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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
ghoulish fun, 21 Jun 2007
When "Masters of Horror" came out, reviews seemed to range from "A few interesting ideas, but mostly dull" through to "A mixed bag, but the good stuff is great". I decided to take a risk and buy the whole series at a budget price, and I'm glad I did. I bought both sets mainly cos of 4 directors I esp wanted to watch: Stuart Gordon, John Carpenter, Takashi Miike and Dario Argento. Here's what I made of each piece.
CIGARETTE BURNS (John Carpenter)
This is a dark, brooding piece, occasionally over-talky but still moody. It follows a search for a near-mythical film that apparently drives people insane. It was the first of the DVDs I watched, and even though I had heard how extreme some of the violence was, I was still surprised at just how much it got away with for a TV show. It doesn't quite hold together to the end, when it spirals a little out of Carpenter's control, but otherwise his strongest work in some time.
DREAMS IN THE WITCH-HOUSE (Stuart Gordon)
I love HP Lovecraft, and really enjoyed Gordon's previous Lovecraft adaptations ("Re-animator" and "Dagon"), so I was looking forward to this adaptation of one of Lovecraft's best stories. It's another solid episode, veering with ease from entertaining romp to gruesome chiller and like the rest of the series it genuinely pushes several taboos and shocks the viewer. It didn't include several of the more fantastical descriptions of dimensional travel or the witch's back-story from the original story, but the emphasis on a child in danger was powerful stuff.
INCIDENT ON AND OFF A MOUNTAIN ROAD (Don Coscarelli)
The director of "Phantasm" gives us an intimate chiller that tells two parallel stories: a lone woman's fight against a serial killer in the woods, and flashbacks to her life with a disturbed survivalist husband. The small-scale setting works well for TV, and it was great to see a slasher heroine who fights back (even if she does faint at one point). It's also good to see that a few of her defence strategies backfire - it's more realistic than making her a Ripley-esque kick-ass heroine. The stories mesh neatly together, showing us 2 different kinds of horror. Moon-Face is an effective monster, tho personally muscly guys in rubber monster make-up just don't scare me (I wonder if it was deliberate that he resembles the ex-husband?).
CHOCOLATE (Mick Garris)
The only clunker of the set, this episode was neither dramatic nor scary, but actually became boring and hammy. It started really well with an interesting premise: a guy who creates scents for a living begins to experience the senses of a mysterious woman. Early on this is effective - especially when he catches glimpses of a stranger in his apartment - but the second half slides into boring rubbish and it soon loses its mystery. It's also weird seeing the guy who played the ET kid having sex!
SICK GIRL (Lucky McKee)
This is perhaps my favourite episode so far. It's fun, playful, gross and a creep-out for anyone who doesn't like bugs. Ida, lesbian entymologist falls in love with Misty, a cute, shy girl who she sees every day but has never plucked up the courage to ask out. They go on a date and everything goes well until Misty gets bitten by a mysterious insect that has escaped from Ida's room. Then she begins to change... The performances are wonderful in this episode, especially the two leads. They are quirky, sweet and there is a real romance between them. It's a shame that the box feels the need to salaciously play up the lesbian interest, because this is actually a tender, funny love story, with excellent cinematography.
DEER WOMAN (John Landis)
I thought this episode would be formulaic (police investigate murders, it's a mythical deer-woman, they stop her - it tells you it all on the box), but it was actually a pleasant surprise. "Deer Woman" is a knockabout (in more ways than one) horror-comedy that had me laughing out loud on several occasions. The actress playing the titular creature does have a captivating manner and the "theoretical murder" scenes are a real hoot. It does sorta seem to just stop at the end though, as if they didn't really know how to finish it imaginatively.
HOMECOMING (Joe Dante)
A strong, politically charged film, this must have been hard to swallow for American audiences. It's election time, and dead servicemen are returning to life as zombies to protest against an unjust war - by voting. With zombies locked up in orange Guantanemo-style outfits, this isn't subtle but it is a powerful, emotionally charged and often drily funny story.
Every disc comes loaded with extras - some commentaries, making ofs, interviews, etc. Some of these get a bit repetitive, but you can't fault Anchor Bay for the effort they have put into the release. The packaging too is sumptuous, giving every episode its own DVD and cover art, making each one feel like a film in its own right.
All in all, a very satisfactory purchase. It may not be each director's best work ever, but definitely pushing the boundaries of TV horror.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A reasonable start to the series, 16 Feb 2008
These episodes are not presented in the original broadcast order which is a good idea as this box set now starts off with two great tales.
Cigarette Burns about an old movie that causes those that watch it to turn homicidal and Dreams in the Witch House, a sexed up version of Lovecraft's short story. Lovecraft movie stalwart Stuart Gordon helms the Witch House episode.
Incident on and off a mountain road is a standard "Hills Have Eyes" mutant throwback style movie but it does have some good set pieces.
Chocolate is the weak link in this box set.
Sick Girl is a surprisingly funny and effective episode with a good performance by Angela Bettis.
In the outstanding Deer Woman John Landis even manages to get a reference in to his American Werewolf in London.
The closer here Homecoming, directed by Joe Dante, is the best of the lot and has a major political anti-war slant that no doubt will alienate some.
All in all it is a good start, apart from Chocolate. When I heard they were doing Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch House I thought this would be a great opportunity for great modern horror directors to bring life to classic horror tales, unfortunately that was not the case. The Masters of Horror here are purely the directors, some of who are true horror legends. Accepting this for what it is and not what I hoped it would be it is a reasonable collection and I have high hopes for the rest of the episodes.
The extras are plentiful, each episode is on a separate disc leaving plenty room for commentaries, director and cast interviews, "making of" documentaries, as well as the script and original short stories to look at on DVD-ROM.
On a value for money basis I can not fault it.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A QUICK REVIEW, 18 Sep 2007
While Masters of Horror Season 1 came and went with it's share of criticisms, I personally thought it was a clear hit. Sure not every episode was flat out scary or true horror, but then again most movies that come out aren't either. And there in lies why the series works. Some of the top writers of the horror genre combined with the top directors in the genre to provide a series were each episode had a unique flare. Sure some episodes were better than others, but that just how it goes.
Here's my quick thoughts on the series with the episodes ranked as to how I liked them. If looking for a synopsis of each show, look elsewhere.
1. Jennifer - This was Dario Argento at the top of his game and the best thing he's done in years. Steven Weber did an excellent job in the lead role and as the writer of the teleplay. The episode generally creeped me out and it had truly disgusting scenes. The best show of the first season.
2. Cigarette Burns - Most John Carpenter movies provide the view with a slow build of suspense which leads to a final outcome. This episode is no exception. Again one of the better things Carpenter has done in awhile and I love the story concept. The one flaw was the the search for this extremely rare film seemed a bit rushed. Cant help but think this would have made an even better full length film.
3. Deer Woman - A classic example of horror comedy, done only as John Landis can do it. The lead character was great. Almost everything about the episode just clicked.
4. Incident On and Off a Mountain Road - A clever story based off a Joe Lansdale tale, directed by Don Coscarelli. It's great to see a strong female lead and one that may be more twisted than the serial killer she takes on.
5. The Fair Haired Child - A Lovecraftian type story that really surprised me. The creature in this one was incredible. Directed by William Butler and was far better than the few movies his done.
6. The Pick Me Up - The man who bought us ultra campy horror movies in the 70's & 80's, Larry Cohen puts together a solid episode pitting a girl against two deranged serial killers.
7. Haeckel's Tale - Taken from a story from Clive Barker (which is again very Lovecraftian) and directed by John McNaughton. Definitely some very disturbing scenes but a fairly interesting episode none the less.
8. Dance of the Dead - Tobe Hooper directed this episode, and it really a far cry from what he normally does. Very MTV video style. Nice twist.
9. Dreams in the Witch House - Stuart Gordon does HP Lovecraft as only he can. A twisted little story that updates the story for modern times.
10. Sick Girl - An odd tale by Lucky McKee that loaded with dark humor. A nice concept.
11. The Homecoming - Many great horror movies actually have a lot of political subtext. This episode is a flat out slap at the current War in Iraq and the Presidential regime. This one makes you think a bit.
12. Chocolate - I liked the story behind this Mick Garris episode and though it fell apart a little at the end. Overall it's not that bad.
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