Black Mirror Season 1 (2011)

An unimaginable request for a prime minister. Energy and points obtained by people on bicycles. The possibility to review and analyze the memories of the day.

The season that started the Black Mirror mania. With only 3 episodes, all very British, the first season showed the world what Charlie Brooker's mind can do when he wants to antagonize technological evolution in any way he wants. Well thought out, well acted, very diverse in themes and unexpected in development.

Director:  Otto Bathurst and others  

Productiion:  Zeppotron  

Creator:  Charlie Brooker   

Duration: season 1 of 5, with 3 episodes (1 hour each)   

With: Rory Kinnear, Lindsay Duncan, Daniel Kaluuya, Jessica Brown Findlay, Rupert Everett, Toby Kebbell, Jodie Whittaker, Tom Cullen

The National Anthem - 8

Fifteen Million Merits - 9.5

The Entire History of You - 9

Rating: 9/10

American Horror Story: Cult (2017-2018)

A couple going through turmoil due to anxiety and phobias during an uncertain political climate finds themselves in the middle of events caused by a cult.

'Cult' is the seventh season of American Horror Story. It follows the already well-known recipe in which a single story occupies the entire season, with the chosen theme belonging to a horror subgenre. The present case is a slasher type one with well-established real historical cult influences. As usual, the team is led by the very talented Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters, with a story that takes a while to find its voice, but towards the end it captivates enough. The ending is so and so, but liberating.

Director:  Bradley Buecker, Angela Bassett and others

Production:  FX Network   

Creator: Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy   

Duration:  season 7 with 11 episoade (1 hour each)   

With: Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Billie Lourd, Adina Porter, Cheyenne Jackson, Frances Conroy, Leslie Grossman, Emma Roberts, Mare Winningham, Chaz Bono, Alison Pill

Rating: 7/10

Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (2022– )

Guillermo del Toro introduces each episode from an anthology series for which he gathered stories and talents to bring them to life.

"Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities" is an anthology series where each episode is unique and independent. The quality varies but the overall effect is wonderful.

E1: Lot 36: The horror elements only appear towards the end, but the fascination of the occult and the three-dimensional characters keep the interest going.

Director:  Guillermo Navarro 

With: Tim Blake Nelson, Sebastian Roché, Elpidia Carrillo, Demetrius Grosse

Rating: 9/10

E2: Graveyard Rats: The historical period in which the story is set becomes an attraction in itself and the attention to detail is admirable. The gothic humor is part of the charm.

Director:  Vincenzo Natali 

With: David Hewlett, Alexander Eling, Ish Morris, Cory Bertrand

Rating: 9/10

E3: The Autopsy: A mystery to be solved, draped in palpable suspense and curiosity and a dialogue between characters worthy of a sinister film noir.

Director:  David Prior 

With: F. Murray Abraham, Glynn Turman, Luke Roberts, Dan Beirne

Rating: 10/10

E4: The Outside: It reminds one of The Society in terms of style and background, but it mainly stands out due of the courage of the main actress to embody the character.

Director:  Ana Lily Amirpour 

With: Kate Micucci, Martin Starr, Dan Stevens, Kylee Evans

Rating: 6/10

E5: Pickman's Model: An interesting gothic air and menacing art. Imagination becomes reality and the shock of the ending is that reality was always frightening but we just choose to be ignorant.

Director:  Keith Thomas 

With: Ben Barnes, Crispin Glover, Oriana Leman, Seamus Patterson

Rating: 8/10

E6: Dreams in the Witch House: Characters and entities from the imagination of HP Lovecraft come to life in this embelished adaptation. A similar adaptation has been done in Volume 1 of Masters of Horror, but the newer version is clearly superior, especially through the access to modern effects and a rich budget.

Director:  Catherine Hardwicke

With: Rupert Grint, Ismael Cruz Cordova, DJ Qualls, Nia Vardalos

Rating: 7/10

E7: The Viewing: The echo of the 80s is present at every moment, visually but also, and especially in the audio. Even in the choice of the subject and the mystery revealed at the end. Well made, but it loses its audience due to arrogance, the main cause of the dragged-out story.

Director:  Panos Cosmatos  

With: Peter Weller, Steve Agee, Eric André, Sofia Boutella

Rating: 6/10

E8: The Murmuring: A dramatic story that hits all the right spots, with a nice gothic horror athmosphere and melodramatic ghosts.

Director:  Jennifer Kent 

With: Essie Davis, Andrew Lincoln, Greg Ellwand, Daxton William Lund

Rating: 8/10

Director:  Various   (see above)

Production:  Netflix   

Creator:  Guillermo del Toro   

Duration:  1 season of 8 episodes (1 hour each)  

With: Various   (see above)

Rating: 9/10

The Midnight Club (2022– )

A group of young people suffering from terminal illnesses maintain a pact that they will contact the others if they die, a pact that is the basis of the storytelling club they belong to.

'The Midnight Club' is a dramatic horror series created by Mike Flanagan for Netflix, one of their many collaborations. Almost every episode has at its center a short story "made up" by the club members, which are macabre, sci-fi or just meaningful stories, but almost always supernatural. The film has a lot of teenage drama and more, interesting characters, built really well in quite a lot of detail, and a natural evolution of the viewer's expectations that are not fully satisfied, however it doesn't fail to deliver the desired message to its destination.

Director:  Mike Flanagan and others   

Production:  Netflix   

Creator:  Mike Flanagan, Leah Fong   

Duration:  1 season of 10 episodes (1 hour each)   

With: Iman Benson, Igby Rigney, Ruth Codd, Annarah Cymone, Samantha Sloyan, Zach Gilford, Heather Langenkamp, Katie Parker

Rating: 8/10

Slasher season IV - "Flesh & Blood" (2021)

A rich but dysfunctional family gathers regularly on the island where the father of the family lives, to participate in various competitions for the family inheritance.

'Flesh & Blood' is the most recent season of the Slasher TV series, with an increased popularity and budget since taken over by Shudder. With David Cronenberg as one of the actors (!), Season 4 is not very special in terms of achievements, in fact it is the weakest of all 4 so far, but it still manages to attract and entertain the viewers through the same effect of 'guilty pleasure' as before. The acting suffers this season, but the story still attracts and the curiosity is maintained until the end, and the finale is satisfactory, although maybe not fully unexpected.

Director:  Adam MacDonald   

Production:  Shudder, Chiller  

Creator:  Aaron Martin   

Duration:  Season 4 of 4, 8 episodes each (1 hour each)   

Cu: Christopher Jacot, Paula Brancati, David Cronenberg, Jeananne Goossen, Sabrina Grdevich, A.J. Simmons

Rating: 8/10

Creepshow (2019– )

An anthology series that tells horror stories as if they were articles in a magazine called Creepshow, all introduced by the Creepshow ghoul.

The Creepshow TV show is a revival of the 80's movie series, with new scripts, way more modern special effects, and the irreplaceable dark humor. Each episode has 2 separate halfs, each a horror short film on effect. The subjects are varied, original and imbibed with new and modern blood, the guest stars are surprising, the quality varies, but the entertainment is guaranteed.

Director:  Greg Nicotero and others   

Production:  Shudder      

Duration:  3 seasons of 5-6 episodes (44 minutes each)   

With: Justin Long, Ryan Kwanten, Ali Larter, Ethan Embry, Bruce Davison, Anna Camp, Adrienne Barbeau, Hannah Fierman

Rating: 8/10