn't very scary because it makes absolutely no sense. The other two stories have their moments of genuine terror. Is it a good horror film? I'm not sure. The stories are mostly good, but do they belong together? Why these three stories? Perhaps I'm thinking too hard. After all, any film with Boris Karloff as a vampire can't be all bad.
6/10
I like anthology films but you bring up some good points about how to evaluate them. I do wonder about the order of stories told and if that matters at all. For example I would imagine that one would want to finish with the strongest segment. I think that anthologies work better as TV shows, but none of the ones made in the last ten years of so lasted very long which is disappointing. Anthologies are basically hit or miss by design and even the best anthology show (Twilight Zone) had plenty of episodes creator Rod Serling called "turkeys." Eventually I want to do a post on my blog about anthology films, but I want to see some more before I get around to it.
ReplyDeleteWell, this is a good one to look at. It definitely finishes with its strongest story last.
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