Directors
Don Cascarelli Incident On And Off A Mountain Road
Stuart Gordon Dreams In The Witch-House
Tobe Hooper Dance Of The Dead
Dario Argento Jenifer
Mick Garris Chocolate
Joe Dante Homecoming
John Landis Deer Woman
John Carpenter Cigarette Burns
William Malone The Fair Haired Child
Lucky McKee Sick Girl
Larry Cohen Pick Me Up
John McNaughton Haeckel’s Tale
Takashi Miike Imprint
DVD Release Date: August 28, 2007
Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 692 Minutes on 14 discs
The Show
Showtime has come up with what is possibly the greatest idea ever envisioned for a television series. Being an avid horror buff for many years, it was just a dream come true to know that some of the greatest directors of all time were going to be given their own specials to do as they please. Not only that, I knew that since this was going to be a seasonal show that sooner or later, all the directors would come together in one huge set. And I was right.
Masters Of Horror brings together such greats as Dario Argento, Tobe Hooper, Larry Cohen, and my personal favorite John Carpenter. Season one provides such absolutely phenomenal episodes which not only will scare the hell out of you but will also disturb you to the point of nausea. Takashi Miike’s addition to the series is bound to have you clawing at the armrests of your chair or holding your finger on the pause button of your remote so you can run for a quick face-to-face meeting with the toilet. But let me assure you that it is all worth it.
It isn’t easy to explain what the first season was about because it’s not like each episode connects with the next. They are all incredibly different and each brings the director’s unique mind and mental instability to the table like you’ve seen so many times before in each of their films. Each master brings about their innovative ideas and fantastic styles in these short hour-long episodes that have been created so wonderfully that they instill the same amount of fear, or possibly more, that a two and a half hour feature film could.
For being the first season, Masters Of Horror did not seem to have many failures – really none at all. Yes, it’s true that not every episode was a winner because “Deer Woman” and “Chocolate” really could have benefited from having more time to get going and shed a little more light on the story. But when there are great episodes like “Cigarette Burns,” “Pick Me Up,” and “Imprint” to light the way, then there isn’t much to complain about. Thirteen episodes each guaranteed to make you frightened, uneasy, and extremely uncomfortable. I ask you, is there a better way to spend your time?
Robert Sutton is a reviewer for the DVD Lounge and is our usual reviewer for all things Masters Of Horror. Having done a good number of episodes from the first season already, I linked to his reviews at the end of each entry he has done. If you check around the Lounge, you can also see reviews for many episodes from the second season.
The Episodes
Bree Turner Ellen
Ethan Embry Bruce
John De Santis……..Moonface
One late night, Ellen is driving along a lonely mountain and hits a parked car sending her car flying and causing her to black out. As she remains unconscious, she dreams back to her husband Bruce and remembers a lot of tips he taught her on to survive. Being a bit of an outdoorsman, Bruce always wanted Ellen to be prepared if she should ever get caught in a situation where she’d need to fend and provide for herself.
As she searches for help, she comes face to well, face with a deformed creature of a man named Moonface. Ellen quickly learns that his intentions are to kill her, but her husband’s training comes back to her and she fights him off. She makes it to a cabin where she can possibly wait out the night, but after arriving, she realizes her safety was probably better outside.
Special Features
Predators And Prey – This is a feature that comes in right around twenty-three minutes and is basically an interview with director Don Cascarelli. He discusses other projects he has worked on and is rather candid when it comes to studios making for an interesting conversation.
On Set: An Interview With John De Santis
On Set: An Interview With Ethan Embry
Audio Commentaries – There are two commentaries; the first is from Cascarelli, writer Stephen Romano, and producer Perry Martin. The second includes Cascarelli and author Joe R. Lansdale. It is rather basic information discussed during both of them with stories of survival, how the short differs and is similar to the actual story, and talk of sequels. Both worth a listen because the episode should be checked out more then once anyway.
Ezra Godden Walter Gilman
Chelah Horsdal………Frances Elwood
Walter Gilman is a graduate student simply looking for a new place to stay for some peace and quiet. He soon finds a cheap room in a very old home in the quaint New England town of Arkham. Late one night his peaceful sleep is interrupted by horrifying screams and he runs to find his neighbor and her baby being attacked by a giant rat. Walter was able to chase the rat away and quickly becomes close to his new neighbor, Frances.
As the days go on, Walter starts having horrible nightmares about the giant rat with a human face terrorizing him, Frances, and her child. The creepy neighbor downstairs lets him know that his dreams may be more reality and that it is the evil witch come back home to kill again like she has for three hundred years. Walter learns that the witch is coming for Frances’ baby and he needs to do something to stop it.
Special Features
Dreams, Darkness, And Damnation – A twenty-one minute interview with director Stuart Gordon in which he takes us way back to the beginning of his career before he even got started directing. He discusses other films such as Re-Animator, which if you’ve seen before, then you would notice his style in this episode.
On Set: An Interview With Chelah Horsdal
SFX: Meet Brown Jenkin – This feature is only about five minutes long, but I wish it had been longer. It takes a deep look at the rat-man, Brown Jenkin, in the episode and how he came to be. Really cool stuff.
Audio Commentary – Gordon, producer Perry Martin, and actor Ezra Godden discuss the episode, but nothing too much is revealed. They pretty much talk about what is happening in each scene, special effects, the story itself, and other rather basic stuff.
Jonathan Tucker Jak
Robert Englund Peggy
Jessica Lowndes The M.C.
Seventeen year-old Peggy is one of a small group of survivors after the nuclear holocaust known as World War III. She works in the restaurant of her over-protective mother who keeps a close eye on her since her other daughter Anna was killed in the war. But that doesn’t stop Peggy from wanting to be a normal teenager, especially when a punk named Jak shows up with his crew one night in the restaurant.
Jak and Peggy automatically fall for one another and Jak simply wants to show her a good time so he takes her to a club called the Doom Room. Here a sadistic M.C. introduces strange acts to the stage for the entertainment of the odd crowd he attracts to his establishment. Peggy is enjoying herself until she sees her dead sister Anna dancing around on stage. At the same time, Peggy’s mother realizes where her daughter has gone and she needs to get to her before it is too late.
Special Features
Primal Screams – Director Tobe Hooper sits down for an interview that comes in right over twenty minutes. Hooper has long been one of my favorite actors and directors even though his directing work hasn’t been too great and my favorite character he portrayed was always in a mask (Leatherface). But this is a good look into his past career and the fun things he has done.
The Written Word – An interview with scriptwriter Richard Matheson where he talks about the inspiration behind the script itself and how it originally came from a story that was written by his father.
On Set: An Interview With Robert Englund – Very cool interview, be sure to check this one out.
On Set: An Interview With Jessica Lowndes
On Set: An Interview With Jonathan Tucker
Audio Commentaries – Two tracks here and the first is with Hooper and DVD producer Perry Martin; the second is by Matheson. Martin awkwardly asks Hooper questions throughout the commentary making it more like an interview while Matheson doesn’t have much to say. Always have hated commentaries with only one person.
Storyboard Gallery
Steven Weber Frank Spivey
Carrie Anne Fleming Jenifer
Detective Frank Spivey had a good life going with a family and a great job on the police force. One day he is having lunch with his partner when he hears the screams of a young woman and rushes towards them. Coming onto the scene, Spivey sees the woman in despair is horribly disfigured but saves her from further damage by a man with a huge knife. Upon further investigation, Spivey learns her name is Jenifer and that there is much more wrong with her then just her disfigured appearance.
After Jenifer is committed to an insane asylum, Spivey feels pity for her and invites the young woman to stay with his family in their home. His wife doesn’t take that decision very well especially after Spivey starts showing more attention to Jenifer as days go on. When his wife takes their son and leaves the house, Spivey soon learns that getting close to Jenifer was the last thing he should have done.
Special Features
So Hideous My Love – Director Dario Argento is here for a fifteen minute interview and he reveals something I never even realized. Jenifer is actually a backwards version of Beauty And The Beast which makes the episode even better then I already thought it was.
On Set: An Interview With Steven Weber
On Set: An Interview With Carrie Anne Fleming
Script To Screen: Jenifer – A cool feature that takes the script from its written form to start. It is then shown being filmed and directed trying to get it right. And finally the final version of it which shows up in the episode. Very fun.
Howard Berger And The Make-Up Of Jenifer – A twenty minute feature that takes Carrie Anne Fleming from the beautiful person she is into the grotesquely deformed Jenifer. It kind of reminded me of seeing Michael Jackson turned into the werewolf for the “Thriller” video back in the eighties with how they showed it step-by-step.
Audio Commentary – Actor Steven Weber is joined by Perry Martin (again) in what is a somewhat enjoyable commentary. It is odd though how much Martin talks and talks and talks while Weber throws in only the occasional word.
Henry Thomas Jamie
Matt Frewer Wally
Lucie Laurier Catherine
Jamie doesn’t have much in his life anymore after going through a painful divorce and his wife taking their only son with her. He now works in a food laboratory with his friend Wally where he creates artificial flavoring for candies and other such foods. His life is pretty much the same everyday until after he samples a piece of chocolate and everything begins to change.
Soon Jamie finds himself not living in his own mind at all. No matter if he is working, sleeping, or talking to someone else; images in his mind are not that of what is going on but of being somewhere else entirely. After a while, Jamie realizes he is seeing life through the eyes of a beautiful woman and therefore becomes obsessed with her and will do anything to find out who she is. Doing so may prove very dangerous, but he’s just got to know why he sees her life instead of his own.
This is not one of the better episodes in the first season and quite possibly the lease enjoyable out of all of them.
Special Features
The Sweet Taste Of Fear – Director Mick Garris’ interview that lasts about twenty minutes and goes back in time to discuss how he got his start and worked with such brilliant minds as Stephen King.
On Set: An Interview With Henry Thomas
On Set: An Interview With Lucie Laurier
Audio Commentary – Garris is joined by Perry Martin and they just discuss any and everything that goes on in the episode. It’s a shame some of the other commentaries aren’t this in depth considering this episode is not one of the better ones. An interesting note is that the first cut of it was close to two hours long which may have made it a tad more interesting.
Fantasy Film Festival: Mick Garris Interviews Roger Corman
Jon Tenney David Murch
Robert Picardo Kurt Rand
Thea Gill Jane Cleaver
David Murch is a great words expert and that is why he has the position of writing speeches for the current President of the United States, Kurt Rand. Upon meeting a right wing author named Jane Cleaver, Murch’s ideas on liberalism and other political parties get a big boost as Jane agrees with every word he says. It helps a little that they are having an affair together.
One day on a national television show though, Murch opens his mouth a little too much in a discussion about dead soldiers. His words come back to haunt him after they come true and soldiers who were casualties of war are back from the dead and looking to vote in the current election. When the votes aren’t going President Rand’s way, Murch takes matters into his own hands and the return of the dead soldiers starts to get to him on a very personal level.
Special Features
The Dead Come Marching – This is director Joe Dante’s interview that runs around twenty-four minutes and delves into his past as most of the others have done. Interestingly enough, Dante was originally scheduled to work on the third Jaws film which is my favorite of the bunch since I saw it when it first came out in all its cheesy 3-D glory.
On Set: An Interview With Jon Tenney
On Set: An Interview With Robert Picardo
On Set: An Interview With Thea Gill
Script To Screen: Homecoming – Same situation as with Jenifer where it is taken in steps from paper to finished product. I really like this feature and wish it would have been included with every episode from the season.
Audio Commentary – Writer Sam Hamm is alone on commentary and again it doesn’t make for anything too interesting. He simply discusses the episode and what he was going for in certain scenes while writing the script.
Fantasy Film Festival: Mick Garris Interviews Joe Dante
Brian Benben Dwight Faraday
Anthony Griffith Officer Jacob Reed
Cinthia Moura The Deer Woman
Detective Dwight Faraday has been reduced to investigating any attacks by animals in his part of town. Not ever expecting to have much action; it’s quite a shock to him when the murders of many male victims are popping up all around in his district. Each victim is easily connected as dying the same way for they are each found a little too “excited” in death and having been trampled to death by some type of animal.
Faraday soon suspects an ancient Indian legend to have come true and a creature that is half woman and half deer is real and murdering young men. As expected, Faraday’s tale is not believed by many. But his partner, Officer Jacob Reed believes him and takes to the case with Faraday hoping to find the legendary “Deer Woman,” and stop anyone else from dying.
This is another episode that just didn’t quite do it for me. It has a bit more humor then most of the others in season one which is a welcome change from the pure horror, but it just never really gets interesting.
Special Features
Animal Hooves – Director John Landis is interviewed for a little over twenty-five minutes about his career and how he also started out small and behind the scenes. He seems to really enjoy his work and it shows in some of his most famous films like Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Coming To America, and many more.
On Set: An Interview With Brian Benben
On Set: An Interview With Anthony Griffith
On Set: An Interview With Cinthia Moura
Audio Commentary – Actors Brian Benben and Anthony Griffin come together for commentary and pretty much just goof off the whole time. They don’t talk about the episode much and just joke about any and everything they can think about. It’s funny yes, but a little more information about the show would have been nice.
Fantasy Film Festival: Mick Garris Interviews John Landis
Norman Reedus Kirby
Udo Kier Bellinger
Kirby is the type of guy that never really takes on a real job, but will do whatever is necessary to make a lot of money and quickly. Currently he works for avid movie collectors by getting paid great deals of money to track down films that are very hard to find and usually only have one copy in existence. He soon gets contacted by a Mr. Bellinger who wishes him to retrieve a copy of L’Absolute Fin De Monde. It seems the film was shown one time ever because soon after mass riots occurred which caused it to be locked away forever.
With a very lucrative offer, Kirby sets out to find the film but soon comes upon a huge dilemma. He fights with the decision of returning it to Mr. Bellinger or seeking more money be releasing it for the entire world to see. If Bellinger knows about it, then there have to be others in the world willing to pay more. But the film was hidden for a good reason, and Kirby doesn’t truly know the evil powers it possesses.
Cigarettes Burns would have to be my favorite episode from season one. It isn’t just because I have a weird obsession with anything from John Carpenter, but it’s just done really well. The story is not only interesting but has a few off the wall twists that keep it going off in all directions and force you to pay attention.
Special Features
Celluloid Apocalypse – An eighteen minute interview with director John Carpenter that focuses on his career but obviously on Halloween. There isn’t much more to it then that which is upsetting considering how many other great films Carpenter has done.
On Set: An Interview With Norman Reedus
Audio Commentaries – The first commentary is from Carpenter and the second consists of Internet critics Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan. Carpenter’s commentary doesn’t really deal much with the film itself but more so with shooting and there isn’t much to it. McWeeny and Swan seemed to really enjoy the episode and since they weren’t directly involved with making it, they give a rather insightful and enjoyable discussion.
Jesse Haddock………Johnny
Lori Petty………Judith
Lindsay Pulsipher………Tara
William Samples………Anton
Walter Phelan………Thing
Tara is a young thirteen year-old girl that is usually off in her own world and keeping to herself. One day on her way home from school, a mysterious van stops and takes her hostage. Married couple, Anton and Judith, take Tara to their home and throw her down into the dark and dank basement all alone. Or at least she thinks she is all alone.
Tara soon sees a young boy hanging and on his way to sure death. She gets him down before it is too late, and even though he can’t speak, he manages to write in the dirt letting her know his name is Johnny. Upon further searching, clues are written and shown all around the basement leading them to believe they may never get out of there alive.
Director William Malone does an excellent job of storytelling in this episode leaving at a rather neat method of a “whodunit” type version to figure out what is going on before the answers are revealed.
Special Features
The Face Of Fear – A thirty-five minute interview with director William Malone showcasing his early work and things he did before directing. In an odd note, he actually created “the shape,” the mask for Halloween. Once things get to the episode, it is evident that Malone is extremely happy with how things turned out.
On Set: An Interview With Jesse Haddock
On Set: An Interview With Lori Petty
On Set: An Interview With Lindsay Pulsipher
On Set: An Interview With William Samples
Scenes From William Malone’s First Short Film – A couple short scenes with no sound from Malone’s Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde. Not too bad at all.
Audio Commentary – Malone and writer Matt Greenberg give a very good discussion on how the film jumped from script to screen. Greenberg had a lot in mind when he wrote the script but additions, changes, and tweaks added by Malone really made it even better and a complete story. They seemed to mesh really well together on set which shows in the episode.
Sutton’s Review Of The Fair Haired Child
Angela Bettis Ida Teeter
Erin Brown Misty Falls
Jesse Hlubik Max
Ida is a lonely woman who works at the Museum of Natural History in the bug department. It isn’t a job that she dreads either because she is infatuated with bugs and actually has a large collection of them at her own home. Her bugs are really her only friends since Ida is very shy and can never quite work up enough courage to ask out a woman for some company. Yes, Ida is a lesbian.
One day though she finally asks out Misty, a young woman she always sees sitting in the lobby. After a great date, they return to Ida’s apartment where she finds out they are a lot closer then expected even after going on only one date. As it turns out, Misty’s father is the person who taught Ida everything she knows about bugs so her little pets are something else they have in common. But things take a sudden turn after a new Brazilian species Ida received in the mail recently escapes and bites her; her personality changes a little too much and becomes a tad too strange.
Special Features
Blood, Bugs, And Romance – Director Lucky McKee’s interview goes back to his very early work through to his cult classic film May which is a very under appreciated film by many. A modern day telling of Frankenstein done in an even sicker and more twisted way. This feature runs fifteen minutes.
On Set: An Interview With Angela Bettis
On Set: An Interview With Erin Brown
On Set: An Interview With Brad MacDonald
Audio Commentary – McKee, composer Jaye Luckett, and actors Angela Bettis and Jesse Hlubik come together for commentary and the more people the merrier because it made it much more fun. The group jokes a lot about certain scenes and seemed to really enjoy making the episode and even more talking about it.
Fairuza Balk………Stacia
Michael Moriarty………Jim Wheeler
Warren Kole………Walker
Laurene Landon………Birdy
Malcolm Kennard………Danny
Tom Pickett………Bus Driver
Peter Benson………Deuce
Kristie Marsden………Marie
Paul Anthony………Stoney
Crystal Lowe………Lily
After a bus breaks down on the mountain roads of the Pacific Northwest, the passengers are stranded in the middle of nowhere and aren’t sure what to do. A few of them take off down the road and end up getting picked up by a trucker named Jim. That soon shows to not be the best choice they could have made. Jim is a light-hearted serial killer and adds two more victims to his total. When he returns to the bus for the rest of the stranded, he finds they have already been taken care of and that doesn’t sit well with him.
The only survivor from the bus is a beautiful young woman named Stacia that happened to hitchhike to a nearby hotel, but Jim also has happened to find his way there. And so has Walker who is guilty party in killing the other passengers on the bus. Jim and Walker are dueling with each other only as serial killers know how and will do anything to get to Stacia before the other one does.
Pick Me Up is a fantastic episode with a great plot. I love the idea of serial killers fighting with one another for their victims, and it is just awesome.
Special Features
Death On The Highway – A deep look into the life of director Larry Cohen that runs about thirty minutes. Follow his life starting in television and all the way up to the work he did in this series. Cohen is one of the more fun directors in Masters Of Horror and really shows it here.
On Set: An Interview With Michael Moriarty
On Set: An Interview With Fairuza Balk
On Set: An Interview With Warren Kole
Script To Screen: Pick Me Up
Audio Commentary – Director Larry Cohen is alone for his commentary which I wasn’t happy about because hearing Michael Moriarty or Fairuza Balk here would have been fantastic. But Cohen gives some really interesting information about the episode from the settings to how he wanted the death scenes done. Just would have liked some interaction for him.
Fantasy Film Festival: Mick Garris Interviews Larry Cohen
Derek Cecil………Ernst Haeckel
Leela Savasta………Elise Wolfram
Tom McBeath………Wolfram
Steve Bacic………John Ralston
Gerard Plunkett………Dr. Hauser
Micki Maunsell………Miz Carnation
Jon Polito………Montesquino
Renowned scientist Ernst Haeckel is on the verge of a historic breakthrough as he has set out to bring the dead back to life. The first thing he does though is find someone who knows the ways of doing such impossible tasks and that’s a man named Montesquino who works for a local sideshow. He also claims to be a necromancer, but Ernst isn’t so sure that he believes him.
When Ernst is faced with the soon-to-be death of his father, he makes his way back home to spend a few last moments with him. Along the way he meets up with an old farmer named Wolfram and his wife Elise, who Ernst quickly takes a liking to. Things suddenly take dark and sinister turns which are only complicated more by the unexpected arrival of Montesquino.
Special Features
Breaking Taboos – Director John McNaughton’s interview clocks in at twenty-three minutes and he delves into his past to discuss how he got to the point of directing Haeckel’s Tale. He seems extremely proud of it although you wouldn’t know it from listening to the commentary for this episode. His greatest work, in my opinion, and obviously his was Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer as that film seems to really mean a lot to him.
On Set: An Interview With Leela Savasta
On Set: An Interview With Derek Cecil
On Set: An Interview With Jon Polito
Script To Screen: Haeckel’s Tale
Audio Commentary – McNaughton is alone on commentary and if there ever was evidence needed as to why solo commentaries are bad, this is it. There are a lot of moments of pure silence from him and when he does talk, he barely says anything. He discusses what is happening on screen which can be gotten by merely watching the episode.
Sutton’s Review Of Haeckel’s Tale
Billy Drago………Christopher
Youki Kudoh………Woman
Michie Itô……… Komomo
Toshie Negishi………Maid
An American journalist named Christopher heads to Japan to find the love of his life, a prostitute named Komono. Upon arriving and searching for some time, he cannot find his love and comes upon a heavily deformed woman with no name in a brothel. The woman reveals to Christopher that Komono had killed herself some time, but she had no choice. It is then that the woman’s story begins to fall into the categories of disturbing and disgusting making Christopher wonder what truly went on.
There is more to Imprint, but that is the gist of the entire episode. Miike certainly has gone far over the edge before in many of his films, and his methods prove to be no different on the shorter scale of just an hour. Imprint is graphic, disgusting, awkward, and disturbingly insane which makes it one of the best in this whole set. It is truly not for the faint of heart.
Special Features
Imprinting – A long forty-seven minute behind the scenes feature with director Takashi Miike, author Shimako Iwai, and Mick Garris. This is an extremely informative discussion to check out because they discuss any and everything from language problems to dealing with the different cultures. Listening to Miike speak always makes me feel smarter because he just seems to know everything that intrigues me.
I Am The Film Director Of Love And Freedom – Miike’s interview runs a little over forty minutes and he talks about his relationship with those he directs and the way he wants his films to appear. Good stuff.
Imperfect Beauty: The Make-Up And Special Effects Of Imprint – As if the creepy stuff in the episode needed to be made any stranger, this twenty-two minute feature takes you inside the minds of those who created them.
Audio Commentary – American Cinematheque programmer and critic Chris D. is joined by writer Wyatt Doyle for commentary and it is different, very different. They are in no way associated with the making of the episode yet were brought in for the commentary and seem just as disturbed and at odds about it as anyone would. While it would have been nice to hear Miike’s take on his work; they still provided some insightful and fun back and forth.
The Video
The episodes are shown in 1.77:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format and almost all of them look picture perfect. A lot of dark scenes as you may expect considering it is a giant horror collection, but they all look pretty good. Some of the episodes have slight moments of being too dark or some grainy scenes, but they don’t last long and soon everything is back to normal.
The Audio
The episodes are heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and it is great on every disc. All the music tracks and sounds make each episode even more frightening then just the material does. Dialog can always be heard clearly without any interference or volume problems while the eerie sounds, moans, wind bursts, and blood splatters can be heard all around you nicely.
Special Features
Masters Of Horror Dinner Discussion (Bonus Disc) – A lot of the directors gather together for a thirty-five minute dinner discussion, although not all of them attended. They talk about old school laserdiscs and all the way up to how the horror genre has evolved or stalled today. The best part is when each director talks about their favorite episodes from the season which is virtually giving their seal of approval to their peers.
Masters Of Horror DGA Panel (Bonus Disc) – Tobe Hooper, Mick Garris, Joe Dante, and John Carpenter are ready for a group discussion which is moderated by horror great Clive Barker. The directors are asked about how the shoots when during the filming of the episodes and if things went smoothly or hectic considering they were never given much time. One of the greatest discussions is about all the horror remakes being made lately which leads to some wonderful insight from all of them. The second half of this sixty-seven minute feature is a question and answer period from the audience. This is an excellent featurette that gets us inside the mind even more of most of the masters.
Fantasy Film Festival: Mick Garris Interviews Steven Spielberg (Bonus Disc)
Fantasy Film Festival: Mick Garris Interviews John Boorman (Bonus Disc)
Biographies – Each disc contains a written biography for the directors telling a little about their careers and showing some of their previous works.
Behind The Scenes: Making Ofs – The episode discs all contain a backstage pass to see how things were done. They can range from five minutes all the way up to twenty minutes; it really just varies a lot. Some of them are very cool to see with how the special effects are done, but nothing really special all around.
Working With The Masters – All of the discs (except Imprint) contain this feature which is a tribute of sorts to each director. Friends, family, and many of those who have worked with them in the past come together to discuss the director’s life and work ethics. Most of them are very enjoyable and usually contain a lot of fun stories about each horror master.
Trailers – All thirteen episode discs contain trailers which are for other MOH releases and Anchor Bay releases.
Still Galleries – Each disc contains its own still gallery.
DVD-ROM Content – Each disc contains content accessible in your home computers which usually consists of screenplays and screen savers. There are others such as H.P. Lovecraft’s original “Dreams In The Witch-House” story and other short stories
The Inside Pulse
If you’re a fan of horror, then there is no reason in the world why you shouldn’t pick up this set. You know the directors. You know what they are capable of. And in some respects, they actually surpass everything they are capable of here and outdo even themselves. For those who have never gotten into horror but were always curious, then this is the place to start. You don’t have to worry about sitting through long films and the hour-long episodes allow you to get just a taste to see if it is right for you. As if the episodes weren’t enough, the amount of special features in this set is just insane. You’d think that the number of special features already included with each episode would be enough, but no because you get an extra disc full of great new material. And to add even more to it, the presentation of the set is awesome. A cool looking mausoleum box complete with columns, the names of the directors and episodes, and lift off roof. It’s a shame that each disc only comes in a paper sleeve, but not everything can be perfect. With a price of $70, and sometimes if you look around then only $60, you can’t miss out on this. Get it, and get it now.
Masters Of Horror: Season One Box Set |
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