Masters of Horror: The Black Cat (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)As a huge "Re-Animator" fan, I really looked forward to Stuart Gordon's contribution to Showtime's "Masters of Horror" anthology series. Season One brought us "H.P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House"--which sadly was not one of my favorites. Season Two's offering is "The Black Cat." But while I enjoyed this episode much better, I still don't know how warmly it will be embraced by those seeking out this series. Not a conventional horror story, "The Black Cat" is a historical (but fictional) account of the life of Edgar Allen Poe. The tale documents a descent into madness and its horror is derived from this--whether or not that seems entertaining may be a matter of opinion.
The episode features Jeffrey Combs (always a delight) as Poe. Struggling and impoverished, he lives in a dark and unpleasant dwelling with his ill wife. Attempting to sell his poetry to survive, he is also sinking into desperation, alcoholism and insanity. There really isn't much more plot than that--this is a story that is reliant on mood rather than narrative. Combs does well with the various aspects of Poe's dementia and there is plenty of macabre humor interspersed. Haunted by visions of his wife and menaced by household pets, there are moments of real gruesomeness and gore to be appreciated.
I enjoyed the film's literary references and setup as a fan of Poe, but some may find the beginning a bit slow. The tale takes a while to develop--but that never bothered me. The ending does maintain a frantic pace and has some great effects, but if you're a lover of animals--you might want to steer clear. Combs is a uniquely engaging actor and this is a must-see for his fans. Otherwise, I'll issue a cautious recommendation. About 3 1/2 stars for me, and that's about my average for most episodes of "Masters of Horror." KGHarris, 05/07.

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Masters of Horror: Valerie on the Stairs (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Mick Garris may have created Masters of Horror, but the director's (and frequent adaptor of Stephen King tales to the small screen) work for the show hasn't been anything to write home about so far. Valerine on the Stairs, based on a Clive Barker tale, finds a haunted writer (Tyron Leisto) moving into an eccentric building community, only to find things further haunted still. The sole reason to check this episode out is the great Christopher Lloyd, who provides the kind of enjoyable, crazed performance we've come to expect from the wonderful actor. The gorgeous, and frequently naked, Clare Grant plays the titular title role of the episode, and genre stalwart Tony "Candyman" Todd plays a ghoulish role, but Valerie on the Stairs ends up falling flat. Garris' direction is uninspired, and the episode as a whole just moves along too slow with little suspense, and even smaller payoff. The gore effects are decent, but don't make any impact until too late in the episode. The overall result ends up being pretty lame, which is a shame because the potential was ripe here. All in all, Valerine on the Stairs is a disappointing installment of the Masters of Horror series, and while it's worth a look at least for fans of the show, it's not worth picking up and adding to your library unless you're a completist.

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Masters of Horror: We All Scream for Ice Cream (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is one of the episodes from season 2 of "Masters of Horror." Years ago a bunch of kids played a prank on a good-natured but mentally-challenged ice cream truck driver, which resulted in his accidental death. Now the kids are grown up, and the driver is back for revenge with his killer ice cream.
All I can say is, stock, stock, stock. I know killer clowns long fell into the campy horror category, but nothing about this show seems inspired or original. The most obvious rip-off would be Stephen King's "It," but name anything with mind-controlled children, childhood friends confronting evil, or spirits back for revenge, and you'll find something much more compelling than this. Some of the effects are decent, such as when a victim dies in a tub, but there are no scares and there's little tension. The acting is about average.
Maybe I'm missing the point. Not all Masters of Horror stories are meant to be scary, and some are deliberately campy (season 1's Deer Woman). But this one just seems to subscribe to the worst of the genre without offering any cleverness. Avoid.

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Masters of Horror: The Washingtonians (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Based on a Bentley Little short story, The Washingtonians is an often amusing episode of Masters of Horror that puts a new kind of spin on the founding fathers. What if George Washington was a cult leader of child eating cannibals? That's what Mike (Johnathon Schaech) finds out after accidentally uncovering a hidden letter behind a portrait that was written by Washington himself, and soon enough he's being hunted by present day followers of Washington's ways, that will do anything to keep their secrets safe. The more ridiculous that The Washingtonians gets, the better it gets for the most part, and when it borderlines on complete and utter absurdity before the credits start to roll. Directed by the often underrated Peter Medak (The Changeling, Species II), The Washingtonians is nevertheless gory, enjoyable, and entertaining, and in those respects alone, that's all that really matters. All in all, as long as you don't take it too seriously, The Washingtonians is an amusing ride.

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Masters of Horror: The Damned Thing (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Tobe Hooper has had one of the strangest careers in the horror genre; his Iconic reputation stems from his 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but since that his career has been very uneven. While he has directed a couple of popular movies the general conception is Chainsaw is why he is so well remembered and will be.
When you look at the era Tobe Hooper came to came a lot of filmmakers were changing the horror world as we know it and I suppose some of these guys are gonna get left in the dust. I'm not quite sure if it was the screenplays or Hooper's directing, but he never quite lived up to what many thought he would go on and become. With that said I very much do think he deserves to be a part of the Masters of Horror even if only for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The Damned Thing is a very mixed bad, but after all was said and done I felt as if this movie could have been so much more than what it was. The Damned Thing had the makings of a great horror flick, but somewhere along the course of it there are parts that just don't work well.
First up the casting here is excellent; I am a huge fan of Sean Patrick Flanery. He has this coolness he brings to every role. Even a bad movie Sean always makes the best of it and even if I dislike the movie I always walk away happy with Sean Patrick Flanery's performance. The rest of the cast all play their respected roles quite well. Ted Raimi is great even if the part is brief. Marisa Coughlan does a solid job in her role and so far all is good here.
The screenplay by Richard Christian Matheson was quite well done. I found his script for the most part well-written. The characters are interesting and have depth. While there might be some moments that drag a little bit, but overall the script was quite good.
But there was still just something a little off here; Director Tobe Hooper is able to craft some solid scenes, but the tension just seems to be lacking here overall. The opening scene was quite well done and had some solid tension, but after that Hooper is mostly unable to keep it going through out the course. Like I said his scenes are well crafted and work well in general, but the suspense and tension just lacks at times.
When everything finally starts to go crazy in the final act, the tension and urgency of the situation just wasn't there. The lack of suspense and tension is one of the downfalls here. I don't think Tobe Hooper did a bad job, but it just didn't work well at times.
What does help elevate The Damned Thing are the gore F/X, which were excellent. Not the goriest of the series, but it has to be up there. Those scenes greatly help the movie and the hammer scene was quite brutal.
My biggest complaint is the final couple of minutes; Tobe Hooper came from the old school. If anyone knows that sometimes less is more Tobe Hooper is clearly one of them. To make up for his low budget on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre he had to be creative. Sometimes showing the audience is great, but again sometimes less is more. The final minutes we get to see The Damned Thing and I can't help, but feel it was a total mistake. Not knowing who or what this thing is really added to the movie, but when we finally see it well it sort of takes away from the movie.
In closing, The Damned Thing gets a lot of heat from the viewers, but personally I thought it was pretty good time despite the flaws. Not the best of the Masters of Horror, but a decent time killer.


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Masters of Horror: Sounds Like (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)This dark episode plays like more of a TWILIGHT ZONE than most of the other entries, but it's disturbing in its portray of massive grief and man's tendency not to really listen. Chris Bauer stars as Larry Pearce, a supervisor at a software support call in center, whose loss of his young son to heart disease has left him surly, cold and insensitive. Laura Margolis plays his submissive wife who is eager to have a son to replace their loss. Unfortunately, another component of Pearce's grief is his supersensitivity to sound where in any noise is overwhelming, leading him into a gradual maelstrom of madness.
Bauer is quite good in assaying the difficult role, very convincing as he descends into violence and madness. A good entry in the uneven series.

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Masters of Horror: Pro-Life (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)John Carpenter returns to Showtime's "Masters of Horror" series with Season 2's offering "Pro-Life." As with most anthology series, the quality of any given episode and the reaction to it can be widely divergent. Carpenter's entry from last season, "Cigarette Burns," is one of its most divisive. It is regarded in some circles as the best the show had to offer and dismissed out of hand by others. I fell somewhere in between the debate ranking it in the middle/upper part of the pack.
Intriguingly enough, the Takeshi Miike episode banned from Season 1 involved a storyline revolving around abortions. "Pro-Life," as you might guess from the title, also has this as a major theme. But don't worry, this is no heavy handed diatribe--it's light and loose but still has some sting to its barbs. This is a brand of horror that I like to think of as "everything but the kitchen sink." It is a social satire and a commentary on pro-life extremists--but it also throws in a grisly birth, a massive gun fight, torture, a insectile creature with a baby head, a chasm to an alternate world, and what appears to be the devil himself. In other words, I pretty much loved it! Easily one of the more entertaining episodes, no one will confuse this with great art--but it's a whole lot of fun.
The action gets going when a doctor from a local abortion clinic almost runs down a young girl fleeing from an unknown pursuer. Taking her into the hospital to make sure she's all right, she confesses to being pregnant. She thinks God has brought her here to get an abortion. Her father ends up at the front gate demanding her return, he is a pro-life activist who has had previous run-ins with this establishment. What follows include a revelation about the unnatural origins of the fetus, a supernaturally fast pregnancy cycle, and a battle for the father to save his unborn grandchild.
There is lots of humor in "Pro-Life," plenty of gore, and some crazy creatures. Ron Perlman and Caitlin Wachs are particularly effective as the pregnant girl and her father. For sheer loony entertainment value, this gets high marks for me. KGHarris, 12/06.

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Masters of Horror: Dream Cruise (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an installment from season 2 of Masters of Horror. An American living in Tokyo is having an affair with his client's pretty wife. When the husband finds out he takes them in his yacht to confront them on the open sea. But restless spirits return to seek vengeance from beyond the grave.
I believe this is the second show of the series to be helmed by a Japanese director and filmed on-location in Japan, the first being last season's controversial 'Imprint.' Compared to that 'Dream Cruise' is a much more conventional horror experience, though still an effective one. If you've ever seen other Asian horror films you know how creepy vengeful spirits can be, and there's some good scares and nerve-wracking tension here. It helps that all the players are linked to the same sin, and that each has an equal chance of falling to the spirit's wrath. And if death by drowning doesn't sound pleasant to you, there's even more to be scared about.
Whereas other MoH installments have played up the camp, gore, and sex in lieu of actual scares, Dream Cruise contains little-to-none of the above but did keep me in decent suspense till the end (where admittedly, the ending gets predictable). There's no new ground broken here, but there's a satisfying evening rental and a possible spot in your horror library.

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