Masters of Horror was a horror anthology series that ran from 2005 to 2007 and was penned by The Stand director Mick Garris. Each episode was directed by a different director known for their works in the horror genre, John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper were among the names. On paper it sounds like a brilliant concept but in reality, Masters of Horror was unfortunately a bit of a hit and miss. Its episodes lacked consistency, ranging from shockingly good to painfully bad and by the time it ended, the bad outweighed the good. It was a shame to see such a brilliant concept so poorly executed, the show had a lot of potential but fell down with some of its weaker episodes. However, there were several episodes of the show that stood out among the rest, episodes that were so shocking and frightening that they earned their respective directors the titles of 'Masters of Horror'. To give you an idea of some of the redeeming factors of Masters of Horror, here are six of the shows greatest episodes.
6. Incident On and Off a Mountain Road
The first episode of the series directed and co-written by Don Coscarelli of Phantasm fame is one of the more average ones on this list but an episode I quite enjoyed. It follows a young woman named Ellen (Bree Turner) on the run from a mysterious killer known only as Moonface (John DeSantis) in a forest in the mountains. It flashes back and forward between those events and previous events involving Ellen and her husband (Ethan Embry) on a survival retreat in the woods, both stories come together in the end in a clever plot twist. I enjoyed this episode a lot mainly due to its strong female lead who manages to overcome the numerous obstacles in her way (not just Moonface), she is a likeable character and a fitting final girl. There is also a rather comedic appearance from Coscarelli's Phantasm star, the late Angus Scrimm for those hardcore genre fans out there. In short, it was a satisfying opening to the show that contained all the elements that make a good horror film, the monster, the final girl, the chase scenes, the gore, Coscarelli definitely delivers in this one.
5. Pelts
Dario Argento is a man who's career has met an unfortunate decline in quality in recent years, however the episodes that he directed for Masters of Horror show that the Italian Hitchcock has not lost his touch. Pelts was his second entry to the show and involved fur trader Jake (Meat Loaf) who gets more than he bargained for when he makes fur coats from cursed raccoon's. It sounds like a ludicrous plot but it is one of the more comedic episodes, albeit darkly comedic. What I liked about it most was that it was a stylistic throwback of sorts to Argento's earlier films such as Suspiria, the lighting in both the strip club and the apartment are very reminiscent of Argento's masterpiece. There are also great performances from Meat Loaf and horror alum John Saxon (who starred in an earlier Argento flick, Tenebrae), they really bring life to their rather sleazy characters. Most of all in typical Argento style, its gruesome and bloody, it's an episode that will make you both laugh and cringe and is one of Argento's better modern works.
4. Family
Another of the more comedic episodes, this time directed by a man with as much love for horror as he has for comedy, John Landis. The episode follows Harold (George Wendt), a seemingly innocent old man who lives in a typical suburban neighborhood, in reality he is a serial killer. Harold soon becomes obsessed with a young couple who move in near him, especially the wife Celia (Meredith Monroe), but not everything is as it seems. I loved this episode, Wendt gives a brilliant performance as the warm-hearted killer and seeing the way he interacts with the bodies of his dead victims like they're his family is entertaining in a twisted way. Landis achieves the perfect blend of humor and horror in Family, offering some sinister twists and turns along the way and I consider it to be a highlight of his career. His other episode Deer Woman is also worth a watch and contains a sly reference to An American Werewolf in London.
3. Jenifer
Argento's other episode is a twisted gore fest about temptation and lust, it follows Police Officer Frank Spivey (Steven Weber) who rescues a mysterious young girl with a beautiful body but a hideously disfigured face. It is one of the more brutal episodes and Argento is relentless with the gore, nobody is safe in Jenifer, not even cats or children. Seeing Spivey's insidious relationship with Jenifer spiral out of control is quite terrifying and it is only enhanced by the brilliant performance from Weber along with Jenifer's rather terrifying appearance. Like many of Argento's works, Jenifer has a chilling score from Claudio Simonetti of Goblin which makes everything all the more chilling. A terrifying blend of lust and repulsion, like Pelts, Jenifer is one of Argento's greatest modern works.
2. John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns
With a big name like John Carpenter attached to this episode you know it's bound to be good. Featuring the talented Norman Reedus as projectionist Kirby, it follows him on his mission to find the last existing reel of infamous horror film La Fin Absolute du Monde, a film that is thought to be cursed. Along the way he deals with the loss of his girlfriend to an overdose and her vengeful father who wants to shut down Kirby's cinema, along with terrifying visions. The episode is a slow burner, all throughout we are teased with this supposedly cursed film and wait in suspense for it to finally be revealed, who better to build such suspense than John Carpenter himself, right? It is a slow burner but all worth it in the grizzly climax that involves a movie projector and the always entertaining Udo Kier. It reminds us that Carpenter still has not lost his mojo when it comes to horror and suspense as he delivers one of the best episodes of the series, but the best is yet to come..
1. Imprint
Now you know you're doing something right when your episode is pulled from airing for being too graphic, and of all people to achieve this it was of course Takashi Miike. Miike is a Japanese director known for his violent films such as Ichi the Killer and disturbing ones such as Audition. Imprint is both violent and disturbing in a tale involving abortions, mutations, incest and (in classic Miike fashion) needle torture. It follows American tourist Christopher (Billy Drago) returning to Japan to seek out his former lover in a seedy brothel, here he meets a young, disfigured prostitute (Youki Kudoh) who tells Christopher what really happened to his lover. Think Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon as a horror and you have Imprint, it has various versions of the same story told by an unreliable narrator and is full of sinister twists throughout. Personally I loved it, it's one of the most surreal and disturbing pieces of horror that I've ever seen and has stuck with me ever since I first watched it, making many modern horrors look like episodes of Scooby Doo in comparison. Miike gains the true title of master of horror in what is one of the most extreme pieces of television ever, a must see for every horror fanatic.
There are several honourable mentions such as Deer Woman, Sick Girl and We All Scream for Ice Cream, but the six I have mentioned above are the ones that truly stood out for me among many of the painfully mediocre episodes. Masters of Horror was not a perfect series, however those episodes are what made it somewhat enjoyable partially due to their directors, all real horror masters. So that's it for this brief post, my next post will be the beginning of a fortnightly post where I look back at classic cult horror films and give my thoughts on them so stay tuned for that.
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