TotalTelly.co.uk

Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV

Masters Of Horror Series 1 Volume 1 [2005]


RRP: £24.99
Our Price: £8.94 (subject to change)

Interesting..Very...Interesting.
Review date: 2008-10-18 Rating: 8 out of 10

Cigarette Burns: Just plain boring, rubbish plot and unsatisfactory ending.

Dreams in the Witch-House: Not seen this one yet so cannot judge.

Incident On and Off A Mountain Road: Really, really good! Just...great! I loved this one and the ending was just 'wow'.

Chocolate: Kinda 'meh', doesn't do much but the flashback narrative is well done.

Sick Girl: Accurately portrays how awkward homosexual relationships are sometimes! Plus there's not too much 'bug-i-ness' for those who are arachnophobic. The actress who played Ida was spot on and was the one woman in the series who didn't get her breasts out, which makes her all the better! There was a point where I just wanted to see what would happen with them and their lives rather than the horror element though.

Deer Woman: VERY funny, Shaun of the Dead-style horror.

Homecoming: Amusing enough, though slightly formulaic.

Similar Products

Reviews


Pallid Collection Of Horror Stories
Review date: 2008-07-08 Rating: 4 out of 10

My favourite "Horror" films are probably
Don't Look Now
Alien
I Walked With A zombie
Suspiria
Halloween
An American Werewolf In London
Dawn Of The Dead(1978)
The Haunting
The Descent
Wolfen
All of the above incorporate what a good horror film means to me.Forget subtext- Wes Craven's Last House..is/was a metaphor for U.S Involvement in Vietnam. I don't care.I want a combination of palpable tension,jolts and gore,creepy music,sympathetic characters and a sufficiently good story to drag me in despite myself.
Masters of Horror,with the odd honourable exception,fails to do this and considering the talent behind the camera,MoH is a disappointment.
Created by Mick Garris(butcher of King and whose only interesting work to date was the tepid Sleepwalkers,this Series 1 Vol 1 set are seven one hour horror stories and are as follows:

Cigarette Burns(Dir John Carpenter)
Pretentious but moderately effective chiller just shows up how good Carpenter once was.Movie collector Udo Kier commissions Norman Reedus to find the only known print of an infamous horror film which sent it's audience crazy when it premiered and has not been seen since.
Some arresting images get lost in a poorly written piece that only serves to deaden the effects of a bravura finale.

Dreams In The White House(Dir Stuart Gordon)
Grad student Ezra Godden takes an apartment in a old house and starts dreaming about a she demon who wants to claim his soul as well as getting him to kill his neighbour's child.Effects are alternately funny and gruesome and while there are no real chills,the ending is pretty intense.

Incident On and Off A Mountain Road(Dir Don Coscarelli)
Coscarelli(Phantasm,Bubba Ho-tep)does a good job with this Joe Lansdale short story about a young woman terrorised by a backwoods creature who wants to add her to his collection.Only problem is that her ex has given her a few handy survival tips which she puts to good use.Solid with good moments and the flashback framing works well.

Chocolate(Dir Mick Garris)
Henry Thomas plays a synthetic food analyst who finds that he can enter the body of a female stranger and experience what happens to her.Naturally it all gets out of hand and Thomas finds out more than he bargained for.Dull ,poor acted and obvious.

Sick Girl(Dir Lucy McKee)
Dire.Angela Bettis(who acts like Holly Hunter In a permanently vegetative state)is awful as a timid entomogist who falls in love with a teenager Erin Brown who falls foul of an "insect" who proceeds to send the girl into a feeding frenzy.Icky and no fun this sub par Cronenberg influenced entry is dreck with a laughable ending.

Deer Woman(Dir John Landis)
Along with Incident...the pick of the bunch.Detective Brian Benben looks into a series of murders that seem to have been committed by a "biped with hooves" which of course ostracises him from his collegues save for a beat cop who wants to know more.A little self indulgent with a reference to a certain wolf movie to boot this is brisk,gory fun in the vein of Innocent Blood and the aforementioned wolf film with Benben effective as the downtrodden detective.

Homecoming(Dir Joe Dante)
Not bad politically themed zombie entry has returning dead soldiers from Iraq rising up from their graves to vote in the forthcoming presidential election.Jon Tenney, a spin doctor for the incumbent is tasked with marginalising these "voters" without diminishing their sacrifices in the eyes of the populus.Good ending.

Copious extras with each disc and when I say that the best thing about MoH is Edward Shearmur's main title music you can just see how far short it has come up.

Buy if you are a fan of any of the above filmmakers above but be warned it is not their finest "hours"

A reasonable start to the series
Review date: 2008-02-16 Rating: 8 out of 10

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.

A QUICK REVIEW
Review date: 2007-09-18 Rating: 8 out of 10

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.

Sick Girl - A Jolly Romp
Review date: 2007-07-12 Rating: 6 out of 10

Enjoyed this one.

More of a lighthearted story than the deeper and wicked 'Cigarette Burns', but very good fun nonetheless.

I personally found the lesbian theme very titilating although (female) viewers may not like or see the need for this aspect of the film.

Nice, not outstanding.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Norman Reeduss
Lucie Laurier
Ethan Embry
Udo Kier
Henry Thomas

Creators:
Norman Reeduss (Primary Contributor)
Udo Kier (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Anchor Bay
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
EAN: 5060020625831
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 7
Format: Anamorphic, Box set, PAL,
Release date: 2006-10-23
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 334 minutes
Language: English (Original Language)

Add to Cart

© 2006 Darren Hester, DesignsByDarren.com, Some Rights Reserved.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional