SEASON 1
Imprint
Takashi Miike’s episode of the cult horror series which was banned in the USA finally debuted here in the UK this past Friday (April 7th) and it was surprisingly beautiful for such a disgusting story.
Billy Drago stars as an American journalist who travels to a brothel on an island in search of a hooker he plans to make his wife. When he gets there he meets a mysterious and deformed girl who tells him that his love, Kimomo, has killed herself.
As the night draws on, the girl tells the journalist the torture that his lover endured at the hands of the brothel owner and the events which ultimately led to her death, yet things are not as they first seem to be.
This episode was aesthetically beautiful, with all kinds of bright colours to make up for the cold, dark and dank sets and locations, but its subject matter is anything but bright.
Abortions, needle torture and rope contortion as well as physical deformities and all manner of gruesome surprises await in this love parlour.
Billy Drago was a little off here but the supporting cast did great jobs at making us emote sympathy for them; especially our leading lady, despite the fact she isn’t what she seems.
OVERALL SUMMARY
An excellent way to end the series, this episode was definitely worth the wait and I felt so sorry for my American friends who will have to wait until this hits DVD to see this visual TV tour de force.
Rating: out of 5
The Fair Haired Child
I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect this episode to deliver, as William Malone is a director who seems to spoil his films by overloading them with freaky imagery, substituting style for substance. I am pleased to say that I couldn’t have been more wrong, as it ended up being the best yet.
The film begins as a young girl named Tara is abducted by a mysterious man in a shocking moment of decent CGI stunt work. The girl awakens in ‘hospital’ and as she is quizzed about her health by nurse Judith (Lori Petty) we become immediately suspicious.
The girl discovers that she is in fact in her abductor’s home, and soon ends up in the basement with a mute boy who has quite obviously been traumatized. As the two try to work out what is happening, we learn more about the sadistic couple, in a beautifully created tale of terror.
Malone and his crew should be applauded for their work on this, with beautiful locations and scenery capturing a wonderfully dark mood and atmosphere, backed up by excellent use of light and dark, black and white and is complimented overall by gorgeous pieces of classical music including Brahms Piano Quartet in G Minor, which is most likely used as a nod to House on Haunted Hill.
OVERALL SUMMARY
In the tradition of classic anthology tales, Malone leaves a nasty sting in the tail that was a welcome addition to the series.
Rating: out of 5
Chocolate
Henry Thomas stars in the Mick Garris directed episode of the new horror show and he carries it well.
The tale revolves around a young man who begins to experience life through the senses of a woman he has never met. He can taste, touch, feel, see and hear what happens in her life, with disastrous results.
Thomas is really good here and the story is really all about him, but I think that’s why I found it so slow.
Sure, the supporting cast are good enough, and there are a few funny and a couple of sick moments to be found, but it wasn’t one of the better stories.
OVERALL SUMMARY
I’m really trying to like these movies but there hasn’t been one which you could call excellent.
Rating: out of 5
Pick Me Up
Larry Cohen’s episode is quite interesting and fun to watch, as some familiar genre stars including Fairuza Balk and Laurene Landon get caught up in a deadly road game between a psycho trucker and an equally demented hitchhiker.
The film looks good and makes great use of the deserted and lonely highways of America, as well as that creepy roadside motel look/feel which despite being all too common in the horror genre, is still mightily effective.
The cast are probably what makes this work so well but Cohen’s skills as a director (which many fans argue about, as well as his inclusion in this series) definitely should not be neglected.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Not the most original storyline ever, but it works for the most part and it was nice to see something close to ‘classic horror’ finally show up after six weeks of some of the most bizarre stories you’ve ever seen.
Rating: out of 5
Sick Girl
Angela Bettis stars in Lucky McKee’s episode of the Showtime original series, and her co-star is the unusual choice of porn star Misty Mundae who proves to be a good actress in a role which requires a certain amount of vulnerability.
The story follows entomologist Ida Teeter (Bettis) in her quest for true love. When she meets shy artist Misty in the foyer of her office block she immediately falls for the quiet girl, and the two embark on a love affair.
Ida doesn’t realize however that a strange specimen which was sent to her has escaped and has bitten Misty.
Misty soon becomes a polar opposite to her shy and retiring self and as she becomes more and more like the venomous little critter that bit her, things take a terrifyingly horrific turn for the worse.
This was another strong episode thanks to the talents of the cast and crew. Bettis turns in yet another emotive performance and Mundae was the perfect choice to play opposite her.
McKee as always manages to create a beautifully weird environment (mainly through use of giallo inspired set design) for a relationship study which manages to be completely sweet, despite the fact that blood and pus squirt everywhere during the film’s gorier scenes.
OVERALL SUMMARY
The end result was a touching tale that was disturbing and graphic enough to ensure horror fans will dig it.
Rating: out of 5
Homecoming
Joe Dante’s episode, like the best periods of horror cinema, uses current political debates and societal issues to great effect as soldiers killed in the war on terror come back from the dead to vote in an election.
The cast are good and it was great to see Robert Picardo back on TV but it’s one of those things that you can watch, but wouldn’t say it was a great episode later on.
It’s a great and important idea but it’s not the most thrilling hour of television I’ve ever seen.
OVERALL SUMMARY
This series is, in my opinion, going to find success in the subsequent years when other generations discover it on DVD, as it is a little too ahead of its time in my eyes.
Rating: out of 5
Cigarette Burns
John Carpenter’s episode of the popular yet somewhat disappointing horror series has so far been the only one to play over in my mind in the ensuing days since watching it, yet it wasn’t an altogether great film.
The premise sees film aficionado Kirby Sweetman hired by creepy film collector Mr. Ballinger played by Udo Kier, to be sent in search of a legendary film entitled La Fin Absolue De Monde. The film is said to be powerful, and all traces of it mention murder and mayhem at every public screening.
As Kirby gets closer to the film the plot thickens and we, along with the main protagonists are left anticipating the film until we find out just exactly how powerful it is.
This is hands down the best so far, yet it isn’t as amazing as I had been led to believe. The film looks good enough but it is the classic Carpenter style score from John’s son Cody Carpenter, the performances and the disgustingly brutal torture sequences which make it stand out from the other episodes.
Quite possibly the goriest thing Carpenter has ever done, the film features the most realistic decapitation I have ever witnessed, and disturbingly enough shows how clever editing can fool a viewer into truly believing they have just witnessed an actual death.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Similar in inception to The Ring and 8MM, Cigarette Burns is something which most horror fans should seek out, and does have the potential to become a cult piece of work from a director who many argue has seen his best days in the genre.
Rating: out of 5
Deer Woman
John Landis’ episode of the acclaimed new series takes a native American myth as the basis for its story, and ended up being the funniest thing I have seen in months, and intentionally so.
The plot follows Detective Dwight Faraday who has been resigned to dealing with animal attacks since he caused the accidental death of his partner some time ago. When a trucker’s body is found it appears as though he has been killed by an animal, despite looking like a “hamburger”.
Dwight teams up with a new cop and the two soon discover the mythos of the Deer Woman; a native American beauty who kills men in the throws of passion.
This episode was the funniest one yet, thanks to the wacky dream sequences and the scene where our hero is mugged in an alley by some street punk, and it also had a really cool link to An American Werewolf in London to boot.
OVERALL SUMMARY
This is the first episode so far that I’ve clearly been able to say was definitely enjoyable. It’s not the kind of horror one would normally expect but it’s damn entertaining.
Rating: out of 5
Jenifer
When detective Frank Spivey rescues a young woman from certain death, he is horrified to discover that her face is hideously disfigured, yet finds himself strangely drawn to this beast with a body to die for. Frank soon becomes bewitched by her beautiful body and her animalistic manner and is caught between caring for her and doing the right thing as she begins to kill people and feast on their remains.
This episode was directed by Dario Argento, and for the most part was an enjoyable enough film. It had good performances, some wonderful location photography, good visual style and some pretty disturbing gore.
OVERALL SUMMARY
I find it funny that a series of TV movies can be more horrific in tone and style than most recent theatrical horror flicks, but judging by this first episode, this might manage to live up to it’s hype in my eyes, despite mixed fan and critical reaction.
Rating: out of 5
Dreams in the Witch-house
Stuart Gordon’s episode is based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft and whilst it has an interesting premise and some good characters, I found it to be a little boring.
The premise sees student Walter Gilman move into a run down attic room in a building full of crazy neighbours only to begin having strange dreams about a witch. The residents appear to know more than they care to divulge, yet they seem uncaring and largely unconcerned, except Frances who lives next door with her baby.
As Walter’s dreams intensify, he sets out to discover the secrets of the building and its history, and his studies may prove to be useful.
Dreams in the Witch-house has all the required conventions going for it, including a very grisly sequence where a young baby has it’s throat ripped out by a rat and a similarly disgusting and disturbing finale, but I just couldn’t get into the story as easily as I could with Jenifer.
OVERALL SUMMARY
I’m still waiting to see if the series will live up to my expectations.
Rating: out of 5