"Eli Roth's The History of Horror" is a seven-hour series, part of AMC Visionaries, an ongoing documentary strand exploring popular culture genres from the creator's point of view. Each hour focuses on landmark films, TV shows and stories within the horror subgenres of vampires, slashers, ghosts, zombies, killer creatures and demonic possessions.
Drawing from over 120 hours of interviews shot specifically for this project, the story of horror is told by the actors, directors, writers, cinematographers, composers and special effects artists who bring haunting and terrifying visions of darkness to the page and screen. Critics and scholars will also reveal the social significance of these films, exploring why certain horror cycles resonate with audiences at different points in history (for instance, Night of the Living Dead is a nightmare reflection of societal unrest during the Vietnam War; Get Out captures the rocky state of race relations in the U.S. in 2017).
Interviewees include Tippi Hedren, Linda Blair, Bryan Fuller, Kevin Smith, Norman Reedus, Geena Davis, Richard Donner, Robert Englund, Dee Wallace, Lil Rey Howery, Haley Joel Osment, Doug Jones, John Landis, Joe Dante, Joel Schumacher, Skeet Ulrich, Tom Savini, David Arquette, Leigh Whannell, Tony Todd, Max Brooks, Mick Garris, Marcus Henderson, Dean Cundy, Joe Hill, Diablo Cody, Stuart Gordon, Mary Harron, Oren Pelli, Karyn Kusama, Ana Lily Amirpour, Victor LaValle, Howard Shore, Christopher Young, and Harry Manfredini.