The stories were mediocre, even for an anthology styled film. I think many of the actors could do so much more given better scripts. I hope to see more of them. I've been a fan of Lenora Crichlow since she starred in Being Human (British series). Ditch the writers, keep the cast.
24 Reviews
Watchable, but bland horror anthology...
paul_haakonsen23 November 2021
I was a little bit hesitant when I sat down to watch the 2021 horror anthology titled "Horror Noire", as horror anthologies usually tends to be dubious most of the time. But still, as I hadn't already seen this one, I sat down to watch it.
And as I had not even heard about it, I didn't know what to expect, aside from it being a horror anthology.
Well, sure "Horror Noire" was watchable, but the segments were of varied levels of enjoyment and entertainment, much as expected since it is an anthology after all.
The first segment was titled "The Lake" and actually had some potential to it, but ultimately it drowned out in a rubbish ending. A shame really, because this segment was off to a great start.
The second segment was titled "Brand of Evil" and that one was actually my personal favorite of the stories told in "Horror Noire". Why? Well, simply because the storyline was the most interesting and compelling.
Moving on to the third segment, which was titled "Bride Before You". Now this one was interesting and had a great atmosphere to it, perhaps the most atmospheric of all the segments. The build up of tension was good, but I just wish that we were allowed to see what was causing all the noise in the house.
The fourth segment was titled "Fugue State", and while it actually had Tony Todd on the cast list, it was just not an interesting segment. It was actually the least interesting of all the segments.
"Daddy" is the title of the fifth segment, and it was a swing and a miss in terms of entertaining me. The storyline was just not well-constructed and offered little of anything actually.
And finally "Sundown" is the sixth and final segment in "Horror Noire". It was fair enough, as it was nicely paced, but it was just a bit too generic in terms of originality. This segment, however, had Peter Stomare on the cast list, which was a nice touch.
Ultimately then "Horror Noire" was a mediocre horror anthology, and it didn't manage to stand out amidst other horror anthologies. And it is not one that I will be returning to watch a second time.
My rating of "Horror Noire" lands on a five out of ten stars.
And as I had not even heard about it, I didn't know what to expect, aside from it being a horror anthology.
Well, sure "Horror Noire" was watchable, but the segments were of varied levels of enjoyment and entertainment, much as expected since it is an anthology after all.
The first segment was titled "The Lake" and actually had some potential to it, but ultimately it drowned out in a rubbish ending. A shame really, because this segment was off to a great start.
The second segment was titled "Brand of Evil" and that one was actually my personal favorite of the stories told in "Horror Noire". Why? Well, simply because the storyline was the most interesting and compelling.
Moving on to the third segment, which was titled "Bride Before You". Now this one was interesting and had a great atmosphere to it, perhaps the most atmospheric of all the segments. The build up of tension was good, but I just wish that we were allowed to see what was causing all the noise in the house.
The fourth segment was titled "Fugue State", and while it actually had Tony Todd on the cast list, it was just not an interesting segment. It was actually the least interesting of all the segments.
"Daddy" is the title of the fifth segment, and it was a swing and a miss in terms of entertaining me. The storyline was just not well-constructed and offered little of anything actually.
And finally "Sundown" is the sixth and final segment in "Horror Noire". It was fair enough, as it was nicely paced, but it was just a bit too generic in terms of originality. This segment, however, had Peter Stomare on the cast list, which was a nice touch.
Ultimately then "Horror Noire" was a mediocre horror anthology, and it didn't manage to stand out amidst other horror anthologies. And it is not one that I will be returning to watch a second time.
My rating of "Horror Noire" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Horror Anthology or Social Commentary
magus15146 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
If the purpose was to be a horror anthology focusing on black actors they should have eased back a little on the racial focus. If the purpose was to focus on racial injustice they should have scaled back on the horror. It felt like it lacked as a horror anthology because the racial injustice was over whelming. The best story was the teacher/siren storyline. It had great potential but felt too conflicted as an anthology.
Simply bad
pagemaster712 November 2021
I was hopeful after the first minute, it seemed like this had a decent budget and filmed well, then the dialogue started unfortunately. The writing is terrible, the stories lack imagination, and overall silly and boring. Since this is supposed to be a showcase for black horror given the title it amazes me the writer ignored hundreds of years of powerful folklore in black history, many of which would offer excellent stories.
A wasted opportunity.
d-alston18 April 2023
While the subject matter of the stories is intended to explore racial problems using the horror genre, the film mostly falls flat because of sub-standard writing.
By far the worst of the bunch is the second segment - a truly dreadful script - but elsewhere there isn't really much that shines, in spite of the very competent cast.
Thanks to Laura Crichlow's performance, the most successful story is probably the period piece, and elements of humour sometimes rescues the final story from mediocrity.
Overall, a wasted opportunity which doesn't do black cinema much in the way of favours.
Given that this site is now insisting that I type more, and having nothing else of importance to say, I'll point out that it's now raining outside my window.
By far the worst of the bunch is the second segment - a truly dreadful script - but elsewhere there isn't really much that shines, in spite of the very competent cast.
Thanks to Laura Crichlow's performance, the most successful story is probably the period piece, and elements of humour sometimes rescues the final story from mediocrity.
Overall, a wasted opportunity which doesn't do black cinema much in the way of favours.
Given that this site is now insisting that I type more, and having nothing else of importance to say, I'll point out that it's now raining outside my window.
Really, really bad...
vs235 February 2022
Poor scripts, bad plots, simplistic direction, mediocre acting. And so on.
As my husband pointed out when I said that I felt like I was watching a bad NYU MFA student's class first year class project, "You're being too generous!"
'Nuff said.
As my husband pointed out when I said that I felt like I was watching a bad NYU MFA student's class first year class project, "You're being too generous!"
'Nuff said.
Everyday is new
nogodnomasters1 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
These are six horror tales made by the African-American community. All but one has a modern setting and about half are in Atlanta. The topics vary from vampires to voodoo to creatures of the Lake. Take note in the Reconstruction story the dad goes off to Tulsa to make it big. I liked that the tales had an Afro-Central point of view. Whites are the devils and vampires that feed off of the blacks. The message is subliminal but reversed from the norm.
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.
Amateur night
Lovenelli6 November 2021
Horror Noire
marinaant-362171 November 2021
Sad waste of potential
tisnarker5 February 2022
This anthology was poorly filmed with talented actors that weren't given much too work with. Perhaps it was focusing more on the "message" than entertainment, or the perhaps the scripts were rushed to meet a fading fad, but nothing hit the mark. Not worth watching at all.
Solid though not perfect. Daddy and Sundown
hbrad2131 November 2021
Thought all were well made and strong acting. Agree with other that some of them could have been fleshed out. I liked Sundown and Daddy. Though Daddy could have been longer, kid and dad were great and scary. I'd like to see a sequel as the concept is clever.
Not great but...
MsHoneyBee19 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I wanna start by saying that I would moderately recommend this anthology. It didn't make me mad enough to stop watching and I thought there were a few good stories there.
The actors deserve better for sure, which is one I the major complaints. The scripts are so bad and they really had nothing to work with...
That said, I did like quite a few of the stories. My favorite was definitely Sundown which was the finale. And rightfully so. It had the best storyline, the best acting, it was funny and well shot. My second favorite was definitely Brand of Evil. Again it had a full storyline, some humor. Not perfect but much better than some stories. I also liked Fugue State but I really wished the script was better!! I loved the ending.
Spoilers!
My least favorite was The Lake, hands down the worse story. I hated the undertones of abuse with the teacher and I wasn't sure how that had anything to do with the lake. The connections were tenuous at best. Two people died but who killed them? Then the main character killed the boy she was trying to flirt with? I don't know why it had to be a student. The plot would have been MUCH better with a sexy adult co-star that she could seduce into the lake but they went with the COMPLETELY uncomfortable idea of her preying on a young boy. I noticed that the woman "bought the house for the lake". Did she know the connection? If she did, she sure acted like she didn't when people tried to warn her. Either way, that one was the bottom of the barrel, trying to be controversial.
I also thought the one called Daddy had some legs under it until they went with the doppelgänger angle. How the heck did that kid see his dad in the window and associate him with a stranger?? The doppelgänger angle could have worked had the boy only heard a voice or something more subtle but he SAW his dads doppelgänger. When they asked who was at the window, he should have said "you, daddy".
Lastly, I wanted to give an honorable mention to the Bride Before You. It was the only one where I thought the ending was better than the whole story. I won't spoil it because this is the kinda thing I would tell people to sit through, just to see what they think of that ending. Love that ending. Actually felt very touched by that.
This movie suffers from one more thing: terrible monsters. All the practical monster effects were just terrible...
Overall, I'd recommend it because it would be interesting to talk about and I think that we have to understand terrible film and stories to make better ones. So, cheers.
The actors deserve better for sure, which is one I the major complaints. The scripts are so bad and they really had nothing to work with...
That said, I did like quite a few of the stories. My favorite was definitely Sundown which was the finale. And rightfully so. It had the best storyline, the best acting, it was funny and well shot. My second favorite was definitely Brand of Evil. Again it had a full storyline, some humor. Not perfect but much better than some stories. I also liked Fugue State but I really wished the script was better!! I loved the ending.
Spoilers!
My least favorite was The Lake, hands down the worse story. I hated the undertones of abuse with the teacher and I wasn't sure how that had anything to do with the lake. The connections were tenuous at best. Two people died but who killed them? Then the main character killed the boy she was trying to flirt with? I don't know why it had to be a student. The plot would have been MUCH better with a sexy adult co-star that she could seduce into the lake but they went with the COMPLETELY uncomfortable idea of her preying on a young boy. I noticed that the woman "bought the house for the lake". Did she know the connection? If she did, she sure acted like she didn't when people tried to warn her. Either way, that one was the bottom of the barrel, trying to be controversial.
I also thought the one called Daddy had some legs under it until they went with the doppelgänger angle. How the heck did that kid see his dad in the window and associate him with a stranger?? The doppelgänger angle could have worked had the boy only heard a voice or something more subtle but he SAW his dads doppelgänger. When they asked who was at the window, he should have said "you, daddy".
Lastly, I wanted to give an honorable mention to the Bride Before You. It was the only one where I thought the ending was better than the whole story. I won't spoil it because this is the kinda thing I would tell people to sit through, just to see what they think of that ending. Love that ending. Actually felt very touched by that.
This movie suffers from one more thing: terrible monsters. All the practical monster effects were just terrible...
Overall, I'd recommend it because it would be interesting to talk about and I think that we have to understand terrible film and stories to make better ones. So, cheers.
Horror nooooo ire 0 stars wasn't an option
dlbblades1 November 2021
Gave it a chance as I do like a good horror film. Seems like every new horror film now is a big disappointment. Don't waste your time and instead watch an 80s/90s classic horror film. 0 stars wasn't an option sorry.
What a waste of time...
lisasmith-6894621 March 2022
Terrible... I could've wasted that time on something else. Absolutely terrible... ugh. The acting, the dialogue, some of the scenes were just plain stupid. Seems like something somebody would've recorded on their phone and put on YouTube... ugh.
Just plain bad
c-ziogas20 October 2022
Bad script. Check.
Bad acting. Check.
Bad directing. Check.
Bad plots. Check.
Bad editing. Check.
I had such high hopes for this film. I love anthologies (and short stories). They are concise, to the point and most of the time tickle your brain to come up with your own version of an ending.
Putting together an anthology film is a great opportunity to put your message across without tiring the audience.
Not in this case.
The stories are spineless, pointless, with a "couldn't care less" approach.
Even the underlying social commentary is trivial, transparent, predictable, unoriginal and weak.
P. S. Forgot to mention the ridiculous voice-over in the Daddy segment's first scene in the elevator. Amateurish to say the least.
Bad acting. Check.
Bad directing. Check.
Bad plots. Check.
Bad editing. Check.
I had such high hopes for this film. I love anthologies (and short stories). They are concise, to the point and most of the time tickle your brain to come up with your own version of an ending.
Putting together an anthology film is a great opportunity to put your message across without tiring the audience.
Not in this case.
The stories are spineless, pointless, with a "couldn't care less" approach.
Even the underlying social commentary is trivial, transparent, predictable, unoriginal and weak.
P. S. Forgot to mention the ridiculous voice-over in the Daddy segment's first scene in the elevator. Amateurish to say the least.
i only watched the first one ... but yeah, bad
o_s_k_r15 July 2022
The first story feels like a student film, i mean a high school student film. The acting is ok, but the story is a groanable cliche. Then there are just about NO SPECIAL EFFECTS. It's shockingly crude. And the dialogue... astonishingly weak... people saying "yeah" and mumbling through the critical scenes. I was expecting bad but this first story was laughable. Compilations typically start with a strong story, and if this was strong I'd hate to see the weaker ones.
Goof in the lake
portiababy30 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Watching the scene where the young man and his brother are coerced to enter the lake with the teacher. When panning back to the boys, there is someone standing at the back door, visibly at the back door. When they turn back to the boys after the teacher dared them to get into the water, you see the person walk away. I haven't watch the movie all the way through but I hope that's not the end of it and left me wondering if the ending could've been better. The painter not bad, but the acting is not that great either but everyone has to start somewhere in order to improve. The one about the spider which is for the color difference in which we were raised was a good one, I can relate to this one. Growing up in a household were I was treated different because I was not the same color as everybody else. When I see if Racheal True and the gentleman that looks like Dave Chappelle reminds me of Half-Baked.
Too nuanced for the gore hungry
BijouDiva17 February 2022
Unlike other reviewers, I thoroughly enjoyed every story in this horror anthology and that's a first. This anthology is NOT for those looking for stories of Black struggle or a deranged maniac chasing corny Black stereotypes through a neighborhood. If you're looking for that, you'd have a better time watching Leprechaun in the Hood.
Each story is based on realistic horrors that Black people in America face everyday like the history of being barred from public spaces, colorism, voting rights, polarizing politics/religious zealotry, and the duality of feeling a like a success and a sellout. Each theme was weaved into a story that seems unrelated until you look closer.
As far as production, overall every story had good direction and there were no glaring sound issues, which can be a problem in a lot of low budget movies. Some sets were bare, but again this was on a low budget. The actors didn't treat it like a low budget and still gave good performances.
Each story is based on realistic horrors that Black people in America face everyday like the history of being barred from public spaces, colorism, voting rights, polarizing politics/religious zealotry, and the duality of feeling a like a success and a sellout. Each theme was weaved into a story that seems unrelated until you look closer.
As far as production, overall every story had good direction and there were no glaring sound issues, which can be a problem in a lot of low budget movies. Some sets were bare, but again this was on a low budget. The actors didn't treat it like a low budget and still gave good performances.
Innovative
hopelinharrison1 December 2021
I see some people were disappointed with this film. I personally, am glad to see something fresh from Hollywood. New stories are always welcome. I'm sick of Hollywood remaking everything and tossing in all that CGI. I appreciate that the stories were based on the black experience as opposed to just having a few black characters with no depth, that only serve as cannon fodder.
Really enjoyed this anthology
wademinor-2757423 November 2021
I wouldn't change a thing
lailsteven17 November 2021
Best story telling I've seen in a while. Had a few part that made me laugh but It was all horror. ....buuuttt I tell you the story is deep and the meaning is as well . I give it ten stars!. It goes deep into every character their flaw their lives and their wants and it not the silly drop to the floor and die , it's a plan out theory i hope to see more in the future . A fan.
Great watch
taneyfisher27 December 2021
I'm one of those ppl that tends to google before watching just to make sure I'm not wasting my time. Anywho, this movie is definitely a great watch I really enjoyed the different plots & the twists. Especially bride before you! Whoever the writer is did a great job constructing this story, making it relatable and also lowkey thrilling @ the same time. And also great actresses/actors as well!
great look at the messed up relationship of black ppl and horror movies
buckeyefanohiostate21 January 2022
This movie is soooo full of information that I sadly didn't know and being huge horror fan, I want to know every single fact I can. Wow it just blows my mind how terribly racist alot of the subtext of these movies are. Really makes you think, there should be so many more of these kind of documentary's ! One of the facts i did know was how important it was to have Duane Jones as the lead of Night of the living dead, and the way the group of whites just shoot him on sight with out finding out if he was a zombie or not! That scene was so powerful and sadly was and is how a lot of Americans still think!!
Awesome stories, great directing, and great acting!!!
vanetsky8 November 2021
Amazing and very well done movie!!!! Thank you for an awesome horror movie! I'm so tired of so many horrible movies with stupid stories and terrible directing. But this movie is so well done, please make more like it.
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