Chillers: The Complete Series
1990-1992
Starring Anthony Perkins
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
How did I never heard about this one before? I mean a horror television anthology hosted by no one other than Anthony (Norman Bates) Perkins? How does that happen? Well, three cheers for Mill Creek bringing out all 12 episodes of this short-lived series on DVD. But was this show short lived for a reason? Is it worth to get now that you are able to get it? Well let’s find out.
Chillers was a mid-90s thriller and horror anthology based on Patricia Highsmith’s short stories. If you don’t know who Patricia Highsmith was, shame on you. She was a great writer and a very interesting person who sadly passed away in 1995. You need to look into her and what she wrote, as I don’t have enough room here to do it justice, but you know the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Strangers on a Train? Well, she wrote the novel that movie is based off of. Remember The Talented Mr. Ripley starring Matt Damon? Yeah, she wrote a whole series of books about that character starting long before Matt Damon was born. She did those and a bunch more and so the French came up with this show based off of some of her stories. Don’t worry, while made for the French initially, all the episodes are in English. So if you are not a fan of subtitles, don’t let that stop you here.
As stated there are 12 episodes here and each is about 50 minutes long. They are populated by a who’s who of recognizable British actors. The stories, like the better-known movies based off the author’s works mentioned before, are thrillers. They explore the darkest depths of human nature. So don’t expect supernatural horror here, but plenty horrors of the human heart with lots of the seven deadly sins on display. Now some of the episodes can be a bit slow but they’re all worth a watch, with some of them being downright creepy as hell. All are well-acted and they usually manage to keep the viewer’s attention until the end.
On to the extras that Mill Creek put on this new DVD collection…well enough of that. Yes, this set is as bare bones as it gets, but with a television show made in Europe, back in the 90s that only lasted one season, and is mostly forgotten or unknown today, the fact that this is out at all is special enough.
Chillers: The Complete Series is a whole lot of fun and perfect for fans of thrillers and…well, chillers. Anthony Perkins does a great job as host and the stories by Patricia Highsmith are good and well adapted. Not for hardcore horror fans that like little else, but very enjoyable suspense thrillers. Consider this one well recommended.
