My Masters of Horror run is still going. I watched what was left of season one, minus 1 episode that I couldn't find. So four episodes of which I liked 3 and didn't enjoy 1.
I watched Deer Woman, Sick Girl, Pick Me Up and Haeckel's Tale. Purely ranking them...I REALLY liked what they did with Pick Me Up. Second place is Deer Woman. Haeckel's Tale was an okay third. The weakest of this bunch was Sick Girl, but I'd still rank it above Jenifer, Chocolate or Dreams in a Witch house. That means 3 of my least favorite episodes from season 1 happened in the first five episodes while two standouts weren't until episodes 8 and 11 with the third not even airing because of controversy (that was Imprint).
Anyway in order of best to worst...
What I liked about Pick Me Up is that it took a pretty typical horror set-up and just added a bit of spin to it. A greyhound style bus breaks down and the passengers have three options; stay and wait for help, ride with a random trucker who saw them and offered transport or walk to a nearby motel. But the real play conceit here is that two different killers are targeting the entire group and competing with each other for bodies. One is a hitchhiker who targets drivers and the other is a driver who targets hitchhikers. It's campy fun in terms of the kills (a roadkill snake becomes a weapon early on for example) but also has some of the creeping torture concepts that were big in the Hostel era mixed in (not my favorite type of horror). That causes a bit of clashing tones at times but never enough to take away from a pretty fun battle between two awful personalities.
In a more comedic lane we got Deer Woman. A cop who picks up all the "weird" cases gets an especially strange one when men keep turning up pounded to a pulp with hoof prints on them as if they were trampled in their bedrooms. This ridiculous situation plays out two ways..the cop and his sort of partner investigating the case and watching a femme fatale of sorts luring men to their deaths. But it's all played for comedy. The dialogue has some really sharp moments that I enjoyed and no one shies away from the fact that this plot is crazy. The femme fatale is gorgeous but never says a word, which winds up making for some funny scenes where guys do all the talking while she just nods and smiles. It's really a comedy on top of a horror plot than vice versa, but actually wound up being one of my favorite episodes of the whole season.
Back to legitimate attempt at horror, Haeckel's Tale took a shot at gothic horror. I have a soft spot for Victorian Gothic settings and this one goes all in. A doctor who has been trying to revive the dead using science comes across a necromancer achieving the feat with magic. As he tries to find out more on the magic, he winds up at a house on the border of the living and the dead where a beautiful woman lives with an old man. The couple has a dark secret; the doctor's curiosity gets the better of him, yada, yada, yada...if you know the genre, this fits the tropes pretty well. It's a solid affair but also visualizes some things that probably work better in written form. The tension and weight of finding out the secrets ends up being more absurd than surreal which hurts the serious tone. Still, it's solid and hits all the bases for a unique story compared to the rest of the season.
My bottom of this batch; Sick Girl aimed more for comedy than horror like Deer Woman, but minus the quality. A woman who studies bugs falls in love and shacks up with a female co-worker, but when a specimen bites the co-worker, it causes a transformation that's one part Kafka and one part possession movie. There's a neat little allegory for rushing into love and what comes after the honeymoon phase lurking here but it doesn't quite land. The character interactions are mostly awkward so there's never chemistry to build up the romance angle and the comedy only relies on that awkwardness. It might have hurt that I'd just watched Deer Woman which is just a sharper horror-comedy. The ending is supposed to be a twist but they barely laid any groundwork to get there, so it just feels like a Macguffin that they tacked on right at the end to give the plot a reason for happening.
Celebrity appearance notes: Fairuza Balk really does a great job as the main protagonist of Pick Me Up. Derek Cecil from HBO's Outsider series shows up in Haeckel's Tale.
I couldn't find Fair-Haired Child. But the incomplete power rankings for season one: Top Tier (worth watching for any horror head):
1. Cigarette Burns...really good!
2. Pick Me Up...Fun concept and at its best when it goes full camp.
3. Imprint...easily the most memorable from a visuals standpoint and it's the darkest the series gets in season one.
4. Dance of the Dead...Robert Englund is worth the price of admission but there's a solid dystopian story too.
Second Tier (good enough to throw on for a horror head looking for something they haven't seen)
5. Deer Woman...it leans into the craziness for a legitimately funny horror-comedy.
6. Homecoming...the deeper message might get too preachy for some, but that they nailed it in a horror setting is notable.
7. Haeckel's Tale...solid for gothic horror fans but without ever reading the short story, I'd guess the written version is better.
8. Incident on the Mountain Road...I'm not the biggest slasher fan, but if you like slashers this might be good for you.
Bottom Tier (Not episodes I'd even suggest unless you're a completionist for the series)
9. Sick Girl...the nice allegory doesn't make up for weak execution on every other element.
10. Jenifer...maybe the letdown is that it's an Argento but honestly, nothing about it worked.
11. Chocolate...memorable for accidental comedy more than anything.
12. HP Lovecraft's Dreams in a witch house...don't invoke Lovecraft and come this weak, my run away winner for the weakest episode.
Found my season one overview for Masters of Horror. The spoiler has some episode reviews too. I remember having a really fun time going through the whole series. I did similar series reviews for the Peele Twilight Zone series and Cabinet of Curiosities. I love those horror anthology shows.
Yeah --- its a pretty by the numbers slasher flick
set in an long abandoned spinach canning factory- that closed down in a shroud of mystery....
not a good movie , but not bad either
typical people making stupid decisions
Hell, 2 of the characters kill themselves by accident
Decent Fx
I was ....amused
I just can't watch premium horror unless i have time and
i am working way too much running these projects to invest in something i can only watch minutes a go.
Also, I crossed the line with horror a long time ago and i am just seeing how far it can take me
good- bad -indifferent- fukk it i'll give it a spin.
Yeah --- its a pretty by the numbers slasher flick
set in an long abandoned spinach canning factory- that closed down in a shroud of mystery....
not a good movie , but not bad either
typical people making stupid decisions
Hell, 2 of the characters kill themselves by accident
Decent Fx
I was ....amused
I just can't watch premium horror unless i have time and
i am working way too much running these projects to invest in something i can only watch minutes a go.
Also, I crossed the line with horror a long time ago and i am just seeing how far it can take me
good- bad -indifferent- fukk it i'll give it a spin.
Found my season one overview for Masters of Horror. The spoiler has some episode reviews too. I remember having a really fun time going through the whole series. I did similar series reviews for the Peele Twilight Zone series and Cabinet of Curiosities. I love those horror anthology shows.
Yea our rankings so far are very different I'm alright with comedy in my horror and I like the ridiculous shyt too much. So far for me it goes
Dreams in the Witch House
I like the Stuart Gordon/Brian Yuzna Lovecraft stuff and this fits it. It's closer to being more like Bride of Re-animator. THe thing that holds it down for me is the lead actor. The SFX were good.
The rat with the human face too me out
The college library just casually has the Necronomicon in it
Jenifer
Fun flip for me on how a man would ruin his career, family, and himself over some p*ssy
Deer Woman
Hilarious take thats inline with John Landis' American Werewolf in London, and Innocent Blood. Much more fun than the time I spent trying to watch An American Werewolf in Paris
I was at the AAWiL easter egg
Dance of the Dead
The CGI held this movie down. The setting was great and it showed that the world can change, and not really change at all. The twist was great. This could have been great if they had more time.
Homecoming
I appreciated the social commentary. The end with the zombies playing the drums took me out. The Ann Coulter lady was way more interesting than the leading man in the story.
Chocolate
Great concept. I didn't like how it ended and felt that was the weakest part of the story. Henry Thomas was great like anything I've ever seen him in.
Incident on and off the Mountain
Too me the story was too close to the Hillbilly Horrors of the time(Wrong Turn/Hills Have Eyes/Wolf Creek). The twist is alright but the build up to it was interesting to watch. I feel like this part of the episode is even better today with the way some right wingers are.
I like to think of this as a Prequel for You're Next. That's kinda dope
I enjoyed dude playing a scumbag for a change. Vegas Vacation might be my favorite movie from the series based on how many times I've watched and quoted it. I also watched Can't Hardly Wait in a month or two and was surprised at how well made it was and holds up. Ethan Embry is in Scream 7 He's the killer
I feel like Devon Sawa stole his lane around that time period. They should be in something together.
Companion is a decent film. I won’t watch again, but worth seeing on a lazy day.
I gotta say this: I don’t care if you’re a gay person, but I don’t wanna see any lovie dovie intimacy involving men on my screen. I can barely tolerate the flirty talk.
ART ATTACK. Dives into the making of Terrifier 3, exploring its shocking practical effects, Art the Clown's rise, and its bold impact on modern horror.
www.primewire.tf
VPN is preferred - maybe an adblocker as well IYKYN
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I'm alright with comedy in my horror and I like the ridiculous shyt too much. So far for me it goes
at the AAWiL easter egg
He's the killer
