One of the latest in the trend of horror film anthologies, the multinational FIELD GUIDE TO EVIL does not so much shed light on the origins of human fear so much as mash together disparate and (mostly) handsome-looking shorts.

From Austria comes "The Sinful Women of Höllfall" by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, co-writers/directors of GOODNIGHT MOMMY and the recent Hammer horror THE LODGE, depicts a village whose sexual repression seems to result from the absence of men (possibly gone to war). When young Kathi (Marlene Hauser) developing an interest and sympathy for willowy Valerie (Luzia Oppermann), outcast because of the suspicion that she is pregnant since the village women seem to monitor girls' periods during the communal clothes washing in the creek, her fascination turns to attraction for which she is punished by her mother (Birgit Minichmayr, THE WHITE RIBBON) who warns her that sin (or is it guilt) attracts a demon known as the Trud. Although rather slight, the opener "The Sinful Women of Höllfall" is the most accomplished and layered of the stories, so it is only downhill moving forwards. Well-made but rather ordinary, "Al Karisi" from Turkish director Can Evrenol (BASKIN) is ostensibly about the djinn of childbirth, depicting the mental deterioration of pregnant Songul (Naz Sayiner), left by her husband working abroad to care for her invalid mother-in-law (Sureyya Kucuk), and her growing fear that a transgression of avarice has led to a demonic visitation upon her newborn. Also on the not-bad side is "The Kindler and The Virgin" from Poland's Agnieszka Smoczynska (THE LURE) in which a traveler (THE BORDER's Andrzej Konopka) encounters a beautiful witch (Urszula Zerek) who promises him unbound wisdom if he eats the hearts of three of the recent dead, but the wisdom he gains has consequences for king and country.

Of course, the worst entry comes from America in "Beware the Melonheads" by Calvin Reeder (THE OREGONIAN) about an Appalachian urban legend of cannibalistic children with enlarged craniums who haunt the woods and a vacationing family who encounter them. The look of the children is as comical as the title, the characters are uninteresting, and the ending is just dumb. A slight improvement is the visually striking but not particularly horrific Greek "What Ever Happened to Panagas the Pagan?" by Yannis Veslemes (NORWAY) in which a Goblin from the Underworld has the misfortune to sneak into a village pagan festival in which a blasphemous communion makes clear who the real monsters are. From India comes "Palace of Horrors" by Ashim Ahluwalia (MISS LOVELY) about adventurer H.B. Gentry (Mark O'Gleby) travels deep into the jungle in search of attractions for the Ringling Brothers circus. He is taken to a palace of a king who collected various kinds of freaks for his collection. Gentry buys some of them for the circus but hears of a being kept below ground, the sight of which is unfit for human eyes, and his curiosity gets the better of him. Shot in black-and-white and interspersed with authentic photographs from colonial-era India, the episode is ambitious in its setup but a letdown in its punchline.

Neither good nor bad is "A Nocturnal Breath" from Germany's Katrin Gebbe (NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN) about a brother (Thomas Schubert) and sister (Lili Epply) who live on a farm under a curse that is slowly killing off the livestock and their ability to survive in their self-imposed isolation. Like the first story, there is the suggestion of sexual repression (and possibly incest) spawning evil or distorting perception of events, but this one might have been better expanded as a character drama. The final story is also a disappointment with Czech Republic-lensed "The Cobbler's Lot" from Britain's Peter Strickland, director of the pretentious BERBARIAN SOUND STUDIO and the masterful THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY, telling the story of two cobbler brothers, one jealous of the other for his favor with the kingdom's princess. When the favored one confesses his love for the princess to the king, he is sent on a quest to retrieve a magic flower and warned not to be tempted by the pleasure-giving faeries. His brother seeks to sabotage his efforts but both brothers must face the consequences of a broken heart and its retribution. Playing somewhat like a Grimm fairy tale shot by the Brothers Quay (or Guy Maddin circa TWILIGHT OF THE NYMPHS), the story offers sumptuous visuals but little else. All of the recent horror anthologies from THE ABC OF DEATH and V/H/S to the likes of XX and THE THEATER BIZARRE have been mixed bags, but FIELD GUIDE TO EVIL feels more like an opportunity for its filmmakers to indulge in experiment rather than actually entertain the viewer.