October 26, 2006: Masters of Horror 101
Now Fear This!
Ah... my favorite time of year... the leaves are turning, Halloween plans churning, and
Masters of Horror Season 2 is off to a screaming premiere tomorrow night [10PM ET/PT on
Showtime]. As I weave my dark tvguide.com web here for the new season, I wanted to give Season 1 a short "re-capitation," and take us all through Season 2 "ghoul school."
The Premise and The Extreme
Masters of Horror began as a dinner conversation among acclaimed horror directors, which soon became TV history-in-the-making. Director
Mick Garris became the series Creator and Executive Producer, and his vision was to allow the "chosen 13" directors as much creative freedom possible.
Showtime was up for this premise, and without MPAA intervention, 13 seriously extreme 1-hour horror films found a home on cable TV.
And Then There Were 12
The horror and cult community eagerly anticipated the 13th and final episode, directed by Japan's legendary
Takashi Miike [
Audition;
Ichi the Killer]. However, finding it way too extreme for TV, Showtime banned Miike's episode. Although Mick Garris called the episode "amazing," he also admitted that it was the most disturbing film
he'd ever seen. The episode was pulled at the last minute, and replaced with
Haeckel's Tale, a twisted zombie love story adapted from a
Clive Barker [
Hellraiser] short story. Strangely enough, Miike's episode did air on
broadcast TV in the UK, but American audiences would have to see
Imprint on DVD. To date, the verdict on Miike's opus is that it is indeed the most extreme
Masters of Horror, but that didn't stop Showtime from green lighting a second season.
Repeat Offenders
Several of last year's "Masters" will bring a new feast to this season's table, including
Tobe Hooper [
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre;
Poltergeist],
John Landis [
An American Werewolf in London],
John Carpenter [
Halloween;
The Thing], "Italy's Hitchcock,"
Dario Argento [
Suspiria;
Opera],
Stuart Gordon [
Re-Animator;
H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon],
Joe Dante [
The Howling;
Gremlins] and of course, Creator/Executive Producer Mick Garris [
Stephen King's Riding the Bullet;
Stephen King's 'The Stand'].
Fresh Blood
Notable newcomers that I'm personally looking forward to this season include directors
Brad Anderson [
The Machinist;
Session 9],
Tom Holland [
Fright Night;
Child's Play] and
Rob Schmidt [
Wrong Turn]. Similar to last year, this season's final episode is directed by an acclaimed Japanese director.
Norio Tsuruta has been hailed as "the father of J-Horror," the beloved genre of Japanese horror that's incidentally taken the Hollywood remake circuit by storm [
The Ring /
Ringu;
The Grudge /
Ju-On: The Grudge].
Master Plans
As we plan our fright [movie] nights for Halloween and ramp up for
Masters of Horror Season 2, I've created a handy little
drill
ax
jigsaw
can opener tool I've named "The Masters Guide." [Guidance is my job, after all]!
Masters Guide: Season 1
For Zombie Freaks:
Dance of the Dead;
Homecoming;
Haeckel's Tale
Dark Fairytales:
Deer Woman;
Dreams in the Witch-House;
Fair Haired Child
Serial Thrill-Kills:
Incident On and Off a Mountain Road;
Pick Me Up;
Jenifer
Mad Science:
Sick Girl
Supernatural:
Cigarette Burns;
Chocolate;
Fair Haired Child;
Dreams in the Witch-House
The Goriest:
Incident On and Off a Mountain Road;
Cigarette Burns;
Jenifer;
Imprint
Wicked Humor:
Homecoming;
Deer Woman;
Sick Girl;
Pick Me Up
Fatal Attractions:
Dance of the Dead;
Fair Haired Child;
Sick Girl;
Chocolate;
Jenifer;
Deer Woman;
Haeckel's Tale;
Imprint
Masters Guide: Season 2
[Premiere Episode] The Damned Thing, Directed by Tobe Hooper
[The Texas Chain Saw Massacre; Poltergeist]
A supernatural, apocalyptic thriller. I'm happy to see director
Sam Raimi's brother,
Ted [
The Evil Dead;
Spider-Man Trilogies] in the cast.
Family, Directed by Jon Landis
[An American Werewolf in London]
Could be about an eccentric neighbor in suburbia, who turns out [to the horror of the 'hood] to be a serial killer. Season 1 put the "kill" into serial killer, so this could be intense. Jon Landis also has a knack for incorporating dry humor into horror, so this may wind up in my "Wicked Humor" category by season's end. Then again, maybe Landis will direct "against type" and make this seriously scary... either way, I'm up for it.
The V-Word, Directed by Ernest Dickerson
[Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight; Also Written by Mick Garris]
"V" is for vampire, that's good enough for me. I'm certain that
Michael Ironside [
Scanners;
The Machinist] will deliver quite a bite as the raging vamp. Garris himself has said that this isn't a romantic depiction of vampires, so it may be pretty blood curdling.
Sounds Like, Written and Directed by Brad Anderson
[Session 9]
Judging by how deeply Anderson's
Session 9 got under my skin, I do know that he does psychological horror very, very well. With a larger budget and few restrictions, will he stick to subtle fear, or elect gore?
Pro-Life, Directed by John Carpenter
[Halloween; The Thing]
Much like Carpenter's good friend, peer and zombie genre pioneer
George A. Romero [
Night of the Living Dead], this entry may very well provide an unsettling social commentary along with the supernatural, demonic stuff. I'm stoked to see
Ron Perlman [
Hellboy] in the cast.
Pelts, Directed by Dario Argento
[Suspiria; Opera]
Argento's usual colorful, stylish, surreal screen-nightmares took a back seat last season with a grittier, desaturated palette in
Jenifer. The realistic style was well executed, but I prefer Argento's surrealism. Since
Pelts returns to the Italian Giallo mystery genre, it's likely the vivid palette will return. And holy bat outta hell, Batman:
Meat Loaf is the main character! As my horror-hound husband once said, "There's always room for Giallo."
The Screwfly Solution, Directed by Joe Dante
[The Howling; Gremlins]
Ooooh, the crush of my high school years,
Beverly Hills, 90210's
Jason Priestley stars, as well as funnyman
Elliott Gould. [Okay,
Johnny Depp was my first celebrity crush, but Priestly was a close second... it's the hair and piercing eyes]. Hm, the monsters may be a zombie-serial killer hybrid. Also guaranteed to bring a twist to the whole "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus" dynamic.
Valerie on the Stairs, Written and Directed by Mick Garris [Stephen King's Riding the Bullet, Stephen King's The Stand]
Another Clive Barker [
Hellraiser] adaptation; that gets immediate "cool points" from me. Cast member
Christopher Lloyd [
Back to the Future;
The Addams Family /
Addams Family Values] is excellent at being creepy, funny or both [he perfected the role of the '90s "Uncle Fester"]. I love this tagline, lifted straight from the
Masters of Horror episode synopsis: "Blood and death follow [main character] Rob across the tenuous line between life and art." This could potentially be my favorite episode ever. [No pressure, Mick]!
We Scream for Ice Cream, Directed by Tom Holland
[Fright Night; Child's Play]
Ice cream that incites a literal blood lust in children. Nice! The screenwriter is
David Schow, writer of one of my favorite cult films,
The Crow. He also wrote the screenplay to last year's entry,
Pick Me Up, which had tight, smart and wicked cool writing. I also found Holland's
Fright Night and
Child's Play to be scary as hell, but just funny enough to be entertaining. Judging by the synopsis, this could possibly be one of those creepy youth-gone-wild films like
Children of the Corn. Except with ice cream. In other words, this could be one of the scariest. Uh oh... and there shall be clowns. That's. Not. Good. *shudder*
The Black Cat, Directed by Stuart Gordon
[Re-Animator; H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon]
This could also become a favorite episode ever. I find Stuart Gordon to be a master at adapting H.P. Lovecraft stories for screen, and now he's doing the same with Edgar Allan Poe's classic frightener. Beloved cult actor
Jeffrey Combs [
Re-Animator] is set to star, so surely, this is a horror fiend's
nightmare dream episode.
The Washingtonians, Directed by Peter Medak
[The Changeling]
Whoa. President George Washington discovered to be an "insatiable cannibal?" I'm sure this will be played for laughs as a satirical social commentary, much like last year's
Homecoming. Or will it?
Right to Die, Directed by Rob Schmidt
[Wrong Turn]
Many horror fans and critics gave
Wrong Turn a lot of guff, but I found it to be quite scary. Unlike most "road trip romp gone bad" movies, the characters were likable, which is what made the horror so intense. This story looks like a unique socially driven one, starring
Martin Donovan [
Weeds], whom I've always adored. [Donovan starred in a unique expressionistic vampire movie called
Nadja, which I highly recommend as a Halloween selection for you artsy intellectual moviegoers].
Dream Cruise, Directed by Norio Tsuruta
[Ring 0: Birthday; Premonition]
On the one hand, Tsuruta has Takashi Miike's notorious shoes to fill from last season's 13th episode, but on the other hand, he doesn't, because
Imprint [for the most part] never hit air. One thing I like already is that the story takes place in Tokyo and Tokyo Bay. I am also a huge fan of "J-Horror," so if he opts for that style, I'm ready to be good and creeped out.
That's a Wrap
*Whew!* Consider this "monster entry" complete. Now I must nurse my horror nerd-induced carpal tunnel in time for tomorrow night's premiere episode blog. Feel free to participate in my various
Masters of Horror polls, and to indulge me in lively comment debates as the season unfolds!
