Horror’s Greatest (Season 2) Review

Showrunner: Kurt Sayenga

Starring:
David Dastmalchian
Kate Siegel
Joe Hill
Tom Holland
Jenn Wexler
Ted Geoghegan
Dewayne Perkins
Jonah Ray Rodrigues
Gigi Saul Guerrero
Alex Winter
Tananarive Due
The Boulet Brothers
Joe Begos

Image Credit: Shudder

We all love a good ranking article. Call them what you want – listicles, Top 10s, Best Ofs – the appeal of picking out the best (or sometimes worst) of a topic can’t be denied. Even as they get denigrated as cheap, low-effort content, there’s a reason they remain one of the most popular column types today – we love to talk about the things we love, and we love to see how our opinions and rankings compare to others.

That goes double for the horror genre. The only thing that compares with our love of horror is the love of arguing about which horror is better and why my pick is better for the greatest 1962 to 1963 Mario Bava giallo that starred Dante DiPaolo is better than yours. (The answer, by the way, is obviously Blood and Black Lace.)

That (the positive aspect at least) is the energy that Shudder brings with Horror’s Greatest. Kurt Sayenga’s docuseries debuted its first season earlier this year with episodes breaking down the best in various horror topics from Japanese horror and giant monsters to horror comedies and more, discussed by big names in the genre. Following the success of the highly enjoyable first set of episodes, the show is back with a second run of five new and varied topics, with the first arriving on December 31st in order to shut the coffin on 2024.

Image Credit: Shudder

The format of Horror’s Greatest is simple and effective, taking a page from documentaries like In Search Of Darkness and their own docuseries 101 Scariest Horror Moments Of All Time. Each episode explores a particular topic or category of horror and runs down candidates for the best of the bunch. Pros in the genre from actors Kate Siegel and David Dastmalchian to writers Joe Hill Tananarive Due, The Boulet Brothers, directors Jenn Wexler and Ted Geoghegan share their insight on the topics in question.

It’s a tried-and-true format that works perfectly well, and Sayenga keeps it entertaining by the cast of talking heads that he’s assembled. The topics for the new season are specific enough that we’re not just looking at impossibly wide or obvious genres; season two’s episodes focus on Animal Attacks, Killer Dates, Hidden Gems, Film Scores, and Space Horror. Each of these topics has that successful balance of being broad enough to give plenty of options, but specific enough that they’re not all going to be populated by the same films over and over.

To keep things interesting, Sayenga supplements the discussions with more than just the usual clip presentations. He uses interstitials that present side topics. Film Scores includes a mini list of “Masterful Musical Stings,” while Killer Dates looks at five “Toxic Teen Couples.” These segments are introduced via delightful short stop-motion sequences and give the producers more chances to add some extra options to throw on your watchlist.

Image Credit: Shudder

While all of the episodes are fun and have plenty of great (and some unexpected) films mentioned, the clear standout of season two is the Hidden Gems one. As cinephiles, we’re all looking for that deep cut that we’ve never heard of before that will blow our socks off. And as someone who likes to consider themselves pretty well-versed in the genre, I was happy to find that there were a few mentioned in this episode that I hadn’t heard of.

And that, of course, is a big part of the appeal of the show. The other episodes may not exclusively dive into the most obscure areas of horror, but it’s fun to watch the genre’s professionals express their love for the films that have inspired them or terrified them as kids. And it’s always great to see a movie mentioned and think “I’ve never heard of that, sounds great!” or “I haven’t seen that in forever, I’m going to give it a rewatch.” It’s fun to see people share a great love for the same things we do and I won’t lie; there was definitely a moment in the Space Horror episode when I did a little fist pump when they got to one of my personal all-time faves.

Image Credit: Shudder

It was clear with season one of Horror’s Greatest that Shudder had stuck gold with a solid, entertaining docuseries format. Season two proves that they can keep going as long as they want. As someone who wrote Top 8 columns for no small number of years, I know well that there’s no shortage of potential topics for a series like this. And if they keep delivering the way they have with season one and now season two, they could easily go for as long as they want to. Horror has many faces and between finding new films to explore and agreeing or disagreeing with the selections presented, there will always be room for a show like this.

Horror’s Greatest premieres on December 31st on Shudder with new episodes weekly through January 28th and will also be available to stream on AMC+.

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

With its second season, Horror's Greatest keeps the hits going through new episodes exploring the paragons in the many realms of the genre. The deep dives into the five new topics in season two remain thoroughly entertaining, including a highlight episode in "Hidden Gems" though the rest are by no lesser efforts. If you like hearing people talk about horror films and are looking for new films to check out, this will undoubtedly be your kind of show. It's a series I'll happily keep watching as long as Shudder keeps delivering it at this level.