Masters of Horror (TV Series) Family (2006) User Reviews

Landis proves he is one of the "Family"...

[Bladerunner• · 8/10 · 6 November 2006]

The second season of Masters of Horror (MOH) got off to a rocky start with The Damned Thing, but Landis puts it squarely back on track with Family, a bright and cheery decent into the mind of a madman.

George Wendt is picture perfect as the neighbor we all wish we had, or at least we think we would like to have. His social skills are spot on, and gone is any trace of the irascible Norm from Cheers. Some might begrudge the obvious mud slinging to all things Republican or Religious Right, but we can forgive those little jabs as simply Landis playing against type.

David and Celia are moving in next door to Harold (Wendt) and all seems like suburban heaven, but something isn't as it seems with Harold. As the new neighbors get to know one another, Harold develops a crush on Celia. It all seems harmless until something happens that gives Harold the opening he was looking for. To give anymore away would be criminal.

The thing that makes this entry so delicious is the environment that Landis creates to unfold this little horror/comedy. He is truly a "master" of the black comedy, as is more than evident in the much lauded American Werewolf in London. As he did in last year's Deer Woman, Landis shows his acute savvy at creating believable characters and surroundings that allow the audience to really hook in. It is this gift which gives his work such power and impact. In too many horror films the circumstances are so alien it is difficult for the audience to identify, but in Landis' work you feel right at home just before the hammer strikes your skull. The darker episodes in MOH have their appeal, but with Landis' entries there is a strange fulfillment that comes after viewing that is difficult to describe. It is as if you are happy that you have escaped the fate of the characters, the connection is that good.

With Family, Masters of Horror once again lives up to its name. Lets hope the rest of the "family" does as well this season.

Gives New Meaning to the concept of "FAMILY" Values

[cchase · 8/10 · 11 November 2006]

What's THIS??? Could it possibly be that John Landis has finally "got his groove back"??? I've been awaiting the debut of MOH'S second season with much fear and trembling...and not in a good way. Season One was definitely more "misses" than "hits", and quite a few of the same directors have been invited back for encores, though with a few of them I can't possibly understand why.

But in Landis' case, a return is actually a good thing. I really enjoyed his Season One entry, "DEER WOMAN", and I was hoping he would do as well this time around. I'm happy to report that he doesn't disappoint.

His Season Two effort, "FAMILY", written by Brent Hanley (who scripted the excellent Bill Paxton chiller "FRAILTY"), bids us return again to the gorgeous suburbs that have become so menacingly familiar through "BLUE VELVET", "AMERICAN BEAUTY" and even "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES." The gleaming white picket fences, tree-lined streets and trim ranch-style houses have been exposed as repositories of every kind of dastardly debauchery and death, and this story promises more of the same. With a wry twist, of course.

Harold Thompson ("CHEERS" staple George Wendt) meets cute with his new neighbors, thanks to an accident involving his brick mailbox. Young and cute couple David and Celia (Matt Keeslar and Meredith Monroe) have moved into the neighborhood to start a new life after the untimely death of their first child. On the surface, everything seems hunky-dory as Harold and his new neighbors become fast friends. But everyone has secrets they hide, and the people next-door or across the street from you are never quite whom they tell you they are...as Harold's new neighbors are about to discover...

Since this story is one of those classic horror archetypes that doesn't seem to have anything new or shocking to offer, the "Tales From The Crypt"-style ending still comes as a nicely nasty surprise. And since all of the best comedians and comic actors have a dangerously manic edge to them anyway, it's nice to see Landis letting Wendt discover his "inner Norman Bates" here. Adding welcome touches of black humor is Landis' favorite device: mixing the skewed fantasies of a lead character with "real" life, so we get hysterical glimpses of Harold's twisted, wish-fulfillment yearnings while he tries to keep his composure in front of his new friends. (The dinner scene is especially hilarious.) For their part, Keeslar and Monroe play the young couple beautifully, and it's their chemistry and performance together that helps "sell" the later scenes and the "surprise" ending, which I promise you won't see coming...

I've only seen two episodes of this season's offerings so far: this one and Tobe Hooper's "THE DAMNED THING", and of the two, I'd feel a lot better recommending a visit to this "FAMILY"...

Landis dishes out an unlikely, unsuspecting surprise

[Jonny_Numb · 7/10 · 7 July 2007]

'Family' is simply one of the most clever and satisfying scripts to be filmed as part of the "Masters of Horror" anthology; it meets an unlikely (yet wonderful) match in John Landis, well-known for his comedic efforts, but adopting a proper tone of suburban abnormality here. Harold (George Wendt, who has been showing an effectively darker side in the recent works of Stuart Gordon) plays a seemingly contented suburbanite with a proclivity toward abducting random strangers, melting their skin with acid, and making a skeletal 'family' for his happy home. With the arrival of Celia (Meredith Monroe) and David (Matt Keeslar), a married couple going through a difficult spot, Wendt becomes the good-natured confidant whose obsession with Celia grows to a disturbing degree. While Monroe and Keeslar provide just the right amount of intended WASPy blandness, it is Wendt who performs an impressive balancing act between neighborly warmth and psychosis. His performance alone would merit a view, but Landis's direction and Brent Hanley's clever (and not cheating) script make 'Family' a series high point.

The Best Episode of Season 2

[hbdale309 · 7/10 · 4 November 2006]

Stars George Wendt from "Cheers" as the ordinary neighbor with a secret. A young couple move into town to start a new. He is an ER doctor and she is an investigative reporter. Their only child recently passed away; and they are trying to get back to normal and prepare to have another child and a fresh start. In the meantime they develop a friendship with the "ordinary bachelor" that lives next door(George Wendt). What they don't know might kill them. Or is it the other way around? This episode is the best of season 2 (out of the two season 2 episodes shown so far on Showtime). It's creepy, gruesome and ultimately horrifying with a great twist to it all. It's a little slow with the story dragging at times, but it's definitely worth watching. 7/10

The Best of BOTH Seasons

[tomcon21 · 10/10 · 6 January 2007]

This episode of MOH was both creepy and thrilling at the same time. The story involves a young couple who has just moved into a nice house in the suburbs. Their next-door neighbor (George Wendt) is a quiet, reserved gentleman with a rather disturbing hobby. I thought I knew where it was going until the last 5 minutes-- what a plot twist! For my money, this was the most complete, well-told, and well-written installment of the MOH series. It didn't feel too short or too long; the length was perfect for the story. While other installments have been unfocused or under-developed, this one was captivating all the way through. Most of the other episodes of this series pale in comparison. Exceptions are: Jenifer and Dreams in the Witch-House, which are my favorites, along with Family.

Pretty funny

[BatmanLovesRubber · 7/10 · 27 November 2006]

I watched this On Demand the other day when I couldn't get to sleep. I loved George Wendt in "House" (the horror movie from the 80's, not the Hugh Laurie TV show) and thought he would fit well in the world of MOH. And, he did. This is the story of a man (Wendt) who kidnaps and kills people, melting them down to bare bones and dressing them up as his "family." The creepy thing is that he imagines the "family" in his house, watching TV together, cooking dinner and of course fighting with his wife. A young couple moves in down the block and is completely oblivious to his antics. I'll stop there, because the ending certainly puts a different perspective on it. The acting is horrendous, in a good way. It's the way acting should be in a horror flick. The ending is also horrendous, not so much in a good way. It's pretty stupid honestly, but this is definitely worth watching if you're a fan of horror movies.

Greatest moment: As George Wendt watches the young couple from his upstairs window, we hear him humming "The hip bone's connected to the leg bone..."

John Landis does it again; Deer Woman with more horror

[LoneWolfAndCub · 9/10 · 29 May 2007]

This is the first episode I've seen from Season 2 and I must say I am very impressed. Considering the amount of flak Season 2 was receiving I was considering just passing them by but I gave in to temptation and I'm glad I did. John Landis yet again proves he is definitely one of the Masters of Horror with "Family." Like with "Deer Woman," Landis blends horror and comedy flawlessly but with this one he adds a little more horror than comedy. The script is very well written, the acting is great and there is a good amount of gore to satisfy gorehounds.

Harold (George Wendt) seems like a peaceful, friendly enough neighbour but in reality he is a murderous psychopath who has his eyes set on his new neighbour Celia (Meredith Monroe) who has just moved in with her husband David (Matt Keeslar, of Scream 3 fame).

As I said before the acting in this is great. George Wendt gives a very funny performance as the Psycho neighbour and Meredith Monroe and Matt Keeslar are great as the married couple. The script is very witty and funny but there are plenty of odd, disturbing bits to make you shiver or squirm in disgust.

Overall a pleasant start to Season 2. I'm hoping for the rest of them to be as good as this.

4½/5

John Landis Delivers Another Comedic Horror Specialty

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 21 January 2007]

Harold (George Wendt) likes collecting family members, in the most literal way. When two new neighbors move in next door, he becomes obsessively attracted to the wife (Meredith Monroe). Will he be able to collect her, will she be able to escape?

Heck, with this type of show, you never know what twists and turns will happen! This episode comes to us from John Landis, the director of "Deer Woman", which I will freely admit was probably my favorite episode from Season One. As far as season two goes, this episode holds up nicely, too. I have seen people say some negative things about this one, but I think it all depends on what you are looking for in the show. I like the healthy dose of comedy that Landis brings to the table. He was the genius behind "Animal House", after all.

The writer happens to be Brent Hanley, best known for writing "Frailty", a respectable film in its own right. How he went from that one to this one is unknown, but a nice change. Hanley appears to be somewhat dynamic and I think we can expect more from him in the future.

The main character of this episode is obviously the one played by George Wendt. Some other reviewer complained they could not see him as anything other than Norm from "Cheers". I did not have that problem. Not only do I not really like "Cheers" ("Becker" is better) but this is not Wendt's first time doing comedic horror. I guess that reviewer never watched the "House" movies... I think he is great. Adds an element I cannot pinpoint, but I would love to see him in many more films.

The references were nice, such as the photographs of Dick Cheney and George Bush. Not sure how to interpret that, but I think anyone who is as demented as Wendt's character should have political figures in his home. The deer mounted on the wall was a good reference to "Deer Woman" (at least that is how I took it). And the Weekly World News with Batboy -- priceless.

Meredith Monroe (best known as Andie McPhee from "Dawson's Creek") played a great neighbor. She still had a lot of McPhee in her, but was different, as well. Some of the dialogue was, um, things you would never hear from McPhee and I was not sure how to respond (kind of like when you hear about Bob Saget giving oral pleasure for crack cocaine). That is something I am going to have to make my friend Kristy watch.

A line that really got me was about Jay Leno at the supermarket, because I have an ex-girlfriend who moved to North Hollywood and one of the first celebrities she saw was Jay Leno... in the parking lot at a supermarket. I guess maybe this is something he is known for? Anyway, back to the episode: I really enjoyed it. The gore is fairly light, the humor is really where it is at. If you liked "Deer Woman", you will love this. The only thing I could complain about is a part where they used computer effect to show how acid works rather than use real acid (or something similar). But, you know, it seemed to fit into the cheesiness, so I have no problem with it. Still not the greatest, but better than the stuff I've been seeing.

I suppose I am also curious why this was set in Wisconsin. The film was shot in British Columbia, but they were careful about making the film look authentic -- Wisconsin license plates and at least one Wisconsin flag. Seems to me like it would have been easier just to not show license plates or flags at all and keep the setting ambiguous. But, maybe I missed something.

Serial Killing in Suburbia

[BaronBl00d · 8/10 · 21 November 2010]

John Landis has an ability to mix comedic elements and horrific ones just about as well as anyone can. Masters of Horror episode "Family" is a great mix of the two as George Wendt plays Harold. Harold is a mild-mannered man who you might find in any neighborhood, yet he enjoys killing strangers, melting their skins off with acid, reconfiguring their bones back together, then dressing them and putting them in his "family" room where he reads the paper and imagines they are his wife, his daughter, his father, etc... The scenes with the killings are both repulsive and darkly funny. It is hard to get that effect. Landis deserves much of the credit for it is something he has always done fairly well, but credit must also go to writer Brent Hanley and George Wendt who carries this off rather well. The suburban neighborhood, the music, the scene selections are all wonderfully executed. Trouble finds its way to Harold as a couple move into the next house. Matt Keeslar and sexy Meredith Monroe play them faultlessly. Harold has visions of real people mixed with the reality of what he has done. These imaginative episodes also pop up when he visits living people, and no scene is better to show what can be done(and to what lengths one can go on cable(Showtime) like the dining room scene where Wendt imagines Monroe saying the filthiest(yet intriguing) things possible. The ending is perfect. I was totally sold on this episode. Bravo to the series and a shout out to Mick Garris.

Fun horror twist

[xredgarnetx · 7/10 · 19 January 2008]

John Landis has a go at the popular Showtime series, MASTERS OF HORROR, with a nasty little number about a lonely man (George Wendt of CHEERS fame) who kills folks and makes a family out of them -- after first stripping the flesh off their bones. A young couple moves in next door, and Wendt soon has his sights set on the wife, a sad little blonde who has lost her only child to cancer. The husband, a surgeon, abruptly disappears one day, leaving the despairing wife wide open to suggestion. The ending is not what you'd expect. And the episode is very funny when it is not being gory. It may remind some of a modern TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE story.

One of the best hours of horror you'll likely see

[bob_meg · 9/10 · 29 December 2008]

Once in a while, you come across a movie with a script so neat, tight, and brilliantly constructed, that you sit back after it's over and say "damn, I wish I'd thought of that." "Family" is one of those (credit to writer Brent Hanley).

Starting out fairly tame, this Masters of Horror entry sets up a familiar scenario (I figure this isn't a spoiler since it's depicted on the DVD cover): Wacko Harold (George Wendt) spends his time selecting, stalking, murdering, and dissolving victims in his basement who will soon take up permanent residence with him as part of his dream/nightmare family. We've all seen this before; so far, so predictable. But with the arrival of a young couple a few doors down (Meredith Monroe and Matt Keeslar), complications ensue.

Wendt is perfectly cast here, carrying off his public persona with a quiet, authentic aw-shucks charm, he seems on the surface to be anyone's ideal neighbor. He can also turn on a dime into a raving psycho with equal ease. Keeslar and Monroe likewise keep things very low-key, believable and natural --- a bonus in any horror movie when the dialogue in between scares can tend to be rather stiff.

I frankly haven't seen much of Landis' work since the '80s, but have always admired his sense of pace and timing, as well as his ability to get maximum-energy performances from his actors, and I'm thrilled to say he hasn't lost his touch. He needs more good material like "Family."

Landis and Wendt pulled it off nicely

[Bored_Dragon · 7/10 · 29 April 2018]

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

Masters of Horror: Family (2006)

[Was-it-All-a-Dream · 4/10 · 5 May 2009]

John Landis is one of my all-time favorite directors in the horror genre. Though he has worked very infrequently in it over the course of his nearly 40-year career, he's churned out two of my favorite features in the genre. As well as Michael Jackson's legendary music video "Thriller," featuring the famous dancing zombies which also hunt a girl down, chasing her into a creepy old abandoned, dilapidated house, busting through the walls as she screams. They're getting closer and closer, until... That absolutely terrified me as a kid and definitely kept me awake a few minutes longer on several nights. Maybe that's one reason zombie films have always fascinated me so. Maybe that's another reason that I fell in love with Landis's Innocent Blood and An American Werewolf in London when I saw them on video as a teenager. Because, although they are a vampire and a werewolf film respectively, they both not only feature life after death, but people living in their bodies after they've begun to decay. This shows that Landis always used to take the genre seriously. He developed characters you cared about, put them in insane situations, let the horror slowly build, and allowed for large bursts of intensity that were confusing and eventful at the same time. He was truly the greatest action-horror hybrid director there ever was, which is surprising given that he was usually a director of comedies. He let the budget go wild, yet he never neglected characterization.

Then at some point, his career in everything kind of fizzled out. He started making documentaries and independent films- only sporadically. He completely and effectively disappeared from Hollywood altogether. Yet, when his friend Mick Garris asked him if he wanted to be part of the Masters of Horror lineup, he leaped at the chance and has been one of the only directors to, after sticking with the series for 2 entries, move onto the next version of it after Showtime cancelled it and NBC re-imagined it as Fear Itself. I don't want to think he was desperate for the work. His Hollywood studio films were almost all so successful and he directed so many of them, he must still have plenty of money. But, I don't assume he was ever desperate, the same as I won't assume any more about directors' wealth. I might have thought the same thing about John Carpenter, only to hear that he actually isn't doing all that well, financially, and not only had his 1978 masterpiece Halloween raped in the remake process by a lesser director, but didn't get paid for it either. Not like Wes Craven is undoubtedly being paid by the bucketful for the constant stream of remakes of his films.

The Masters of Horror series really sounds like an incredible chance to bring horror directors back to their roots and give them the opportunity to make their kind of horror their way. But it's really not all that attractive to the fans, because the arrangement to get the projects (which are all interesting on paper) made is not fair to people like me. The problem I doubt is in the budgetary restrictions, because the "episodes" (they're supposed to be more like films than TV show episodes) all look stylish and professional, some of them are so good-looking that they threw me back in my chair on first viewing (it was more than I could ever have imagined in some instances). The problem is really an issue of time. One of the directors said in an interview that they could actually make a full feature film had they been given four weeks instead of two to complete the films. And harsher still, with the set up of production shooting - a block system where all twelve North American directed features shoot one after another - each director was locked into that two weeks. If you don't shoot all your scenes by the tenth day, you're out of luck. This resulted in horribly rushed shooting for everyone involved. Which also means- the gore looks cheaper, the acting jobs are less powerful, and if the scripts aren't great then you're stuck with underwhelming material.

All of these things obviously affected John Landis's Family entry. The acting is mostly very wobbly, the script is incredibly dull, the gore is computer generated- so at best it looks like a video game graphic, the music score is lifeless and clichéd, the blood looks like neon Kool Aid, and the entire thing is about as scary as an episode of Blue's Clues. I could blame this on the writer, Brent Hanley. He's a nice guy. But be that as it may, not only is he the mind behind 2002's offensively terrible Frailty, he's also more concerned with M. Night Shyamalan-type plot twists than he is about true observational horror. I would enjoy a good twist as much as the next person if it weren't always about how "clever" or "shocking" the twist itself is. What it leads up to must be horrific as well. Rather, it's too sterile and bland. Also, Family fancies itself as a cross between what has become deemed a "torture" horror film and Alfred Hitchcock's lethargic, frightless psychological thrillers. In fact, one of the characters uses the term "set up" in the final scene, which is all-encompassing of the flaws of this piece. If this "whole thing" was a set up, shouldn't it have led up to something?

John Landis as director does however inject some life into this. By twisting the humorous side to the convention of having the abductor character imagining people speaking when they actually aren't, reflecting what's buried inside the man's subconscious. A scene where teenage girls say vulgar things is not surprising. But an uncomfortably romantic sequence between him and an intended victim shows a little Dream On pizazz when he not only imagines her saying things she actually isn't, but then beginning to make huge physical gestures toward him.

Pretty good

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 11 November 2006]

George Wendt plays a seemingly normal man who lives with his wife, daughter and mother. Unfortunately they're all dead--skeletons dressed up in clothes. Then a nice normal couple movie in across the street and things get weird...

A comedy (sort of) with horrific undertones. It's strange (but you could probably tell that from my plot synopsis) and takes twists and turns that you don't see coming. It's well-acted and well-directed. One problem though--it's not really scary. For being in a show like "Masters of Horror" you would except something more horrific. There's blood and guts here but that doesn't make it horror. So--within its limits--not bad. Director John Landis must have been having an off day when he did this. I DO give him credit for not throwing in pointless female nudity (which he seems to enjoy doing).

MoH: Family

[darkserafinus · 9/10 · 6 November 2015]

If you're looking for a scary, bloody, upsetting horror, this is not the right MoH episode. The colors, the art direction and the acting reminded me of some 80s and 90s horror TV shows such as "Tales from the Crypt" and "Goosebumps", and George Wendt (playing the schizophrenic killer) looks like a John Goodman pupil; and surely that is not creepy.

As many said before me, this episode is more of a black comedy than an horror and I believe that this is what you should expect from John Landis. The scene where the main character gets to now his new neighbors reminded me of "Neighbors" and this clashes with the very first scene where he is melting "granpa" with acid.

The episode has a lot of references to "Psycho": the dressed skeletons, the voices inside Wendt's head, and the scene where Meredith Monroe finds the dead bodies. Having more than one skeleton allows John Landis to better analyze the schizophrenia (as in "Identity" but much, much better) of the main character and to not put him in a submission position towards old fears. His mistake was not to listen to his "corpse bride"'s advice and so he fell into the neighbors' trap.

When they catch and torture him we learn two things: vengeance is a dish served cold and good people turn out to be worse than (or at least as bad as) a mentally ill person.

Family could have been an average comedy/horror movie but the 60 minutes length gave it a cool rhythm and no downtimes (even though the plot is not so original). Vote: 9/10.

Another solid Landis entry

[ODDBear · 7/10 · 21 October 2008]

Exactly why John Landis is credited as a "Master of Horror" is somewhat beyond me but there's no denying that he makes good films. He made the most entertaining Season 1 episode with "Deer Woman" and here he makes another solid entry in the uneven horror series.

George Wendt, of "Cheers" fame, is rock solid as the less-than-stable bachelor with a creepy family, of sorts. It's best going into these "Maters of Horror" episodes knowing as little as possible.

This episode relies entirely on George Wendt. He nails it to a tee and plays a very troubled character, who can seem very normal and likable, very well.

There's little gore to speak of here but what there is is done well. Also, the surprise twist really came from behind. Maybe I'm just a tad dense at times but I didn't see it coming.

"Family" isn't one of the best from the series but it's a solid diversion for a bit less than an hour, although I felt it was a bit stretched.

A wickedly funny black comedy hoot

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 12 December 2007]

Seemingly nice and mild-mannered suburbanite bachelor Harold Thompson (splendidly played with jolly aplomb by George Wendt) just wants to have the perfect family and will do anything to get it, including and especially murder. Lovely young Celia Fuller (an appealing performance by the gorgeous Meredith Monroe0 and her husband David (a solid Matt Keeslar) move in next door. Harold singles out Celia as his next intended victim. Director John Landis, working from a wickedly clever and funny script by Brent Haley, deftly creates a pleasant small town world of cozy and polite normality that's right out of a corny sitcom. This in turn makes the more horrific elements that much more potent and jarring. The story is rife with nifty macabre touches; Harold merrily listening to gospel music while assembling the skeletal remains of his victims in particular rates as a real hoot to watch. Moreover, the subtext about the severely messed-up insanity lurking underneath the rosy sweet surface of suburbia really hits home (pun intended). The surprise twist ending is a total doozy. Jon Joffin's bright, pretty cinematography and Peter Bernstein's alternately jaunty and shivery score are both on the money excellent and effective. Best of all, George Wendt's remarkable portrayal of Harold offers a truly memorable psycho character who hides his genuine lethal and twisted nature behind a charming teddy bear veneer. A total treat.

more black comedy then horror

[trashgang · 7/10 · 5 June 2013]

The strenght of the Masters Of Horror series is the fact that it can go from black comedy to ultra violence or a pure gorefest. This entry made by John Landis is one that can be watched by the whole family. There is no gore to spot or nudity and it never really becomes frightening.

George Wendt (Harold) takes the main lead as the ultra friendly neighbour but of course he's got a dark side. he is in fact a murderer and takes the flesh from his victims so he can add the skeletons in his house as family. When the new neighbours move in, David and Celia, Harold develops a crush on Celia. He wants her bones to give it a place in his house. But are the new neighbours there by coincidence?

Some parts are funny and the opening combined with the score is sublime. Okay, it's full CGI but it works. It's a pretty funny episode with some hilarious situations but to say it's horror that would be overestimated. It's not that bad at all but I can understand that the lovers of for example PELTS will turn this off. Family could have been a story for the Tales From The Crypt series.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 1/5

Family

[Scarecrow-88 · 8/10 · 5 May 2007]

Harold(George Wendt, just simply perfectly cast), despite that kind, gentle exterior, is not the suburban neighbor he might seem to be. Nope, he actually is quite loony and has an entire family(..almost)of skeletons in a room upstairs. He sees them, however, as real, breathing, talking people conversing with one another as any family would. Within his loneliness, a dementia has set in where molding the perfect family means creating one fictitiously..through submission, death, and the eventual acidification where the corpse is melted down and dried of any skin or body parts. We see his grisly work at the opening as Landis takes us through Harold's entire house with his slick camera-work which seems to look like one long take/trip until we meet an old man in a pan as his body gets acid poured over him. We see the body melt away with merely the skull showing as Harold sees about din-din. We see Harold converse with his fake wife over mundane manners as the young daughter(..kind of makes you cringe, if you think about it much)watches cartoons. There's just something really warped about a scene where a man moves the skeleton of a young girl because he's afraid if she is too close to the television it will harm her eyes.

Anyway, a new squeaky clean couple moves in across the road and Harold takes notice. David(Matt Keeslar)is an ER doctor and Celia(Meredith Monroe)is an investigator and they introduce themselves after an unfortunate accident one night. That night was where David had a little too much wine and slammed into Harold's massive brick-mortared mailbox(it reveals that many skulls and bones are buried within, yet it APPEARS that neither David or Celia notices). After introductions,(..in typically naughty Landis perverted fashion)Harold takes an interest in Celia and imagines her talking all sexually explicit and dirty to him. She really isn't, but this installment plays with the fact that Harold imagines and hears what he wishes because the man is just flat-out bonkers. So, Harold decides he wishes for Celia to join his family, which isn't a comfort to his wife. Another warped idea..debating whether or not he's thinking about lustful thoughts about Celia to a dead adult female skeleton regarding her jealousy! Oh, and when he's out selecting a new victim, they often talk to him regarding why he should choose them! When David surprisingly goes missing, Harold sees an opportunity to move in on Celia. Harold just might be in for a surprise he never saw coming...

Okay, this kind of plot isn't for everyone. Yes, it's quite deranged, but played outrageously tongue-in-cheek for the most part. The writer of this story also penned the terrific script for FRAILTY, so there's a moment of WHAM! that comes at the end where we have to rethink conversations David and Celia had previous to when Harold decides to go for the jugular in desiring his possible new wife. The flick isn't that gory except for the acid-melting scene of gramps at the beginning and when Harold decides to dispatch his current wife with a hammer to the face. It'll probably come down to whether or not you can accept the macabre premise. That John Landis knows how to seep the humor out of anything no matter how terrible a deed one deranged man commits. Yet, the twist exposes the fact that it might be possible for even the sanest people to commit grisly deeds when seeking retribution.

It's Quite a Family... Of Corpses

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 6/10 · 5 February 2009]

John Landis, Master primarily of satirical Horror, contributed a highly entertaining episode to the first season of "Masters of Horror" with "Deer Woman". This first episode by Landis was very entertaining, but not certainly not one of the most memorable episodes in the series, and its most convincing quality was doubtlessly the eponymous Deer Woman played by the incredibly hot Brazilian beauty Cinthia Moura. The protagonist who makes Landis' second entry to the series, "Family" (Season 2, Episode 2) more than worthwhile is not a hot and seductive Native American woman, but the exact opposite, a fat man who lives a typically square, inconspicuous life... apparently. Harold Thompson (greatly played by George Wendt) is an old-fashioned bachelor living in a nice suburban neighborhood. He also has the strange habit of creating his own family - out of the corpses of his murder victims... "Family" is an extremely macabre black comedy rather than a serious Horror film, and comedy is certainly the genre that director Landis is most talented for. Lanis' most famous films are "Blues Brothers" (1980) and "An American Werewolf In London" (1981), the first of which is a pure comedy, the second a satirical Horror film that is very strong on the Comedy part. And "Family" is once again very comical, even though this is definitely the darkest, most morbid and outrageously macabre of Landis' works so far. George Wendt is simply great as the super-psycho in disguise of a square neighbor. Meredith Monroe and Matt Keeslar are not bad as a married couple that moves in next-door to Harold, but it is definitely Wendt who deserves most of the credit for this episode's ingenuity. "Family" is one of the MoH episodes that got the highest rating on IMDb. I personally wouldn't consider it to be one of the best episodes, but it certainly is one of the good ones. This is probably more humorous than it is scary, but the humor is as outrageously morbid and macabre as it gets. Highly recommended to MoH fans.

Great Masters of Horror episode.

[poolandrews · 8/10 · 13 April 2007]

Masters of Horror: Family starts as a nice young couple David (Matt Keeslar) & Celia Fuller (Hayley Guiel) move into a quite suburb of a small American town, at first it seems like an ideal place to live but Harold Thompson (George Wendt) starts to take an unwanted interest in Celia. Harold is a sick individual who lives by twisted logic & he wants to make Celia part of his family...

This Canadian American co-production was episode 2 from season 2 of the Masters of Horror TV series, the second episode to be directed by John Landis after Deer Woman from season 1 I really liked Family. The script by Brent Hanley is a fantastic black comedy horror that makes for highly entertaining & twisted fun. The character's are great especially Harold who is a nut-case but almost a lovable one as all he wants is a family like all of us I suppose, some of the scenes where he imagines people talking to him are very funny & he comes across as a normal person who has messed up values even though in his own mind he thinks he's doing good. There's even a nice twist ending which may take you by surprise, at 60 odd minutes in length it moves along at a fair pace but isn't as action packed as it might have been & if I'm honest it might have made a slightly better 30 minute Tales from the Crypt (1989 - 1996) episode particularly with it's emphasis on dark humour & the twist at the end but it's still a great watch none the less. One of the best Masters of Horror stories as far as I'm concerned & it's as simple & straight forward as that.

Director Landis does a good job here & placing the story within a 'normal' suburban setting makes it feel somewhat close to home in an uneasy way, do you know what your neighbour is up to in their basement? The opening of Family is great as Landis show's us an ordinary neighbourhood until the camera goes for a long unbroken shot from Harold's garden around his house & into his basement where he is pouring acid over a dead body, I think the way this starts out normal but descends into depravity in the matter of seconds is highly effective. This one goes for sharp black comedy rather than out-and-out in your face scares so don't expect many frights. There's some melted bodies, various gory melted flesh covered bones but not too much in the gore here not that it matters because the stories so good.

Technically this is very good with some impressive cinematography not least the aforementioned long unbroken shot at the start, it has good production values & is well made throughout. The acting is good although Wendt stands out as being brilliant in this, he makes this episode as watchable as it is.

Family is easily one of the best Masters of Horror episodes that I have seen & I thought it was great, well worth a watch.

Decent

[Michael_Elliott · 2 March 2008]

Family (2006)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

John Landis returns to do a second episode of Masters of Horror and I had really high expectations since I thought his first one was the best of the series (of what I've seen so far). George Wendt plays a single man who kills people so that he can use their skeletons as members of his family. Soon, a young couple (Matt Keeslar/Meredith Monroe) moves into the house next to his and he plans on taking on a new wife. The first fifty-minutes are no doubt inspired by Psycho and there's even a nice little homage to the films soundtrack. There are some minor laughs but this here really doesn't work as a horror or comedy because it doesn't appear the director knows what he's going for, which is strange to say since we're dealing with Landis. The entire first part of the film I was unclear whether I should be laughing or if I was suppose to be fearing this man. With that in mind, I never really got caught up in the story but there is a twist at the very end, which caught me off guard. Weint is decent in his role but due to the unclear direction it's hard to get a full grip on his performance. Monroe is the real standout here.

ehhh

[wackassnucca · 6/10 · 20 November 2006]

This season of MOH had a great start with Tobe Hoopers entry. It was great. But we're not talking about that one. This is family. Its the story of this old fat dude who seems like a sweetheart but he kills people,bathes them in acid and keeps them as his "family." New neighbors move in and the old fart gets a crush on the lovely young wife. It drags on from there until the big TWIST. omg. I won't tell you the twist because then there's no reason to watch the episode. It tries to be funny but comes up short to Landis's knee-slapper of and entry last year (deer woman). It would've gotten a five but the twist beefs up the score a lil' bit. Yup. let's hope the season picks up from hear.

Season two slows down

[timhayes-1 · 5/10 · 15 November 2006]

After the wow that was the first episode of season two, John Landis delivers "Family". There seems to be a little too much of Hitchcock's Psycho in this one. George Wendt is the crackpot next door who likes to burn the skin and muscle off his victims and keep their skeletons as part of his family. When young couple Meredith Monroe and Matt Keeslar moves in, he begins to develop a crush on th lovely young wife. Wendt is okay as the psycho but I just never really felt him as a threat. He's still Norm. The only thing that saves this episode is a nice little twist ending that somewhat helps this small misstep. Not one of the better episodes.

Family values

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 17 September 2010]

This a bit darker, than the first entry into the "Masters of Horror" series by Landis. In the first season, the "Deer Woman" was more a comedy than horror. But you can still detect the humour that Landis does inject into the whole project. And though the Deer Woman main actors were a great duo, we have a more demented story here, which is apparent from the get go.

Good actors and wickedly funny and disturbing script move along a story that might have a surprise or two for you. Though you might be able to see where it is going, you might not be able to know why it does so. Until you see and hear it of course. And while this might be a bit OTT (it could seem like an overreaction), the last frame is pure genius ...