January 26, 2007: Got a Toothpick?
I found this week's
Masters of Horror episode,
The Washingtonians, to be one of the more creative and clever stories of both seasons. The premise reminded me a little bit of
Ravenous, a cannibal movie of the confederacy kind, which I highly recommend if you like gruesome, moody and blackly comedic horror with a twist of historical drama. (It has a superbly unsettling musical score, too.) Of course,
The Washingtonians was more of a political satire than a serious attempt at "rewriting history," but
Ravenous truly made me feel like the events of the story could have possibly happened during harsh winters at "ye old valley forts."
At one point during
Washingtonians, HHH (horror-hound-hubby) and I decided that we knew the exact wording used in the casting call for the show: "the oldest, creepiest looking actors money can buy." Some of those cast members were pretty frightening before the white makeup, powdered wigs and blood-drenched feasting. I can definitely understand why "Amy" always felt creeped out when visiting her grandparents in that town. Afraid of her own shadow, my butt! Those people were seriously "off."
I loved the "covert ops" FBI/CIA "cleanup" ending, which would have been the perfect way to conclude
The Washingtonians. It was also cute when the delivery guy noticed that the family had all ordered vegetarian takeout. Unfortunately, the final "currency" left me with a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth and almost ruined what I would have considered a near-perfect slice of comedic-horror Americana.
Once the previews started for next week, I found it hard to believe that we're down to the last
Masters of Horror Season 2 episode. It shaped up to be a bloody good season, and I really hope that I'll be back in this worldwide spot next year, blogging about
Masters of Horror Season 3.
