Masters of Horror

[dewaholic]

Originally posted by Steve_Hutchison
My favorite ep. so far was Jenifer. So far the show is a bit of a deception. Tales from the Crypt was better.

Yea! Now 1 of my fave Tales From The Crypt episodes was when this couple had a squid diner, that had no business, but then eventually they started serving human meat & business was booming. On a related note I have a talking Crypt Keeper doll.

[Steve_Hutchison]

Originally posted by dewaholic
Yea! Now 1 of my fave Tales From The Crypt episodes was when this couple had a squid diner, that had no business, but then eventually they started serving human meat & business was booming. On a related note I have a talking Crypt Keeper doll.

Yeah, the episode was called "What's cooking" I think, with Christopher Reeves. I loved "Death of Some Salesmen", with Tim Curry.

[no mulier]

Originally posted by Steve_Hutchison
So far the show is a bit of a deception.

How so?

[Steve_Hutchison]

I guess I was expecting more from the "masters of horror".

[Despare]

I think it's one of the best shows on cable personally. Every episode isn't a classic but they try. Decent budgets, good stories usually... I'll wait for the DVD release and see how satisfied I am after I spent some money on them.

[no mulier]

The basic intention behind the series was obviously to bring the Masters of horror to us. I must admit a certain amount of disappointment that some of the directors originally invited for it, couldn't make it for one reason or other. Despite the substitutions, this horror series has been satisfactory, overall.

As Despare already stated, they do try their best inspite of certain limitations. Which brings me to briefly point out the varying quality in the episodes which I daresay, clearly reflect the capabilities of the director in charge. John Carpenter obviously, demonstrated his skill, craft, and inventiveness with the material provided, and turned it into a cinematic episode. On the other hand, a director like John McNaughton comes across as one of lesser capabilities, resulting in a very uneven and ultimately unsatisfying finale for the season.

John McNaughton: Haeckel's Tale
Having only the so-called art film Henry: The Portrait of a Serial Killer under his belt and not much else in the genre, I couldn't understand what exactly he was doing in this series. Reviews in imdb.com seemed rather mixed, with most people praising it for its disturbing atmosphere and truly-graphic-horror content. On the opposite bank, there are some who find it rather disappointing and generally unsatisfactory.

From watching Haeckel's Tale, I can already take a step toward the latter.

What is set to be a period piece of an episode -- I don't understand why stacylaine refers to Gordon's Dreams in the Witch House as another -- comes off as a clumsy and unconvincing attempt to bring Deadwood and Night of the Living Dead together. In the capable hands of a better cast, perhaps the dialogue might not have sounded as pretentious. Hardly the point, though, because the overall acting was much too emphatic to be believable.

Which is not to say I hated the episode immensely. The animatronics were quite convincing and the zombies looking on, and waiting for their turn, certainly breathed some fresh air into the episode's zombie theme. But that's just about it.

Onward...and yes, Argento climbs up another rung!

my MASTERS OF HORROR Ranking List
1. John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns
2. Joe Dante's Homecoming
3. Tobe Hooper's Dance of the Dead
4. Don Coscarelli's Incident On & Off a Mountain Road
5. Stuart Gordon's Dreams in the Witch House
6. Lucky McGee's Sick Girl
7. Mick Garris' Chocolate
8. William Malone's Fair Haired Child
9. John Landis' Deerwoman
10. Dario Argento's Jenifer
11. John McNaughton's Haeckel's Tale
12. Larry Cohen's Pick Me Up


Looking forward to...

- Takashi Miike's episode on DVD; hopefully it comes out soon.

- the Second Season: hopefully with better stories and the "other" directors who couldn't make it to the first season, to finally come aboard

[Despare]

It was a shame John McNaughton: Haeckel's Tale was simply thrown in there due to Miike's episode not being able to be shown. Obviously McNaughton wasn't doing much because they seemed to get a hold of him rather quickly.

What directors are you all hoping will be in season 2? Sam Raimi, David Cronenberg, Peter Jackson, Wes Craven, Ridley Scott, George Romero, Kiyoshi Kurosawa would all be great picks. I'm sure you'll get people who aren't really masters of horror mixed in like Eli Roth, James Cameron, Rob Zombie, Tarrentino, and who knows maybe even Guillermo del Toro. Not that these guys are bad but they aren't horror masters really. I wonder if they'll have any good B movie directors tossed in there like Henenlotter, Lloyd Kauffman, or maybe even Bruce Campbell (although I'd rather see him in there acting). It'd also be cool to see Robert Rodriguez make one but who knows.

I'm very excited about Masters of Horror 2 because of the possibilities. They could have some big names with great shorts or some rising stars that just bring it and I'd be very happy. Unfortuanatly there is that possibility they bring in guys like Lloyd and the whole thing blows up. We'll see though.

[no mulier]

Takashi Miike: Imprint

This has to be the best episode. Having seen Audition no more than a month ago, the impact of his work had not fully dissipated. Then this episode happens along. For lack of a better word, mindblowing. The visuals and use of colour was frighteningly and enchantingly beautiful. Only the subtle hint of the American's mode of dress betrays the period of this otherwise timeless setting. I was a bit surprised upon seeing the opening credits as most of the crew are Japanese. I hear that Miike had to shoot this elsewhere?

The story starts out as somewhat romantic, the American coming back for his beloved. I really liked the way the dialogue was played out between the disfigured geisha and the American. It was real, natural. Having only seen his performance as the Jail Free Pass -toting assassin in the Untouchables, it was a welcome surprise to find him in a more central role.

As for the gore, Miike puts it best: "I couldn't hold back on the horror."

He certainly didn't.

my MASTERS OF HORROR Ranking List
1. Takashi Miike's Imprint
2. John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns
3. Joe Dante's Homecoming
4. Tobe Hooper's Dance of the Dead
5. Don Coscarelli's Incident On & Off a Mountain Road
6. Stuart Gordon's Dreams in the Witch House
7. Lucky McGee's Sick Girl
8. Mick Garris' Chocolate
9. William Malone's Fair Haired Child
10. John Landis' Deerwoman
11. Dario Argento's Jenifer
12. John McNaughton's Haeckel's Tale
13. Larry Cohen's Pick Me Up

[The_Return]

I bought the first 2-Pack yesterday, and will be watching them today. Really looking forward to it, they released my 2 favourite directors first:D

[The_Return]

Just watched Cigarette Burns and it was great, 8.5/10. I posted a mini-review in Last Seen Movie if anyone's interested.