my thoughts on.... 'The Masters of Horror' series part III

don't let the title and the premise of this little installment fool you.... this is so far beyond that, it's silly.... i don't mean the episode is silly, but the story is WAY beyond anything i read about it ahead of time.... it's starts with a young girl running down the road seemingly being pursued by someone.... she runs out into the roadway and is nearly killed by an oncoming car.... the people in the car take her to the clinic where they work.... which happens to be an abortion clinic and where she was headed all along.... before long, her father (played by Ron Perlman 'Hellboy') comes to call at the clinic and we find out that he has a long history with them.... and that he's got a restraining order against him by the clinic because of his behaivor.... they keep him at bay for as long as possible.... but soon he can't wait any longer to get his daughter.... so he takes the law into his own hands along with his 3 sons.... and everything goes to hell from there....

this is another John Carpenter directed episode.... the man behind 'The Thing' remake in the 80's.... i found myself deeply intrigued by the first half of this episode, but as it progressed it kind of lost me in a few places.... it's so over the top at times that it's a bit too much.... somehow it still holds up and is worth the hour of time to watch it.... i mean it kept my interest for the entire time.... and without spoiling anything, i have to admit it was one of the more original stories i've seen in a long time.... check it out.... you might just dig it.
i've been on the sea of Japan.... and at night it's quite frightening.... it's pitch black in all directions and you can't see your hand in front of your face.... without your own light source, you'd be screwed.... therefore with this episode taking place on the sea of Japan, it caught my interest for other reasons other than general interest in the storyline.... which involves an American lawyer living in Japan who's invited onto a clients yacht to travel out for a day on the sea.... the American is met by the client and his wife and they proceed to head out.... during the prelude to the story, we find out that the American lost his brother to drowning and he could have saved him, but couldn't for some reason.... this has haunted him ever since he was a child and made him hesitant to go on the cruise.... i hate to provide to many spoilers.... so i'll just say that the Japanese man didn't bring them out for a pleasure cruise.... and things just keep going from bad to worse for everyone involved....

it's not exactly what i had in mind when i watched it.... but it was still good.... i have to admit that despite it's shortcomings, it was still a solid effort from Norio Tsuruta, director of 'Premonition'.... he created a lot of suspense and tension in a very confined space and used every nook and cranny aboard the yacht to make the episode as exciting as he possibly could.... i would probably recommend this one more for fans of J-Horror than anyone else.... but it's a fairly interesting attempt at blending American horror and Japanese horror.... (you'll see what i mean when you watch it.).... so with all of that being said, check it out.... it's not what you think but it's still pretty darn good.
Henry Thomas (E.T.) and Matt Frewer (Max Headroom) star in this interesting take on a morality tale.... i wouldn't call this horror.... but it's still an intriguing concept.... Henry has recently lost a lot of weight and is very cautious with what he eats.... one night he wakes up smelling and tasting chocolate.... thinking this is just a dream, he kind of brushes off the whole thing.... but as the week goes by he starts to have vivid experiences through the eyes of someone else.... he can see, feel, smell, touch and taste everything this mystery person is experiencing.... thinking he might be crazy, he tells Matt about the situation and they try to find some logic in it.... soon enough he finds out the person is a woman.... as days go by he becomes more and more intrigued in her to the point of wanting to meet her.... eventually the visons stop and he takes matters into his own hands and tracks her down.... and as you can imagine this leads to some problems....

not my favorite entry in this series.... i barely gave this 2 out of 5 stars.... it was directed by Mick Garris, the creator of the Masters of Horror series.... and he did the best he could with what he had.... it was just such a weak script that it fell so far short of what it might have been.... and again, it just wasn't horror.... it was more some kind of thriller.... something that wouldn't do well at the box office or on the Sci-Fi channel.... it just wasn't anything i would ever recommend or anything i ever need to see again.... it's just kind of lame.
this episode was directed by William Malone, the man who brought us 'Feardotcom' and 'The House on Haunted Hill' remake.... needless to say i was a little hesitant to even spend the time to watch it.... but the premise and the picture on the poster caught my eye.... the story involves a couple who kidnaps a young girl and takes her back to their home and throw her into a basement.... she soon finds another young boy who is also stuck down there with her.... everywhere around the room are scrawlings about getting out as soon as possible and to beware of the fair haired child.... we learn that the couple have been doing this for years in an attempt to bring back their dead son.... they've made a deal with the devil that in trade for 12 souls, they would get him back.... as the day turns into night, the two teenagers are suddenly being hunted by a bizarre creature who creeped me the hell out.... (just look at the above picture to get the idea....) the rest just has to be seen to be understood....

this is something that with the right script changes could be a full length movie.... the creature is that messed up that i could have used more of it.... the acting is mediocre.... Lori Petty is the only name and she kind of annoys me.... the story is interesting, but nothing too special and the ending was predictable.... you could almost say it was a happy ending.... i was hoping for something a bit more dark i guess.... all in all 3 out of 5 stars.... and yes, William Malone suprised me with his direction.... he pulled this off with flying colors.... if you like creepy creature movies this may be the one for you.... check it out if you get a chance....
i love zombies.... i've enjoyed some of Clive Barker's movies.... but so far, his record with the Masters of Horror series is pitiful.... so i wasn't expecting much.... the story begins with a man coming to a necromancer to have her bring back his wife from the dead.... this movie takes place a long time ago when science was in it's infant stages.... and they didn't know just yet the reality of life and death and whether or not anyone could be saved from death.... or literally brought back.... the necromancer soon tells our main character a story about another man, Haeckel, who was obsessed with bringing people back from the dead.... the story is used as a cautionary tale to change the man's mind about his request to save his wife....

i was fascinated by the first 2/3rd's of this episode.... but by the end i was completely ruined and began to loathe it.... directed by John McNaughton, the director of the classic 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'.... he does a great job until the end.... when i think the script just became so silly that no one could have saved it.... if i never would have seen this episode, i could have lived my life and never been any worse for the ware.... however, i have seen it and it was just too much to take.... i don't know if Clive Barker is losing his touch.... or what.... but this was just plain dumb.... and by the time the suprise ending happened i just plain didn't care.... and neither should you.... avoid this at all costs.... or at least turn it off after 2/3rd's of the story.... trust me.... 2 out of 5 stars.

my thoughts on.... 'The Masters of Horror' series part II

what would happen if a bug came between you and your lover....? never thought about that before....? well, this movie answers that question.... believe it or not.... the story revolves around a bug scientist, played by Angela Bettis ('May'), receives a strange package in the mail containing a unique and agressive bug.... she doesn't have any clue why this ended up on her doorstep, but she is fascinated and has to keep it.... meanwhile, a young woman who hangs out at the museum where Angela works, (played by Erin Brown aka Misty Mundae) secretly has a crush on her.... before long the two are involved and soon the bug gets in on the mix.... it's not exactly what you might expect, but it's very well done....

this installment is directed by Lucky McKee, director of 'May'.... proves that nothing is off limits in this Showtime series.... and he makes this story so involving that you can't help but watch it.... i was sucked in right away by Angela Bettis's performance just as i was in the film 'May'.... and her relationship with Erin's character is so bizarre and juvenille, you can't help but watch.... this is one of the reasons i've finally come around to enjoy this series.... are episodes like this.... it's a great little creature feature and one with interesting characters to boot.... i gave this a strong 3 out of 5 stars.... almost 4.... something i recommend you watch if you have an hour to kill....
in 'Valerie on the Stairs', a short story by Clive Barker, a young man moves into an apartment type complex offering free room and board to any young and unpublished writers.... as long as they stay that way, they can continue living there.... it's a unique situation that our young hero feels lucky to be a part of.... soon things start turning towards the strange.... as he begins to see a young woman named Valerie who keeps appearing on the stairs.... appealing to him to help her.... it seems that some unseen force won't let her be.... as the story progresses, you find that she's not just imagining things and it just gets silly from there....

this stars Christopher Lloyd and Tony Todd.... but not in their best performances.... i was disappointed in Clive Barker and it won't be the last time i say that during my reviews for this series.... the story is just so off the mark and lacks any real substance that i felt like i'd wasted my time.... it was directed by Mick Garris, the creator of the Masters of Horror series.... and his direction isn't terrible.... but the story is.... i give this a low 2 out of 5 stars.... and i say that this isn't one to include in your queue to watch.... unless you really have a love of Clive Barker.... other than that.... lame. a whore and an American.... from a forgotten time.... are the main focus of this tragic tale.... Billy Drago plays the American in search of a whore he'd fallen in love with years ago and promised he'd come back to take her back to America.... but his search kept proving to be fruitless.... the story starts with him stumbling onto yet another small island or brothel where he strikes out again in finding his love.... he instead spends the evening with a deformed prostitute who soon confesses to knowning his former love and tells him she's died.... but that is merely the start to the story.... there is so much more to this than that.... it's one of the best if not THE best in the series....

Takashi Miike (pronounced Ta-Ka-She Me-Kay) is the premire director of disturbing films.... such as 'Audition', 'Ichi the Killer' and my favorite 'Visitor Q'.... supposedly this installment was so disturbing they never even aired it.... i don't know if that's true, but i wouldn't be suprised based on the content of the story.... this one cannot come highly recommended enough.... if you like J-Horror or disturbingly violent tales.... this one is for you.... not to mention completely original..... i've been a fan of his for years and love all of his films.... he's a genius of our time and i'm glad i finally saw this short film.... easily 4 out of 5 stars.... almost 5, but something kept me holding back just a bit.... either way.... if you only watch one of the installments of the Masters of Horror series, this is the one to see.... Jeffery Combs is one of the most underrated character actors of our time.... i've been a fan since the first 'Re-Animator' and all the rest along with 'The Frighteners', this is a tour de force for him.... so this episode holds a sweet spot because he plays Edgar Allen Poe....

Poe is trying to make ends meet.... he's making an effort to be a poet, but all people want are his horror stories.... he's got a sick wife and a drinking problem.... but that's the least of his worries.... he's being tormented by his wife's black cat.... to the point of madness.... the story is very dark and has many moments of blood and guts....

i gave this only 3 out of 4 stars as i felt it was missing some small piece.... something that brought it down enough that it needed it back to make it soar.... directed by Stuart Gordon, the director of 'Re-Animator'.... he carries the story along well and never gives up the reality and the fiction.... it moves along at a strong pace and walks a thin line between sanity and madness.... another episode that i would recommend that you watch.... as it's got strong performances, an interesting story and Jeffery Combs as Poe.... nuff' said.
we've all seen the serial killer movies where the killer is stalking his victim's and is usually being persued by the law at the same time.... but how many times have you seen a movie where two serial killers are compecting for victims and there's not a single sign of law enforcement anywhere....? that's what you get with 'Pick Me Up'.... it starts with a bus load of people who's bus breaksdown in the middle of nowhere.... 1 of the passengers, played by Fairuza Balk, walks towards a motel.... the rest othe passengers stay behind an soon a trucker comes by and picks up half of them and the other half are met by a friendly hitchhiker.... soon everyone realizes that these people aren't who they seem.... and at one point in the film Fairuza is caught in the middle of the two competing killers....

directed by Larry Cohen, director of 'It's Alive', helms this new twist on an old theme.... the serial killers are played with amazing relish and joy and it makes you want to love them.... they're the anti-hero that people learn to love.... even though they're horrible human beings who do terrible things.... i felt this deserved 3 out of 5 stars.... the ending left me a bit cold.... and after such a strong installment overall, it just didn't seem right to end the way it did.... either way it's worth the hour to invest in it.... that being said.... i've got more reviews to ponder and many more installments to watch.... be ready for more soon....!

my thoughts on.... 'The Masters of Horror' series

i can honestly say that the 'Masters of Horror' series, in theory, sounds good on paper.... however, i've found the execution to be less than stellar.... but i decided to give it another shot and i cleared some time from my movie watching schedule to watch 5 episodes in a row to see if maybe i was just too quick to judge.... or perhaps i just watched the wrong episodes in the series.... either way, i figured i owed the actors and directors i loved a 2nd shot.... i mean this is a popular series.... i must just be missing something, right....?

the premise of the series is to have the premire horror directors of our time direct 1 hour episodes of this show.... basically mini movies that are made for cable television.... so they don't pull any punches.... they have the premire special effects guys and fairly big named actors.... it puts all of the elements together of a good horror film and condenses it into each episode.... some work better than other.... but that's to be expected with any television show.... you can't always have an emmy nominated episode every time.... right....?

below are my individual reviews for each of the episodes i watched....

the first up was 'Family'.... directed by John Landis, director of 'An American Werewolf in London'.... a classic in it's own right.... this is the first time i've seen a Masters of Horror episode that i got wrapped up in the story.... it was actually intriguing.... the characters were well thought out and the story was interesting.... i never would have thought of George Wendt as a serial killer, but he seemed to pull it off quite well.... granted, you have to take a bit of a leap of faith, but that's part of the fun of it all.... and the couple next door play off of him quite well.... as he's quite the creepy guy....

the basic story is that George Wendt is finding members of his "family" to kill and bleach their skeletons so that he has a wife, a child, a grandmother and a grandfather.... in his mind they interact with him and he believes that he's the head of his own little family.... however each member is not related, but rather picked out of a crowd and killed for their potential place in his family unit.... soon neighbors move in next door and and befriend him.... and gradually George becomes enamored with the wife of the neighbor and wants her to be his new wife.... things get interesting from there and i won't give away the ending.... but i would recommend this episode as a 3 out of 5 star installment.... it won't win an emmy, but it's darn fun to watch....

next up was 'Cigarette Burns' directed by John Carpenter the director of 'Halloween'.... and who doesn't find that movie to be a classic in the slasher genre....? this was another example of the Masters of Horror series suprising me.... this movie got my interest from the start.... it stars Norman Reedus and Udo Keir.... they both suit their character types beautifully and they drive the story along at a strong pace.... the movie itself doesn't have a really strong horror element until the end, but it has it's share of blood and guts.... John Carpenter proves again why he's one of our premire horror directors of the last few decades....

the basic story is that Norman Reedus is a theater owner who can get rare films for collectors and owns his own theater.... Udo Keir is a private collector who is in search of a rare film that drives it's audience to kill each other or themselves.... he's made it his lifes work to track the film down and view it.... he's collected as many souveniers as he can from the film.... but with it only ever having one screening ever, it's rare to find anything related to the film.... so he hires Norman to track the film down for him.... and what happens from that point forward needs to be seen to be understood.... needless to say it doesn't disappoint.... i give this another 3 out of 5 stars.... it feels a bit episodic, but it had the potential to be strong enough to carry a full hour and a half of screen time....

being a fan of the movie 'Phantasm' and 'Bubba Ho-Tep', it was a no brainer to watch Don Coscarelli's installment called 'Incident On and Off a Mountain Road'.... there weren't any big names in it other than Angus Scrimm. (the Tall Man from the 'Phantasm' movies).... but that didn't matter.... this little slice of inbred slasher goodness was good besides any big names.... it's suitable creepy and does in one hour what a lot of slashers don't do in a full hour and a half.... this was well worth the time invested in it for what it's worth....

as far as plot goes.... a woman ends up in a mountain area being chased by a killer known as 'Moonface'.... who not only is after her, but is after another woman who's ended up in the same situation.... the only difference is that our heroine is married to a survivalist nut who taught her how to survive in the wilderness and to protect herself from attackers.... the chase is on and eventually it ends up at the killers home where we meet an extremely eccentric Angus Scrimm, who steals the show.... as usual, i won't give away the ending, but it's a solid 3 out of 5 star installment and it should be watched if you're going to take time to enjoy the Masters of Horror series.... next up on the hit parade is a little flick from Mr. Tobe Hooper the director of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'.... it stars a darkly cheesy Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) as a club owner of an odd little club in a postapocilyptic future.... the story itself is not 100% original as far as the dark future is concerned.... but what happens at the club is.... Tobe does a great job creating a solid pace to the movie and something that's very entertaining....

in the near future, the world is a desolate place filled with rampant crime and very little to look forward to.... a young girl meets up with a band of hooligans and ends up on a night on the town with them.... they eventually end up at a club where Robert Englund has a unique sideshow.... the build up is strong until you finally get the payoff in which he introduces the fact that he has the undead as dancers in his show.... they're shocked by a cattle prodder and twitch around the stage to he whoops and hollars of the crowd.... there's a twist to the end that you have to see to understand, but it's a decent storyline that doesn't really let down with the ending.... another 3 out of 5 star review for this movie.... it's not great, but it's worth the effort....
from director Joe Dante 'The Howling' comes an interesting take on the end of the world scenario.... starring Jason Priestly and Elliot Gould we find ourselves in a bizarre new world and a disturbing one on many levels.... it begs the question of how might we end up dying off as the human race.... and after seeing so many end of the world movies, zombie movies, etc.... this has a whole new take on an old theme.... it's very well written and kept me on the edge of my seat.... i do have to complain a bit about the ending.... it was a bit weak and left me feeling a bit cold to the entire entry.... but as a whole the piece was one of the better in the Masters of Horror series so far....

the plot revolves around a disease that's spreading across the male population where it's causing their sex drive and drive to violence to be confused.... so much so that they're killing off the female population in mass numbers.... gradually it comes down to basically the last woman on earth fighting for her life.... but the entire time while they're searching for a cure, before the doctors themselves become infected, we have no idea where it came from or how it started.... was it some kind of biological warfare....? some strand of virus that mutated....? it's just a big mystery....? i don't want to give away the ending, but i have to admit it brought this down to a 3 out of 5 stars because i really felt off about the finale.... it's still a great horror story.... but not one that will hold up well over time....

there is more to come in the Masters of Horror series of reviews, as i am working my way through all of them that are OnDemand on Netflix.... i would encourage you to consider them as bite size horror snacks.... something to pass by a short period of time when you just down have the full amount of time to invest in a movie.... or to get the most bang for your buck in an evening, watching these makes you feel like you've seen 6 movies in the time it would have taken to watch 2 or 3.... i hope you enjoy them.... and don't forget to leave the light on....