Eli Roth’s History of Horror – Season 1: Blu-Ray Review
I didn’t get a chance to see the first season of Eli Roth’s History of Horror when it aired on the AMC network in 2018. With season 2 about to drop in a couple weeks, it is perfect timing for the first season to arrive on Blu-ray. I love documentaries on horror films. Most recently I caught up with the first season of Cursed Films and much like that series, I fully connected with each and every interview and storyteller.
One of the reasons History of Horror works so well is because it isn’t simply just an interview between Roth and his guests. It feels more like a filmmaker hanging out with his buddies, having in-depth and passionate discussions. The back and forth between Roth and his friend Quentin Tarantino are some of the best moments in the series as you can tell how entertained they are just by each other. Roth is having a good time, while Tarantino is can’t contain his thoughts, providing some laughter from his host.
What the series does right is that is simply lets the guests speak. There are only a few discussions involving Roth. Everyone else is simply in a room by themselves, sharing their thoughts. Guests like Leigh Whannell, Elijah Wood, Alex Winter, Stephen King, Edger Wright, Diablo Cody, Jaime Lee Curtis and David Arquette have plenty to say.
There are 7 episodes in the first season. Each one deals with a different sub-genre. Zombies, Slashers Part 1, Slashers Part 2, The Demons Inside, Killer Creatures, Vampires & Ghost Stories make up the season. Thankfully, it took two episodes to focus on slashers since that has always been what I personally gravitated towards. Included on this 3-disk set are all 7 episodes plus a handful of bonus features, including extended interviews with many of the top guests. Since a series episode must be cut for time, the extended interviews make quite a bit of sense. If you love horror, I highly recommend Eli Roth’s History of Horror – Season 1.
Bonus Content:
- How Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein influenced Tarantino
- How Video Games Resurrected Zombie Movies
- Is Horror Sexist or Feminist
- Making a Monster
- Scarred for Life
- Extended Interviews with Stephen King, Roger Corman, Quentin Tarantino, Joe Dante, Edgar Wright, Diablo Cody & John Landis
By: Marc Ferman