Terry's Reviews
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Masters of Horror Anchor Bay Entertainment – 2006 |
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| Filmmaker Mick Garris has put together a virtual who’s who from the horror field to fuel a new Television series called MASTERS OF HORROR (MOH). MOH airs on Showtime. Anchor Bay Entertainment, the leader in horror DVDs has joined together with IDT Entertainment to release all MOH episodes on DVD. Anchor Bay goes all out to match the quality each filmmaker has achieved to give fans a look at the most important genre show since the TWILIGHT ZONE. | |||
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Masters of Horror - Cigarette Burns Directed
by John Carpenter Starring |
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| What an excellent way to kick off the DVD
distribution of Showtime’s dream series for horror fans, MASTERS OF HORROR. Anchor
Bay Entertainment has done a brilliant job of packaging John Carpenter’s episode with
a supplement section that will thrill any fan of horror. A movie programmer Kirby Sweetman (Norman Reedus) is hired by an odd collector Mr. Balliinger (Udo Kier) to find a rare film LE FIN ABSOLUE DU MONDE. This film was only shown once and supposedly drove the audience members into acting out homicidal acts. As Kirby delves into the secretive world of the movie, he meets strange people and he is sucked into the hallucinatory reality of LE FIN ABSOLUE DU MONDE. This is the best film project I’ve seen John Carpenter work on since the second episode of BODY BAGS (1993) about Stacy Keach’s hair transplant going wrong. CIGARETTE BURNS has the unpredictable, apocalyptic feel of IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS and proves Carpenter is still one of the best working in the genre. Norman Reedus and Udo Kier are excellent in their roles. John Carpenter’s son Cody does the score and you would honestly think that it’s the father doing the music if you didn’t know better. The extra features are stellar. There are two audio commentary tracks; one with John Carpenter and the other with writers Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan. Carpenter’s track is a bit more laid back while the writers project their enthusiasm for the project. Behind The Scenes: The making of CIGARETTE BURNS is 20 minutes of cool interviews with cast and crew showing how the episode was made. I totally agreed with and loved watching the feature Working With A Master: John Carpenter. Celluloid Apocalypse: An Interview with John Carpenter is a fun look at John Carpenter’s illustrious career. On Set: An Interview with Norman Reedus explains how the BOONDOCK SAINTS actor became involved on the film, and the process he went through playing the role. As Anchor Bay always does, bios, trailers, still gallery, DVD ROM of the screenplay and screensaver are included.A DVD packed with goodies any horror fan would revel in. |
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Masters of Horror – Dreams in
the Witch House Anchor Bay Entertainment – 2006 Directed by Stuart Gordon Starring |
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| Stuart Gordon follows up John Carpenter’s
Masters of Horror entry with a truly effective horror short. DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE
features some really good acting from the two leads, the ominous feel of H.P. Lovecraft
and the trademark gore of Stuart Gordon. A student rents the attic room of an old house. As he begins to work on this thesis, strange things start to happen; the room’s architecture begins to warp, a rat with a human face appears to him, he hears things moving within the walls and a witch-like woman arrives on the scene. Fans of REANIMATOR, DAGON and FROM BEYOND will not be disappointed with Stuart Gordon’s latest film. Gordon focuses on Lovecraft’s wide-open atmosphere, a quality many other filmmakers have been unable to capture. The actors in the story are Gordon’s priority, but he does sprinkle the film with carnal delight. It was nice to see Gordon work with long-time collaborator Richard Band, who wrote the score. Audio Commentary with writer/director Stuart Gordon and actor Ezra Godden proves to be fun, informative, and easy on the ears. Behind The Scenes: The making of DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE in 20 minutes we find out how the episode was made from interviews with cast and crew. It was really nice to look back on Gordon’s career in the feature Working With A Master: Stuart Gordon. On Set: An Interview with Chelah Horsdal helps illuminate how the Canadian actress became involved on the film, and the process she went through playing the role. SFX: Meet Brown Jenkin is a short feature on the special effects artist. As Anchor Bay always does, bios, trailers, still gallery, storyboard gallery, DVD ROM of the screenplay and screensaver, and “Dreams in the Witch House” by H.P. Lovecraft are included. A dense package that would thrill any fan of horror. |
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Masters of
Horror – Deer Woman Anchor Bay Entertainment – 2006 Directed by John Landis |
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| A down and out
detective is condemned to a desk job when he stumbles on a serial trampler. This leads him
to rejuvenate his detective career with the aid of a simple-minded officer. The two of
them are led into a cat-and-mouse game of death. But it’s funny. John Landis
continues his juggling act with comedy and horror. The comedic aspects are always the most
important, and are what make DEER WOMAN unique to the other Masters of Horror films. Brian
Benben doesn’t immediately draw attention to himself, but is every bit as good as any
given A-list actor. Partner: not good. Cinthia Moura is striking in more ways than one. I
can think of at least 2 ways!
The extra features are phenomenal. Right from the get-go, John Landis comes on the screen and berates you into not watching the special features if you’ve yet to see the feature presentation. I’ve never seen that on any other DVD, nor have I ever so enjoyed a director berating me. There’s one casual audio commentary with actors Brian Benben and Anthony Griffith. Behind The Scenes: The making of DEER WOMAN is a third of an hour of reflective rants from cast and crew showing how DW was made. Fortunately, Max Landis never had much to say beyond a few seconds. Working With A Master: John Landis is an entertaining review of the past works of John Landis. Animal Hooves: An Interview with John Landis keeps in the jocular spirit of the episode. There are three “On Set: An Interview with” sessions with Brian Benben, Anthony Griffith and Cinthia Moura. There’s also a Fantasy Film Festival with Masters of Horror creator Mick Garris and John Landis. As per true Anchor Bay style, bios, trailers, still gallery, DVD ROM of the screenplay and screensaver are included. A DVD packed with goodies any horror or comedy fan would revel in. |
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Masters of
Horror – Jenifer Anchor Bay Entertainment – 2006 Directed by Dario Argento Starring |
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| First things first,
this movie is disturbing, and will stay with you long after it’s over. There are two
reasons for this. The first being the grotesque face of the title character, the second
being the detective’s insatiable lust and repeated sex acts with her. Detective Frank Spivey (Steven Weber) thwarts a down-and-out businessman’s attempts to heinously meat-cleave a young girl (Carrie Anne Fleming) under a remote bridge. Spivey makes it his personal mission to find help for this girl, even at the cost of his job, marriage, family and home. As if all that weren’t bad enough, he repeatedly has sex with her. This is one of the most potent films I’ve seen Dario Argento made since the 80s. It was nice to see Steven Weber show his face again, even if he had to write the script in order to be hired. KNB Effects should almost be listed as playing the role of Jenifer, as Fleming was really the costume for their special makeup effects. Not to say anything negative about Carrie Anne’s acting abilities, but what makes the character work is the ghastly visual appearance. Countless other girls could have easily played this role just as well. She was merely a canvass for the makeup to be applied to, it would seem. What I enjoyed most about Behind The Scenes: The making of JENIFER is that it is just behind the scenes footage with cues from Claudio Simonetti’s score backing it. In other words, no words. It plays out naturally and let’s you see what it was like making this film.The highlight from Working With A Master: Dario Argento was listening to Claudio Simonetti tell how he became involved with Goblin and how they begin their working relationship with Dario Argento. In So Hideous, My Love: An Interview with Dario Argento, the director said that he felt the story was BEAUTY AND THE BEAST in reverse. The man was beauty and the girl was the beast. That makes a lot of sense and gives you a true idea of the man’s creative mind. There are two “On Set: An Interview with” sessions with Steven Weber and Carrie Anne Fleming. The actors somewhat gush over working with Dario Argento and admit that they were both somewhat intimidated by Argento’s illustrious career. Audio commentary with writer/actor Steven Weber was fun to hear and made me appreciate and understand why he wrote the screenplay. Howard Berger and the Makeup of Jenifer dive into what took place to create the nasty looking title character. Bios, trailers, still gallery, DVD ROM of the screenplay and screensaver are included. A DVD packed with creepy, sickening, twisted sex even horror fans would squirm over. |
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Masters of
Horror – Incident On and Off a Mountain Road Anchor Bay Entertainment – 2006 Directed by Don Coscarelli Starring |
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| On a dark, lonely
road, a woman (Bree Turner) gets into a car collision, and is instantly being hunted by a
massive, scary beast named Moonface (John De Santis). What appears at cut-and dry
"you’re gonna die" situation systematically turns until the hunter becomes
the hunted. All the while, flashback scenes are intercut showing her own Prince Charming
(Ethan Embry) turning into Sergeant Slaughter, and it starts to become clear just
what’s made this little girl so tough. This is the best project Coscarelli has worked on since PHANTASM 2. Bree Turner was a real find. She’s not only attractive, but also convincingly tough. Ethan Embry plays the abusive husband you love to hate. John De Santis is big and scary. There’s one shot in particular where Moonface jumps from a ditch, up and over the guardrail at the side of the road, and it’s just creepy. Angus (the Tall Man) Scrimm is totally out of place, and shouldn’t have been in the film. Behind The Scenes: The making of INCIDENT ON AND OFF A MOUNTAIN ROAD is a series of recollections from cast and crew of the film. Working With A Master: Don Coscarelli features actors from his previous films who champion his work as a director. Predators and Prey: An Interview with Don Coscarelli gives us the opportunity to hear how he thinks and captures his vision on film. Two “On Set: An Interview with” sessions are included featuring John De Santis and Ethan Embry. There are 2 audio commentaries with Don Coscarelli and writer Stephen Romano, and the other is with Don Coscarelli and author Joe R Lansdale. Anchor Bay rounds out the DVD with bios, trailers, still gallery, DVD ROM of the screenplay and screensaver. This DVD packs a feisty punch and you’ll love taking the impact. |
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Masters of
Horror – Pick Me Up Anchor Bay Entertainment 2006 Directed by Larry Cohen Written by David J Schow Starring |
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| On a mountainside
road, a bus breaks down. Two different serial killers arrive on the scene; one, Wheeler
(Moriarty), in a truck, the other, Walker (Kole), by foot. An unspoken competition erupts
between the two, as they battle for the life rights of the passengers involved. With all the famous horror film directors involved in this series, Larry Cohen probably wouldn’t be considered the odds-on favorite to make the best episode. However, he did. Cohen does a really good job visualizing the story and getting very strong performances from all the actors. No matter what you think of actor Michael Moriarty, you’ve got to admit that he’s unique and original. I can’t think of any other actor like him. This is probably my favorite role I’ve seen him play so far. Warren Kole is a real up-and-comer and definitely is a good match with Moriarty. Fairuza Balk is cast just right as the edgy Stacia and her rough voice and brash visual appearance actually works in tandem with the other characters. David J Schow must be commended for his twisting, unpredictable script. PICK ME UP is honestly a lot of fun and stays ahead of you in a way that you can’t figure out what’s going to happen next. As usual with all the Masters of Horror episodes, Anchor Bay Entertainment gives you a smorgasbord of special features; Death On The Highway: An Interview with Larry Cohen gave me a chance to get re-acquainted with Larry Cohen’s diverse work. Remember this is the same guy who created THE INVADERS and BRANDED in the 1960s and wrote the recent hit PHONE BOOTH in 2002. The Next segment Working With A Master: Larry Cohen further illustrates the longevity of Cohen’s career and makes you want to go back and watch IT’S ALIVE, Q: THE WINGED SERPENT and THE STUFF again. Behind The Scenes: The Making of PICK ME UP is 20 minutes of cool interviews with cast and crew showing how the episode was made. We get all three leads in On Set Interviews where each actor gives a glimpse into their involvement and approach to their work. Larry Cohen provides Audio Commentary and I liked Mick Garris’ interview with Larry Cohen at Fantasy Film Festival. Anchor Bay wraps over 3 hours of bonus material with bios, trailers, still gallery, DVD ROM of the screenplay and screensaver are included. PICK ME UP stands out as one of the finest DVD releases this year. |
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