With only the loosest of ties to the title collection, this Hulu original is an excuse to deliver fresh nightmares in future installments.

The horror anthology was a staple of the past, with titles like “Trilogy of Terror,” “Tales from the Crypt” and “Creepshow,” movies rooted in the mini-scares provided by Eerie or Creepy magazine. Hulu reaches for that with “Books of Blood,” based on the work of horror author Clive Barker, and delivers a pretty lifeless affair, even by the gory standards of the genre.

The new Hulu movie looks scary enough, but it doesn’t offer much else.

If creator Brannon Braga had been allowed to expand this into the series it should have been, it might have worked, but it feels like a half-hearted project in every way in this form.