Masters of Horror

Although it is a series, I will not observe it as a whole, as it consists of 26 unrelated single-hour films, with various screenwriters, directors and actors.

"Incident on and off the Mountain Road" is a fifty-minute horror thriller, based on the horror cliche of a maniac who attacks travelers on a rarely used mountain road. The girl has accident in the middle of nowhere, she is attacked by maniac who is more a monster than a man, he chase her through dark forest and everything that goes with it. But Don Coscarelli introduces some new unexpected elements and twists, that single out this story from the sea of similar ones, and skillfully maintains the tension from the beginning to the end. In various reviews, I noticed some complaints about Bree Turner's performance, but I like this actress and, at the risk of being biased, in my opinion, she was excellent in the main role. For me, this was awesome episode.

9/10

This could possibly be the best horror series I've ever followed

"Dreams in the Witch-House" is movie based on the short story of the same name by H.P. Lovecraft, published in "Weird Tales" magazine in 1933. Director Stuart Gordon already wrote and directed several Lovecraft adaptations: "Re-Animator" (1985), "From Beyond" (1986), "Castle Freak" (1995), "Dagon" (2001), but this time he has overcome all the previous adaptations and made a real little masterpiece of horror. Although it's placed in present time and modernized, this adaptation has preserved the spirit of the original story and even improved it in some aspects. I'm amazed.

9/10

For those interested in more thorough review, I recommend great text by Matthew Janovic:

"The Best Lovecraft Translation to date
Matthew Janovic
9 April 2006

Amazing is the only-word I can find to express how good this short film is. Mick Garris deserves thunderous applause for initiating what will probably be the most-important development in horror in over 20 years. While Stuart Gordon has done Lovecraft proud with "Re-Animator", "From Beyond" and "Dagon", this simply excels them in capturing the dread and cosmic horror. Insofar as horror goes, this is Gordon's finest addition so far. I read the short story 20 years ago, and this summarizes it well. Lovecraft purists are going to have their hackles up, but the omissions and changes still capture the spirit of the original and do not detract from the basic thrust its plot.

Yes, the cloven "Black Man", and a trip to the surface of another planet are not-present, which is fine. Do we really want to see Lovecraft's racism on display, especially when he rejected it at the end of his life? The answer is no. People also tend to forget that in some areas, Lovecraft gets tedious, often going on for too long with descriptions of things, or he just meanders. Yes, you can actually improve upon some of his work, I contend. Dennis Paoli and Stuart Gordon have achieved this feat, and where Lovecraft was bad at warm characters, the writer(s) and director compensate. I truly love and care about the characters in this story, especially the mother and her child. The fears of this story are so primal and basic - everyone fears for a baby in a movie, it's true.

What excites me so-much about this short film is how effectively it conveys many of Lovecraft's themes: the fear of losing one's mind, the fear of women, the fear of the unknown, the fear of a loss of control, the fear of mortality, and then some. Also very exciting is how well Gordon and Paoli realize the Witch - I would say this is the best depiction of what the Puritans, and Medieval Europeans thought witches were, and what they did. Usually, they try to steal-babies to sacrifice to some dark-power. But Lovecraft's true genius was taking physics theory to explain witchcraft, and a witch's powers.

To the uninitiated, H.P. Lovecraft's tomes seem to have appeared, fully formed, but he was an avid scholar of New England folklore. Much of the rule-book he uses for the witch and her powers and actions are from the writings of Cotton Mather, and other Puritanical leaders, thinkers and witch-hunters. It's likely he even consulted the witchfinder's manual, "Malleus Malificarum". Lovecraft didn't believe in the supernatural as a reality, but did accept the possibility that odd phenomena did exist, and could be explained by science at some point.

So, while this tale and many others written by him seem fantastical, some elements are not entirely implausible based on his scientific philosophies! "Dreams in the Witch House" is not-unlike a rational mind trying to grasp how a witch could be possible. This little crumb of plausibility is a component of what makes the writings of H.P. Lovecraft so scary, and contemporary. Even educated adults can entertain their reality, and this film captures this reality in every respect. People tend to forget that modern- cience comes from alchemy, after all! The story concerns Walter Gilman, a Physics-major, who has found a room at 300 year old house in Providence. Yes, in the short story, Walter already knows the reputation of the house, but I think it was wise for film to omit this. Walter represents we, the audience, and this is a story of curiosity, discovery, and tragedy. Walter notices that his theories on multiple universes, and his mathematical maps resemble the shape of a corner of his room. In time, he begins to have-dreams of meeting a familiar - a rat with a human-face, perfectly in-keeping with witch-lore! Eventually, it becomes clear from an older tenant, and other dreams, that the witch is very-much alive within the house. She wants Walter (us) to fetch her a child, the infant-son his neighbor.

There is a sense of dread, sorrow and inevitability in Walter's situation that echoes the victims of witches in lore. It is a situation without much hope, the only exit being death or insanity, so very Lovecraftian. Anchor Bay/IDT have done a perfect DVD, no complaints here. The transfer is perfect, the audio is perfect, and the extras are incredibly generous and substantial for the most die-hard-fan of Stuart Gordon. Richard Band's score is wonderful, and makes this story all the more timeless in its sorrow, grimness and evocation of mystery. It has been 12 years since Band has done a score for Gordon with his excellent score for "Castle Freak" in 1994. It has been too long, and thank God it happened. The entire Masters of Horror series promises to be superb, a great-day for true fans of horror."

For a start, in my opinion "Dance of the Dead" is not a horror. This post-apocalyptic story, placed in America after WWIII, brings brings an exciting visual experience and great acting, but although it's dark and morbid, it's not tense nor frightening. It's trump cards are the way scenes in the night club are shot and edited and Freddy Krueger in the role of main (?) villain. Ending twist is unexpected and powerful, but overall, movie doesn't have the strength of the previous episodes. Still, highly recommended.

7,5/10

Is she really a monster...

!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!

If we look at "Jenifer" from our own point of view, this is a horror story in which the monster, with disfigured face and the body of a beautiful woman, is seducing men, in order to provide shelter and protection while killing everything on its path. On the other hand, Jennifer is neither crazy nor evil. If we look at the story from her perspective, this is a shocking drama about a being that is not essentially human, but a wild beast that does what is in predator's nature - follows its urge to hunt and provide a breeding partner. This duality is what makes this film so powerful. As we sit on the edge of a chair in a tremendous anticipation, and we struggle with the nausea caused by Jennifer's face and scenes of cannibalism, at the same time we are sympathetic to her and we fear for her survival. The excellent story is honored with even better acting, directing and music, and the only criticism I have on this episode is that its ending is more than predictable.

9/10

"Mick Garris is a master creator, not a master director"

This episode is based on great idea, but the story is lousy developed and filmed even worse. Acting is mediocre, movie doesn't have H out of horror, there's no suspense, no surprises and no twists. Shallow and boring. Still, idea itself doesn't let me go below

5,5/10

Why politics must be involved in everything...

This is not horror. Zombie movie is just a package for the satire of the American system and modern politics in general. As a horror it is a complete failure, and as an anti-war film and political satire it could have been much better. I'm not sure whether the story of soldiers who are rising from the dead to vote against Bush is original or taken from somewhere, but it is too obvious, unfunny and cheap. While I fully support the message sent by this film, I think that it doesn't belong in a horror franchise.

As a horror movie it deserves 3/10 and 7/10 for it's message and the way it's presented, so

5/10

John Landis, known for his cult achievements from the '80s, such as "An American Werewolf in London", "The Blues Brothers", "Twilight Zone: The Movie", "Three Amigos!" and the video for "Thriller" by Michael Jackson, after 20 years, with episode "Deer Woman", returns to genre in which he is the best - a combination of horror and comedy. Not at all scary, but original, interesting and at times hilarious story of a being from Indian mythology, the beautiful girl with the legs and the power of big deer, who seduces men and then tramples them to death. The ending is bit lousy, but overall it's pretty much fun.

7/10

The Absolute End of the World

The owner of the cinema, in debt up to his neck, gets an offer to find a movie "La Fin Absolue du Monde" that is thought to have been destroyed, and in return will be free from financial problems. But the film in question is much more than an ordinary movie, and Carpenter has done a great job to show us this in a gruesome mesmerizing way. One of his best achievements.

8/10

"The Fair Haired Child" is more morbid drama than horror. Here, gore and shockers are put aside to make way to parental love and madness caused by the loss of a child, social anxiety and loneliness, an inner struggle between the urge for survival and love for the other, and romance that is often found where we least expect it. All packed in a sick story about the bloody pact that a married couple makes with a demon in order to revive the dead son. Under the baton of the "weakest" director of the first season, one of the better episodes was created and probably his best film. I especially like the unusual choice of the ending, because it is essentially happy ending, which is very unusual for this genre.

8/10

"Sick Girl" is a combination of morbid romantic comedy and the over-the-top B horror, in the Henenlotter style. Angela Bettis plays the entomologist, a lonely and insecure lesbian whose apartment is full of pet insects. She looks like she fell out of the forties, and her voice and the way she talks were terribly annoying to me. She meets Misty Falls, beautiful but strange and mysterious girl, played by Erin Brown, to fans of lesbian fantasy soft-porn better known as Misty Mundae. Just google her filmography and everything will be clear. The two of them become a couple and start living together. At the same time, Angela receives an anonymous shipment with an unknown species of insect. This creature escapes from its box and starts a series of unfortunate events which, although fun, are a sorry excuse for the horror genre. Also, there is no chemistry between the actresses, or at least I have not felt it. The episode was originally intended for Roger Corman and if he weren't replaced by Lucky McKee it might be better. This way it's neither scary, nor funny, nor romantic. The word which, in my opinion, best describes this episode is "awkward".

5/10

When two fight, the third benefit

The bus with several passengers breaks down in the middle of nowhere and passengers have three options available: they can stay on the bus and wait for help, hitchhike further or go on foot. Of course, they can not agree and they separate, in order to become an easy prey for a serial killer. This darkly humorous psychological horror takes the classic horror cliche, but it enriches the story by introducing yet another serial killer, and their mutual struggle for the same victims. These two psychopaths are completely different personalities with opposing methods, through which the director Larry Cohen tried to embody opposing political parties in America, and to make a satire of serial killers cliches and horror cliches in general. The idea is phenomenal, as are the twists and surprises that follow, but it isn't elaborated enough and leaves the impression of a shoddy job. The story has a potential for a ten, but unfortunately, this realization does not deserve more than

7/10

"Haeckel's Tale" takes place in the XIX century, which contributes to the dark and gloomy atmosphere, but the story itself is very slow and without tension, and twist is unsatisfying. It left me with the impression of a dark fairy tale more than horror. Film culminates in one of the most bizarre sex scene I've ever seen and, if for nothing else, it's worth watching this episode. Trust me, you won't forget it any time soon.

6/10

Even if the story doesn't take place in Japan, it is clear at first glance that this is a Japanese director. Takashi Miike did an excellent job. The film is slow and gradually brings you into the story, building an extremely strong atmosphere. On the visual side it is perhaps the best episode so far, and the scenes of violence will freeze the blood in your veins. But it seems to me that the scriptwriters did not devise the whole story in time, and the end gives the impression of over-the-top improvisation, which brings this horror drama to the edge of absurd comedy, similar to Henenlotter's B horrors. That's why I can not go over

7/10

Complete failure

Opening episode of the second season has an interesting premise, the atmosphere of mystery and tension gradually rise promising an excellent horror film, and then collapse into one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. Within the genre, it might be able to pass with a five out of ten, but the ending is unforgivable. Instead of some sort of resolution, an unexpected twist or anything meaningful, the film ends as an episode of the regular TV series. At the most exciting moment movie stops and closing credits begin, and to see how the story ends you have to wait for the next episode. Only this is not a regular show and there won't be the next episode. Idiocy.

3/10

Landis and Wendt pulled it off nicely

Landis adheres to what he is good at, so he made a relaxed and entertaining episode without mystery or tension. The dark secret of the main character is revealed in the first scene, and the whole episode is bright and black-humorously cheerful, giving the impression of sitcom rather than horror. However, an unexpected twist turns it into a horror thriller. Although it is not scary, direction, twist and especially George Wendt made this episode one of the better in the series.

7/10

The V stands for ghouls

This episode has a low ratings and is predominantly bashed in reviews, but I like it. I like that it refuses to blindly hold onto the vampire mythos and, unlike most of the vampire films and series that romanticize them, this film presents them in a completely different light, more realistic and more convincing. If the vampires really existed, I believe that they would be much closer to this view than any other I had the opportunity to see before. The story is more or less a classic horror cliché, but the acting and directing are excellent and the atmosphere in the first part of the film is very dark and tense. In the second part, tense anticipation is replaced by explicit horror scenes, well-measured to achieve a horror effect, but to avoid sliding from the domain of a terrifying into plain stupid. If they were able to keep it straight to the very end, this would be a top-notch episode, but unfortunately they slipped and made a couple of unforgivable mistakes. Although the vampires in this film, apart from the fact that they are living dead, do not feature supernatural qualities - there is no superhuman strength and speed, no fangs or immediate recovery from injuries, they are not beautiful and seductive, and with their appearance and the way they feed they more resemble ghouls than the vampires we are accustomed to - the allergy to garlic and spontaneous combustion in the sunlight do not fit into this picture and irreversibly destroy the credibility of the story. And there is also the end that resolves the situation in a way that is more appropriate or a drama than a horror. However, the overall impression is positive and I think that this episode is worth a look.

7/10

Not the kind of horror we are used to, but horror whatsoever

A man whose hearing, after losing his son, becomes so sensitive that he can hear absolutely everything. From day to day, the noise that surrounds him is becoming more and more intolerable, until eventually it drives him to a complete madness. There are no supernatural beings, explicit violence or gore in this film, but it's the critique of modern society packed in the individual drama, so real and horrible that this episode can rightly be classified into a horror genre.

7/10

A pregnant girl arrives at the abortion clinic and insists that her pregnancy is terminated immediately. Soon after arrives her pro-life father, a religious fanatic, accompanied by her older brothers, and attacks the clinic to save his grandchild. The film begins as a redneck drama, but soon turns into a supernatural horror, in John Carpenter's recognizable style. A good story, convincing atmosphere, striking music and decent acting, and if they just refrained from explicitly portraying the "baby" and her father, this would be a solid seven. But in the end they just had to ruin it with well-done, but completely ridiculous and unconvincing monsters and replace eerie tension with "wtf is this crap" moment.

5,5/10

A film, which tries to cover complete lack of at least decent plot with plenty of gore, so extremely disgusting that it will turn your stomach inside out. But apart from explicit butchery and leading actress, who is almost completely naked almost all the time, this movie has nothing to offer. Stupid, even within the genre which by default does not rely on a quality of a story. Lack of good story could be easily forgiven to a horror flick, but this one also lack any tension, suspension, fright or good acting. It has nothing but tons of blood.

5/10

After "Homecoming", barely mediocre episode of the first season, Joe Dante has big comeback in the second. Although "The Screwfly Solution" is a very disturbing movie with occasional gore, this is more SF drama than horror. Through the story of the virus epidemic, which turns sexual drive among men into an urge to exterminate the women, this film deals with topics such as misogyny, radical Islam, radical Christianity, domestic violence, global warming, bird flu, and the question of whether the human race is a parasite that the Earth should be freed of. Although you will not be frightened and forced to watch it through your fingers, the film maintains a decent level of tension and leaves a much deeper sense of fear and nausea than classical horror, as it deals with topics that we face on a daily basis in reality, and which, at least at the subconscious level, keep us in constant fear.

8/10

Near the end of the episode, there's a visually very impressive SF scene, which I can not describe without spoilers, but which is really shame to miss. And there's also Brandon from "Beverly Hills 90210" in the main male role. Watch it, you won't be disappointed.

Stephen King once said: "I have seen the future of horror... and his name is Clive Barker." Barker is one of my favorite authors, not only within the horror genre, but in general, and I personally prefer his dark fantasy over his classic horror stories. Perhaps that's why my experience of this episode is so much different from the reaction of the majority. After a decent, but within Barker's opus disappointing, episode "Haeckel's Tale", directed by John McNaughton, the second season brings us a beautiful and atmospheric "Valerie on the Stairs". I assume that bad reactions to this film come from fans who identify Barker with "Hellraiser" franchise, as well as those who just do not like him, but I think that fans of "Weaveworld", "The Thief of Always" and even "Books of Blood" will be pleasantly surprised by this episode, if not thrilled as I am.

I think Mick Garris successfully transmitted the magic atmosphere of Barker's text to small screens and this is one of the few episodes that hypnotized me. Photography and lighting are great, and the performance is convincing. Clare Grant will make you associate ghosts with falling in love instead of rattling chains in the attic, Christopher Lloyd was born for this kind of roles, and a pleasant surprise is Tony Todd, known to Barker's fans for leading role in "Candyman". Nearing the end, episode becomes a little silly and naive, but it's saved by excellent metaphorical ending, with a twist that, although quite predictable, fits the story perfectly. To me, this is the best episode so far.

9/10

Shortly after being caught in adultery, dentist experience a car accident from which he comes out almost unscathed, while his wife ends up in a coma with minimal chances of recovery. While in hospital, wife dies several times and doctors revive her, but every time while in a state of clinical death, her spirit uses the opportunity to take revenge on the people which she considers guilty for her situation.

At first seemingly uninteresting, this episode hides some pleasant surprises, in the form of good acting, a few extremely erotic scenes and several great plot twists that I did not expect. I especially liked the end, which is both creepy and very witty in dark humorous way. I have only one objection. I think that the episode would be more effective as a psychological horror, where instead of the most severely disfigured woman and explicit violence, the victims are waiting in suspense to be attacked by her invisible spirit. I would get rid of the most of the gore and keep just the bathtub scene and the last scene with mistress.

7,5/10

My brain hurts

I have three more films left until the end of the "Masters of Horror", but I think it's safe to say that this is the worst episode of the series. I didn't give up watching and I didn't have to struggle to endure, but I didn't enjoy either... not a bit. The story is extremely stupid, uninteresting, undeveloped, full of holes and illogicality, and above all unoriginal. It was not literally stolen from King, but it reminds of "It" so much that coincidence is excluded as an option. The group of kids, led by cruel bully, pulls a practical joke on mentally challenged clown who sells ice cream, and they accidentally kill him. Decades later, he's back from the grave and uses their children to get even. Atmosphere is very King-ish and, if movie wasn't so repetitive, it could have been terrifying, but because the clown kills his victims one by one in exactly the same way the only effect this movie leaves is boredom. I'm terrified of the clowns and I watched this alone, at night, in dark, and it didn't cause me even the slightest goosebumps. "We All Scream for Ice Cream" is too stupid and lousy to be scary and not stupid or bad enough to be "so bad it's good" kind of fun. The most terrifying thing about this movie is the feeling that it will never end.

3/10

Stuart Gordon, to horror fans known for adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft (Re-Animator, From Beyond, Castle Freak, Dagon, and second episode of this show), this time goes for adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat". This episode is very faithful to both the original material and the real life of the famous writer, and it is a real refresh in a series that has become quite monotonous. The film follows Poe trying to write a new story, while at the same time cares about his wife suffering from tuberculosis and struggles with poverty and alcoholism. The story is chaotic and confusing, but very atmospheric, and Jeffrey Combs perfectly plays the role of an alcoholic who sinks deeper and deeper into madness. Sepia colors greatly contribute to the dark atmosphere. The only thing standing out from sepia is color of blood and it makes gore scenes extremely striking. The piano scene is perhaps the best I've seen in this series. Together with the adaptation of "Dreams in the Witch-House" by H.P. Lovecraft, also directed by Stuart Gordon, "The Black Cat" is, in my opinion, the highlight of "Masters of Horror" and makes Stuart Gordon the most successful director of the series.

8/10

The reviews for this episode are so bad and there are so many of them, that I was barely waiting for it to come to the table. I was eager to finally see something that is so bad to cause such a massive bashing. I experienced a double disappointment. It was neither awesome, nor bad enough to be funny. The idea is phenomenal and at the beginning the episode was developing greatly, so about half way through I rated it nine. All the time I was expecting some genius plot twist, but it didn't happen. Episode is totally straightforward, simple and without any surprises and twists, and ending is, although I understand quite witty political satire, simply lousy executed. "The Washingtonians" had the potential to be one of the best in the series, but ultimately it suffered a complete fiasco and turned out to be a total mediocrity. However, if only because of the idea that George Washington was a monstrous cannibal, it's worth a look.

6/10