All The Creatures Were Stirring (2018) Review

All The Creatures Were Stirring is a Shudder Exclusive directed by David Ian McKendry and Rebekah McKendry; and stars Amanda Fuller (from Starry Eyes), Constance Wu  and Brea Grant (from Dead Night). It’s an anthology of several disconnected horror stories all under the umbrella of a creative overarching plot.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Horror anthologies, some people like ’em and others don’t. And the ones who do seem to fall into two camps, those who like all stories to be connected somehow and those who don’t care. I personally don’t care much for anthologies, but prefer the stories to connect. A Christmas Horror Story and Trick ‘r Treat are two examples of anthologies I personally liked. A Taste of Phobia is an example of one I didn’t, due to the disconnected stories.

All The Creatures Were Stirring features several disconnected stories, but I really felt it worked due to the creativity behind the story that played out while presenting the shorts and the fact that the shorts were actually long enough to get into (unlike A Taste of Phobia).

The stories included a Belko Experiment style survival game, a reindeer revenge tale and a new take on A Christmas Carol. I found all stories to be interesting, although the horror aspects were tame. There was one Sci-Fi themed short that was particularly interesting as well as funny and very creative.

Overall I had fun watching All the Creatures were Stirring, but it was definitely low on scares, gore, shock, mind benders, twists and everything else I typically look for in horror.