Eli Roth’s History Of Horror Season 1 Blu-ray Review
“Eli Roth’s History of Horror” is one big love letter to horror.
In the 7 episode first season of “Eli Roth’s History of Horror,” the titular Eli Roth (who is best known for directing films such as the original “Cabin Fever” and “Hostel”) hosts this AMC documentary series that explores horror films and the numerous horror subgenres (yes, some TV is touched upon too). Viewers can expect to see episodes about ghost films, demons and demonic possessions, zombie films, killer animals/creatures, vampires, and 2 episodes devoted to slasher films of multiple eras (really, this could have been the whole season). The episodes feature a wealth of interviews from beloved genre talent like Jamie Lee Curtis, Bruce Campbell, Stephen King, Rob Zombie, Quentin Tarantino, Joe Dante, Diablo Cody, Linda Blair, Robert Englund, Jack Black, Elijah Wood, Jordan Peele, Dee Wallace among others.
Format wise, the hour-long episodes feature interviews, archival footage, film clips galore along with discussions about the subgenres and their evolution, horror psychology, iconic moments, movie trends, behind-the-scenes stories, tropes, and themes and social commentary.
The debut season of “Eli Roth’s History of Horror” hits home video at a perfect moment with the Halloween season approaching AND season 2 hitting screens October 10. So, what is this show all about, you ask? Allow me to tell you.
Much like “James Cameron’s Story Of Science Fiction,” there is nothing particularly revelatory here for folks well versed in horror cinema, but it doesn’t impact the series at all as it’s still essentially one big horror geek out. Between the superbly edited collection of iconic horror movie scenes and the plethora of horror greats shooting the breeze about the genre, it’s just a fun show to watch for anyone who loves dark and spooky movies. Sure, there could be less mainstream gems touched upon not to mention more international horror (there could be an entire J-Horror episode really), but you also can’t go wrong with hearing about classics like “Halloween,” “The Shining,” “The Exorcist,” and oh so many more (especially from those that worked on those projects).
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.78:1 1080p. How does it look? This is simply the best the show has looked.
Audio Track: 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? From the interviewees to the film clips, this is a crisp audio experience.
Extras:
* Extended interviews with Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino, Joe Dante, Roger Corman, Edgar Wright, Diablo Cody and John Landis.
* Self-explanatory segments titled “How Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein Influenced Tarantino,” “How Video Games Resurrected Zombie Movies,” “Is Horror Sexist or Feminist?”
* “Making A Monster”- A segment in which actors talk about playing monsters
* “Scarred For Life”- A segment in which numerous people talk about the films that traumatized them.
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