Horror Noire: Review

21st January 2022

Horror Noire is a horror anthology exclusive to Shudder which tells six very different stories with black directors, writers and a predominantly black cast pushed to the forefront where they’re not often seen outside of a Jordan Peele movie. Taking the six short films and putting them together in one film shows the different voices, different points of view and different influences that these writers and directors can accomplish. With some even giving their audience something they may not have seen before.

There’s The Lake; a short story about a teacher whose involvement with a student turns sinister. Brand of Evil; where a young artist is drawn in by a satanic cult and loses his code of ethics. Bride Before You; a gothic Lovecraftian tale of womanhood and bereavement. Fugue State which tells the tale of a couple who lose their minds when religious teachings invade their mind. Daddy; which tells a story of a young father and his doubts for the future. Finally, there’s Sundown; a fun genre film which puts a group of young political campaigners in the way of a town who have other things on their mind.

Basically, there’s something for everyone in Horror Noire and whilst all well directed and with a cast who some may recognise, there are some issues with the way in which it’s presented.

Firstly, there’s the fact that the film is just over two and a half hours long, which is reasonable considering Horror Noire is an anthology and the running time means that it mostly plays out its stories in their entirety. However, there may not be a lot of people who may want to sit down and watch an anthology this long. Although having it clearly marked for when one story ends and another finishes, then nobody would blame you for watching maybe two or three at a time.

The stories all work rather well although there is an issue of quality as they go along and it feels like the latter three stories are not as good as the first. For example, Bride Before You plays out well with a good twist, but it’s immediately followed by Fugue State which feels a little rushed and doesn’t really know what to say. Also, unfortunately the special effects in the first three stories are perhaps not as good as the filmmakers may have liked them to be so they lead to some unintentionally funny moments.

All in all, Horror Noire is a unique perspective on horror and for those aficionados of the genre then they may even have fun finding the references within.

There are good performances from Lenora Critchlow, Malcolm Barrett and a scene stealing one from Peter Stormare, but the good part is that you can pick and choose which stories you would rather watch.

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