Murder Manual (2020) is an anthology of 8 tales of horror that work as independent short films compiled in an hour and a half of running time. It is obvious that the name of Emilia Clarke is a catchy bait for a film like this, because now she is super popular thanks to her role of Daenerys Targaryen in popular TV series Game of Thrones (2011-2019), and her participation in blockbusters like Terminator Genisys (2015) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). But one must be aware that this is not an Emilia Clarke movie, and she only takes part in one of the episodes which is a short film shot back in 2012 in one of her earlier roles. With that said, let’s go deep into it.
Creepy, terrifying chapters from our book of horror include a little girl’s journey from a world of nightmares into the nightmare of reality, a gay couple’s romantic getaway in Palm Springs that turns murderous, a young woman whose rideshare turns deadly, and a girl who is held captive by a circus that must be rescued by her husband.
The short films forming this anthology are directed by Michael Escobedo, Kelly Hallmark, Matt Newton, Sam N. Powell, Toni Tikkanen, and Nour Wazzi. The main cast on the different segments is formed by Emilia Clarke, Hadley Fraser, Sylvia Panacione, Maria Olsen, Brittany Samson, Milly Sanders, Melanie Cruz, Van Hansis, Sally Hughes, Bryan Manley Davis, Sophie Knapp, Jeff Torres, Joe Reegan, Ned Van Zandt, Michelle Vezilj, and Alison Yates.
Although some of the segments forming Murder Manual (2020) were shot –some of them even released– a few years ago, the anthology has been compiled and released this summer. It can be found on-demand on Amazon Prime. Here you can watch its trailer.
