The anthology film has never been a dominant genre. Yet, it has maintained a consistent presence in the film industry due to its dependency. By nature, most of these films are hit-or-miss, for audiences are naturally inclined to prefer certain segments to others. Not since the similarly structured “Pulp Fiction” has an anthology film re-invigorated the interest or reached that level of prestigious success. The Coen Brothers’ “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” came close, but even its distribution on Netflix represented a financial crutch and indicated that these films do not attract theatergoers like they used to. The horror anthology, however, has enjoyed a substantial cult status in recent years, with popular entries such as “V/H/S” and “The ABCs of Death.”At their best, they provide opportunities for upcoming, independent filmmakers to flex their creative muscles in a short format, together creating a diverse and wide-ranging experience of a film. Such are the intentions of “The Field Guide To Evil,” the newest horror anthology aimed at taking folk stories from different countries across the globe and putting terrifying spins on their iterations.
“The Field Guide To Evil” comes from the creative producers of Tim League and Ant Timpson, who are also responsible for “The ABCs of Death.” Timpson had this to say about the project: “We approach creating a project like this as fans. What do we want to see first and foremost. Then we assembled a team of filmmakers we felt to be among the most interesting new voices in horror on the planet.”
Here’s the official, brief synopsis: A feature-length anthology film. They are known as myths, lore, and folktales. Created to give logic to mankind’s darkest fears, these stories laid the foundation for what we now know as the horror genre.
The new filmmakers they’ve assembled are some prominent names in the world of independent horror. Leading the group is the pair of Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala (“Goodnight Mommy“) of Austria, Peter Strickland (“The Duke of Burgundy“) of England and Poland’s Agnieszka Smoczynska known for making the critically-acclaimed, Criterion-approved mermaid horror “The Lure.” Other filmmakers range from countries such as Germany, Greece, Norway, India, Turkey, and the United States.
The film opened to mostly positive reviews at SXSW Film Festival last year, which is pretty impressive considering its modest beginnings as a crowd-funded film. “The Field Guide To Evil” will be released in select theaters and all streaming platforms on March 29, 2019.