"Masters of Horror" gets a big thumbs up!
I finally convinced the girlfriend to rent them. They've been sitting on that shelf at Blockbuster taunting me for months. I wasn't able to talk her into ordering Showtime for the original screening, how could I get her to rent them now? Well, it finally happened -we left without She's the Man and with the first disc from the Showtime "Masters of Horror" series.
"Masters of Horror" is a Showtime series where legendary horror filmmakers are able to direct and produce a one-hour horror story. This particular disc featured episodes from Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) and John Carpenter (The Thing, Halloween). The result is premium cable magic!
Gordon's "Dreams in the Witch House" is based on a (if you know Gordon you would have guessed it) H.P. Lovecraft story. The simple plot revolves a graduate physics student renting a dingy room in ancient house so he can get some piece and quiet. Long story short, the student begins to have these visions of crazy things which include great creepy moments like a rat with a human face. The visions become more and more real as more of the house's legacy is revealed, and the audience is left constantly guessing at what is real and what is madness. The story, while simple, contains some great tension and "freak-out moments," not to mention more than a couple pints of blood. Be warned, it is slightly cheesy at times, but as a whole, definitely worth the watch.
Carpenter's "Cigarette Burns" is much more psychological than what you would expect from the guy who brought you the mindless slasher film Halloween and the gore-fest The Thing. "Cigarette Burns" involves a young man dealing with his inner demons while searcing for someone else's. Kirby (played by Norman Reedus of Boondock Saints) is a young cinema owner with a dark past who is sent on a quest to find the only copy of a film only screened once. The film is impossible to find because, get this, it alleged drove the audience of its only screening to a homicidal frenzy. What sounds like a dumber version of the The Ring (if such a thing is possible... oh yeah, The Grudge), turns out to be a relatively complex look into faith, redemption, greed, art, voyeurism and God. If you think it sounds a bit heavy and complex for a one-hour horror film you're right, and if it was done by anyone but the masterful John Carpenter, it would have been a disaster. As it stands, this short piece is one of the most original, bizarre and gory horror films I've seen in a long time and a must see for all fans of the genre.
In other news, two great reviews of Pan's Labyrinth are up on IGN and Ain't It Cool News. If you missed it, the trailer to this exciting dark fantasy tale is linked to in the previous post.
"Masters of Horror" is a Showtime series where legendary horror filmmakers are able to direct and produce a one-hour horror story. This particular disc featured episodes from Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) and John Carpenter (The Thing, Halloween). The result is premium cable magic!
Gordon's "Dreams in the Witch House" is based on a (if you know Gordon you would have guessed it) H.P. Lovecraft story. The simple plot revolves a graduate physics student renting a dingy room in ancient house so he can get some piece and quiet. Long story short, the student begins to have these visions of crazy things which include great creepy moments like a rat with a human face. The visions become more and more real as more of the house's legacy is revealed, and the audience is left constantly guessing at what is real and what is madness. The story, while simple, contains some great tension and "freak-out moments," not to mention more than a couple pints of blood. Be warned, it is slightly cheesy at times, but as a whole, definitely worth the watch.
Carpenter's "Cigarette Burns" is much more psychological than what you would expect from the guy who brought you the mindless slasher film Halloween and the gore-fest The Thing. "Cigarette Burns" involves a young man dealing with his inner demons while searcing for someone else's. Kirby (played by Norman Reedus of Boondock Saints) is a young cinema owner with a dark past who is sent on a quest to find the only copy of a film only screened once. The film is impossible to find because, get this, it alleged drove the audience of its only screening to a homicidal frenzy. What sounds like a dumber version of the The Ring (if such a thing is possible... oh yeah, The Grudge), turns out to be a relatively complex look into faith, redemption, greed, art, voyeurism and God. If you think it sounds a bit heavy and complex for a one-hour horror film you're right, and if it was done by anyone but the masterful John Carpenter, it would have been a disaster. As it stands, this short piece is one of the most original, bizarre and gory horror films I've seen in a long time and a must see for all fans of the genre.
In other news, two great reviews of Pan's Labyrinth are up on IGN and Ain't It Cool News. If you missed it, the trailer to this exciting dark fantasy tale is linked to in the previous post.
posted by the horrorgeek at 11:02 PM
2 Comments:
What a nice girlfriend you have. Good use of links to give people a back story to explain who the directors are you are talking about. The stories sound interesting, but I'm a little more interested in Carpenter's work. His first works always had a psychological under current.
The Lovely and Gracious
Yeah, she's the greatest.
If you're a Carpenter fan, you'll love "Cigarette Burns." It's hard to give a good synopsis of the story without giving too much away, but it ends up being quite a bit more philosophical than you would expect from this kind of piece.
Oh, did I forget to mention how liberal the blood is? Some great old school make-up artistry and special effects. Latex make-up for the win!!1!
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