A NIGHT OF HORROR: NIGHTMARE RADIO: Horror Anthology of Pre-Existing Material

A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio is a horror anthology curated by Nicolás Onetti and Luciano Onetti. The film consists of horror shorts made between 2012 and 2017, along with a new framing story centered around Rod Wilson (James Wright), the DJ of a horror radio show, who ends up wrapped in his own story of horror.

The quality of the segments vary, which we have come to expect from anthologies, but a few stories stand out with their interesting themes, memorable cinematography, chilling use of music, and atmospheric set design.

Use of Pre-Existing Material

While using existing short films can work and bring new audiences to work usually only seen at festivals, for an anthology of that nature to completely work, this needs to be stated clearly, and the work should be kept out of other services. Multiple shorts within this anthology are currently available on Youtube, and some have been around for a few years.

The style of this anthology feels closer to what you might find in a book, but when someone buys an anthology of the best short stories, they know what they are getting into, and aren’t expecting a collection of unreleased work. The anthology of curation could be an excellent way to showcase festival films that would never be given theatrical releases or as a way to launch student work into the theatrical release work as curated collections, but this specific film does not feel ground-breaking in its use of this uncommon structure.

The inclusion of international segments is nice, and I enjoyed the visual style and performances in Gotas, but when making the decision to include a segment in a different language than the rest of your collection, make sure to include subtitles. I wish I understood the deeper meanings of this short, and how it deals with relationships and trauma, but I was at a loss.

I do not blame the segment, but rather the way it was included in the collection. This was one of the segments that stood out to me, even without fully understanding it. The tension builds beautifully throughout this piece and brings forth memories of seeing Suzy Bannion collapse on the floor when I first saw Suspiria (1977) and was drawn even further into my appreciation of the horror genre.

Standout Segments in an Underwhelming Story Frame

As I watched A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio, a few segments jumped out and grabbed my attention, but the connecting frame story took up too much time, and made the shorts, which already didn’t feel in the same vein, even more disconnected from one another.

The frame story comes across as repetitive, and not only because this is the story you revisit, but because every time we are back in this recording studio, the same beats are hit. I get that the host is tired. I don’t need to be reminded as he rubs his eyes and the same advertisement plays in the background.

The first time this scene played out, with Valentine’s Day advertisement and bored host, I thought it was fun and affectionately mocked the corporate sponsors of radio shows – and more modernly, podcasts – but hearing the same ad and seeing the same reaction from the DJ, the fun began to wear off and I almost began rubbing my own eyes.

A few segments worked to pull me back and focused on the horror being presented and excited to see what would come next.

Post-Mortem Mary works really well and captures its time period through set and costume design. Everything worked well to capture the creepiness of postmortem photography trying to capture the liveliness of its dead subjects.

The use of perspective in this short is interesting and works wonderfully to tell a story focused around cameras and how the perspective varies from character to character. The tension builds naturally, and plays beautifully with the muted color scheme, as the short comes to an entertaining conclusion.

Another standout short came in the form of the dark tale of cruel and unusual punishment, The Disappearance of Willie Bingham. This short feels the most involved and tells an interesting story that feels close enough to reality to be even more terrifying.

This short explores interesting concepts surrounding the prison system and the extremes people go to when dealing with grief over the loss of a loved one, and how revenge takes more from you than it provides.

Conclusion

A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio includes some memorable short films, but not enough of the content is new or unavailable on Youtube for the film to feel worthwhile. The concept of an anthology focusing on existing short films has some interesting applications, but it does not reach that full potential in this film.

Do you think anthologies consisting of existing short films could be beneficial for festival or student shorts? Share your thoughts in the comments. 

Watch A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio