History of Horror S02 E01: Things we learned from Houses of Hell
History of Horror from Eli Roth made its season 2 debut tonight with an interesting psychological study on Houses of Hell in movies. Here are some key takeaways from the episode.
History of Horror from director/producer Eli Roth was a hit two years ago when it premiered on AMC. For fans of the genre, this was a master class on every trope imaginable from final girls to demons to ghosts and zombies.
This year, the exciting series has returned for season 2 with an excellent episode that hits it out of the park right away. “Houses of Hell” is a psychological study of terrifying abodes in horror movies.
What makes History of Horror so much fun is we get to learn from the best in the business:
- Sean Cunningham
- Mick Garris
- Greg Nicotero
- Rob Zombie
- Bill Hader
- Stephen King
- Ryan Turek
- Chris Hardwick
- Tony Timpone
- Scott Derrickson
- Bill Moseley
- Jordan Crucchiola
Six houses of terror were profiled on the program. Here are some key takeaways from the various segments on History of Horror:
Misery
Rob Reiner’s masterpiece about the craziness of fandom has writer Paul Sheldon being taken in by Annie Wilkes to recuperate after a terrible car accident left him unable to walk. What starts out as a tale of a good Samaritan helping a fellow human being out, quickly turns horrifying as we realize that Annie is obsessed with her charge.
Stephen King tidbits:
- Misery is the author’s favorite screen adaptation.
- He incorporates a “New Testament” sensibility into his stories. The theme that is inherent throughout his works is that darkness can be held back but at a cost. Usually, a sacrifice of life is required with blood and tears.