From Dead of Night in 1945 to The House in 2022, anthologies are a familiar, and usually comforting presence in British horror. There’s much that could be, and likely has been, discussed about how this harks back to short stories from British writers like M. R. James and Charles Dickens, and how the tradition has been carried on most successfully on television, with shows like Tales of the Unexpected, Alfred Hitchcock Presents …, and Inside No. 9 just to name a few.
Lore suggests a return to this tradition, going back to the basics of a group of people telling scary stories to each other. It’s even literalised with its framing device – a group of four friends going to an immersive experience in the woods, led by the mysterious Darwin (Richard Brake chewing the wood off the trees in lieu of scenery). As they sit around the campfire, he asks them to each tell a story as a way of reaching out to the dead.
There’s enough pleasure hearing northern voices telling these stories (which is surprisingly infrequent), and any criticisms seem churlish for something that’s clearly made out of love
As with any anthology, deep dives into the stories would ruin the fun, and their brevity means there’s only so much to discuss. What’s striking about this collection is how there’s a through line for all of the episodes, while each tackles a different subgenre. James Bushe, Patrick Michael Ryan and Grieg Johnson do double duty as directors and writers (with Christine Barber-Ryder also co-writing a segment), and show their range – telling tales of criminals fighting monsters, haunted houses, comedic occult horrors and gaudy slashers. The lack of budget is clear, but it’s complemented by obvious enthusiasm as everyone involved gets their teeth into plenty of fun material.
Of particular note is the creature design, and the overall appearance of the villains in each piece. There’s some clear riffing on pre-existing character types (like a ghost out of J-horror, cultists with masks that closely resemble those on Kill List), but the execution is impressive. Also impressive are the executions in the final segment, with some having satisfyingly gruesome and entertaining end. Overall the scares and film-making are familiar but well done, so while it’s hard to remember I can imagine played well to the Frightfest audiences it played to last year.
For me, the quality of stories got weaker as they went along, but the conclusion to the framing narrative was intriguingly inventive, and a part of me wished it was explored further. Ultimately though, there’s enough pleasure hearing northern voices telling these stories (which is surprisingly infrequent), and any criticisms seem churlish for something that’s clearly made out of love, and shows plenty of promise from these filmmakers. That’s the best thing about anthologies – they go down so easily that whether good or bad, you have to work really hard to make them boring, and Lore is firmly in the “entertaining” camp.
Lore is premiering exclusively on the Icon Film Channel
from 26th August – Digital Download from 21st October
Mike’s Archive – Lore (2023)
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