Dead of Night from 1945 serves as the precursor to the anthology film (feature films consisting of several short films, often interconnected by a common thread that gives the entire film coherence) in the genre of fantasy film. In the 1960s-1970s, the genre exploded, producing gems like Kwaidan and I tre volti della paura. Significant budgets continued to be allocated to this format in the 1980s, maintaining its popularity with films such as Creepshow and Twilight Zone: The Movie. The genre experienced a revival in recent times, particularly within the low-budget segment, with films like V/H/S, The ABCs of Death, and The Theatre Bizarre.

In 1985, Steven Spielberg created and produced the television series Amazing Stories. To promote this series with grandeur, an anthology film was released, uniting three of the best segments (directed by Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, and William Dear of Timerider) from the series. This film capitalized on the success of Twilight Zone: The Movie, which Spielberg had also assembled a few years earlier.

The animated film Heavy Metal is, in turn, based on the French comic magazine Metal hurlant and its American counterpart, Heavy Metal. This adaptation of the graphic universe of the magazine brings together various short stories, utilizing diverse genres such as heroic fantasy or science fiction. The soundtrack is also heavy metal, featuring excerpts from Black Sabbath, Trust, Blue Öyster Cult, and more.