JP Nunez
I love horror anthologies. Whether it’s a classic like Creepshow or a newer gem like Southbound, I’m always up for watching one of these films. Sure, they’re usually more like cinematic fast food than masterpieces of complex storytelling, but that’s totally fine by me. I don’t mind trimming the fat and getting right to the good stuff, so when I first heard about Tastes of Horror, I was instantly intrigued. I couldn’t wait to see what spooky tales this movie had in store, and now that I’ve finally had the chance to check it out, I’m happy to say it’s pretty damn good.
Tastes of Horror features six segments directed by five different filmmakers—Ahn Sang-hoon, Yoon Een-Kyoung, Kim Yong-gyun, Lim Dae-woong, and Chae Yeo-jun—and like many anthologies, they’re completely unconnected. There’s no frame story to tie them all together, nor do they all take place on the same night à la Trick ‘r Treat. These are totally standalone stories, and most of them involve some sort of supernatural or psychological horror.
Now, as fans have come to expect from anthology films, some of the segments in Tastes of Horror are better than others, but don’t let that fool you. There’s not a genuine weak link in this movie. All six stories are at least good, and some are downright captivating. But before we get to the standouts, let’s talk a bit about what these segments have in common.
For starters, the horror is pretty effective across the board here. By and large, this movie relies more on creepiness and atmosphere than lazy jump scares, and almost all of these stories feature a number of genuinely spine-tingling moments. The only exception is the final segment, a story called “Gluttony,” and that’s because it’s not trying to creep you out. The horror only comes to the fore at the very end, so this segment is light on scares by design.
On top of that, all of the stories in Tastes of Horror also have some sort of moral lesson, but they’re not just typical morality tales where someone does something bad and then gets punished for it. Sure, there’s an element of that more simplistic anthology tradition here, but by and large, these stories are a bit more sophisticated than that.
For example, the fourth segment, “The Residents-Only Gym,” ends on a moralistic note, but until then, nobody is safe. Along similar lines, the third story, “Jackpot,” conveys a clear moral message, but it’s much more sympathetic toward its main character than we typically expect from anthology segments.
All that being said, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. Despite a few commonalities, the stories in Tastes of Horror are all very different. The film’s five directors manage to make each one of these segments totally unique, so even though they don’t exactly run the subgenre gamut, it never feels like you’re just watching the same story over and over.
What’s more, like I said before, some of the stories in Tastes of Horror are better than others. Granted, none of them are genuinely bad, but the first two, “Ding-Dong Challenge” and “The Prey,” are hands down the weakest of the bunch. They’re just scarefests with thin plots and mediocre characters, so while I still enjoyed them, they simply can’t hang with the last four segments.
On the other side of the spectrum, it’s a bit harder to pin down the best stories in this movie. From the third segment on, they’re all really good, but if I had to choose, I’d say my favorites are probably two we’ve already talked about: “Jackpot” and “Gluttony.”
Let’s start with “Jackpot.” As I said before, this story takes a much more nuanced approach to its message than you might expect, and it even makes its central character surprisingly relatable. I don’t want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say that he seems like he’s just down on his luck, so even though he makes some very bad decisions, you understand why he makes those decisions. You’ll even feel for the poor guy, and that makes for a much more compelling story than a more straightforward morality tale could ever be.
Turning to “Gluttony,” this is kind of an outsider in Tastes of Horror. It’s about a mukbang livestreamer doing a show, and for most of its runtime, it seems like a straight-up drama. But despite that lack of horror, “Gluttony” kept my eyes glued to the screen the entire time. It’s just a really interesting story, and there’s a bit of a mystery here as well.
It almost doesn’t even need any horror, but it eventually becomes clear that it’s heading towards something genuinely shocking. I’m obviously not going to spoil the ending, but trust me, it hits you like a ton of bricks. It’s a combination of heartbreaking emotional horror and disgusting body horror, and it’s the perfect way to cap this movie off.
So if you’re looking for something good to watch, I highly recommend that you give Tastes of Horror a shot. The segments are often equal parts creepy and thought-provoking, and even the weaker ones are still good. Simply put, this is one of those rare anthologies that won’t make you want to fast forward through any of its stories, so it’s an absolute joy to watch from beginning to end.
Tastes of Horror is set to hit VOD on June 25.
