Customer Reviews

Masters of Horror - John Carpenter - Cigarette Burns

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is actually the very first work from John Carpenter since "The Thing" to scare me at all. I was eleven when "The Thing" blew me away with its gore, violence, and creepy horror, but ever since then it seemed as though his films were getting more and more cheesy. Even "In the Mouth of Madness" which I enjoyed for its Lovecraft-style themes and mood was more surreal than scary. "Cigarette Burns" is both surreal and scary, with dark underlying religious tones. There is the running undercurrent during the story of the fear of the unknown, or the unearthed secret and/or creation that should remain hidden for the sake of all mankind. Themes that are undeniably Lovecraft. I actually did not have a problem with the acting at all, I was simply too enthralled with the mystery and eventual horrifying climax to even notice. The heart of the mystery is incredibly original and thought-provoking, the journey absolutely worth taking. With so many bad horror films coming out these days it is incredibly refreshing to see a true Master of Horror show these young twerps just how it should be done. Even if it is just a short film. Excellent.

Masters of Horror is, at best, an uneven series, but this one is definitely a standout. It's similar to Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness," but with a lot more scares and some really nasty violence. It may not have worked so well if it were a full-length movie, but for a one-hour episode, it's brilliant. I gotta say, the series as a whole is a little disappointing, as some of them aren't horror at all, but comedies or political satires with some gore thrown in, which doesn't make them bad, necessarily, they're just not "horror" like the title would suggest. The good news is that Cigarette Burns is a real horror show, and it's the best thing John Carpenter's done in at least a decade. CHECK IT OUT!!

An entertaining and fairly compelling story by first time writers Drew McWeeny (aka the movie/DVD reviewer known as "Moriarty" on the "Ain't It Cool" web site) and Scott Swan is brought home by veteran horror director John Carpenter. All horror fans will likely find something here to enjoy, though it will be especially fun for "film geek" types who obsessively follow favorite directors and can recount the names and plots of the most obscure movies faster than they can remember the names of certain cousins.

Admittedly, two or three things could have been done better in this quickly-filmed production (for example, it should have been more of a slow, dramatic reveal when we learn that a film critic has filled reams and reams of paper with one endless review of the mysterious, infamous horror movie everyone is searching for), but overall the story unfolds well, measured and methodical when it needs to be and weird and crazy when those things are needed.

I also liked the nice balance been artiness and good old storytelling craftsmanship in the final piece. "Cigarette Burns" keeps things mysterious and, well, artful by not over-explaining every little question that naturally occurs to the viewer, but it explains enough and keeps the narrative "normal" enough that, despite the mysteries and unanswered questions at the conclusion, we still feel like we were given a satisfying, coherent story. Just be warned that ultimately it's a blood-soaked satisfying, coherent story you'll be getting.

And if the creepy, gory main feature isn't enough for you, this modestly priced DVD also gives you a generous set of extras. I especially enjoyed the two DVD commentaries, one by the director and one by the writers. Taken together, the commentaries give viewers a detailed and comprehensive look at the dynamic, energetic collaborative process between the writers, actors, and director that resulted in this edgy little horror film.

So, in the end, I'd give the actual short film (it clocks in at a shade under an hour) a solid three stars, and the generous DVD package as a whole a well-earned five stars. That averages out to the four-star rating I'm giving the whole thing overall. And that should be more than enough incentive to pony up the few bucks they're asking for this surprisingly entertaining DVD offering.

The long lost, nearly impossible to find film ends up being at the late director's house in the care of his wife. Who woulda thunk it! Maybe they should have started at the top of the list in their search.

Still, it's a good flick.

One of the more criticized episodes of Showtime's Masters of Horror series, John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns is better than you've heard. The man behind Halloween, the Thing, etc., is in fine form here as down and out film expert Kirby (Norman Reedus) is hired by an enigmatic rare film lover (genre stalwart Udo Kier) to find a film that upon it's only showing caused the audience to go insane and kill each other. As his journey unfolds, Kirby learns the secrets behind the film's production, and the demonic truth that lay underneath the celluloid. Considering Carpenter's recent body of work, Cigarette Burns is a nice change of pace. Most of the criticisms of of Cigarette Burns arise from Reedus' performance, and while he may not be the best leading man, he's not as terrible as what's been described in previous reviews. The makeup and gore effects are top notch as usual, and for most of it's running time, Cigarette Burns is one of the better entries in the Masters of Horror series. All in all, Cigarette Burns is better than it's been given credit for, and is definitely worth checking out for Carpenter lovers and horror afficiondos alike.

Carpenter dons his old school hat and delivers here. The story here is interesting and fits perfectly into the 1 hour format. Excellent gore scenes! Some genuinely creepy moments, and if I weren't so jaded, I may have actually been scared.

The plot is mentioned in other reviews-- sorta reminds me of Polanski's THE NINTH GATE (wouldn't it be nice to get Polanski aboard for an episode?). An rich eccentric, freaky film collector hires some bozo to track down the reel to a legendary film that was screened once and caused the audiance to go berzerka and slaughter each other. The rest is for you to find out and enjoy.

The dialouge is appropriate and the directing,cinematgraphy is great-- I don't care what the mainstream reviewers say. If you are a horror fan and enjoy the old Carpenter films-- you will dig this bad boy.

A horror film about a notorious lost horror film & it's Directed by maestro of horror John Carpenter & even though it's just under 60 minutes long it's still one of his very best efforts. Anyone that enjoys a good creepy scare will love this flick but as for horror film collector's such as myself this creepy little masterpiece will mean that much more. What a treat!

It might have been the fact that I watched it at 4 am with my little sister, but I actually close my eyes during the end because the gore was just too much. I must have gotten really into it, but I haven't had a movie make me feel that way since I was real little. It really scared me. I was even able to watch Saw 3 without looking away, so something about this was different.

That's the point of a horror movie though, so I guess I'm glad I wasn't numb to the gore like most people because gore is so over-used in films these days.

Anyway, it was almost like The Ring meets Event Horizon. The only thing that took away from the film was the "gollum" guy. It made the movie seem less real. It was unecessary.

Overall it was original and genuinely creepy.

I can't believe such a film exists!
Originality - which means not seen before - is a milestone.
But to also have almost awe, True power and invention is a megamilestone, these days, or any days or nights.

The closer the film expert got to finding the most obscure film in the world, which as you know drives viewers (like you) insane, the more the short film's fantastic nature was both revealed, and countered beautifully by reality, by explanations of, or a bit of evidence from, real past events surrounding the piece, making very convincing what we could never believe for a minute. It created that magic of belief (or suspension of disbelief) more effectively than most movies with more believable horrors.
But then it even goes where you daren't dream: so far as to define a good part of the film. And to do the impossible with a master stroke of credibility and definiton that is inspired is the fulfilment of the ideal horror movie. This resonated like the highest note of story telling.

As for the lead guy - I think the beauty of his performance was he was not acting, like any laid back guy. It was underplayed, or natural, and contrasted perfectly with the supernatural. If you say he can't act - which of you in real life acts? He always reacted right to the horror and I had no trouble believing him.
Udo Kier is perfectly eccentrically brilliant.

Udo Kier is perfectly eccentrically brilliant.

Besides the film reminding you of the films others have said, the film's film does remind one of H.P. Lovecraft's The Necronomicon book (tantalisingly realised in the flesh in Dream of the Witch House), as the most powerful - and dangerous - and elusive art made.

Let's not forget though:
'Twasn't JC who made the film, it was the writer created the beast.

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EXTRAS: The Other MoH:

This was the first of MoH I saw. I picked it out of 8 2-story DVDs for rent (they weren't really that high - 20 feet, more like 20 centimetres). So I thought that finally a standard had been made, as Mick Garris did with his literal, reliable Stephen King adaptions.
Dream of the Witch House, the DVD's second story, was half as good, but still fully good.
So then I got 2 more DVDs. And, you see, I had to suffer the dreadful disappointment of - shall we say, the damned, or the dumbed. Two or three had good ideas barely put into action with hardly any horror.

It highlights for me a real horror - the standard was too good to be true. I bet this is the only Masterful Masters of Horror film. Uncannily, like the film within this film, this film seems doomed or blessed to remain the only of its kind. Quite possibly the best short horror film made - even in the race in the longs - that cannot be repeated.

As far as Masters of Horror goes, no one is contesting that John Carpenter belongs in the list. Considering that the man behind The Thing is responsible for this installment of the flawed Showtime series, one would expect the episode to ripple with Carpenter's trademark creeping terror, a lush lust for the shadows that make bedrooms, basements, and movie theatres so creepy to begin with.

If that's what you're expecting, you won't be disappointed. Not that much, anyway.

I'll forgive the guy for essentially rehashing a plot that he already did so well (and so bizarrely) with In the Mouth of Madness. There's a movie somewhere out there entitled "Le Fin Absolue du Monde," a grisly flick that's so disturbing that, at its premiere, most of the audience went insane and started killing each other. Mr. Bellinger (Udo Kier as an unapologetically evil arcane film buff) wants to see this urban legend of a film before he dies, and he enlists in his search Kirby Sweetman, a tortured movie-house director who happens to be good at tracking down these sorts of things.

During his quest for the vile movie, Kirby encounters snuff film auteurs, chained and de-winged angels, and flashbacks to his own unsettling past, all accompanied by "cigarette burns," strange glowing circles that, in the movie world, indicate a reel change. There's disturbing (very disturbing) violence, dead-ends, and even a deranged movie critic, one of the film's original viewers, a survivor of the premiere who has spent the rest of his life writing a review that fills dozens and dozens of towering cardboard boxes (Carpenter's smug mockery of his detractors, perhaps?).

It's not surprising that Carpenter has done quite well what he's already done well before, but it is surprising that he would cast Norman Reedus as the lead, Kirby Sweetman. I have listened to those who would defend his performance in this film, but the plain facts are that the man does an absolutely horrendous job. In half of his scenes he wanders about with the dazed expressionlessness of a man who has woken up thirty seconds ago to find a film crew in his house. The rest of the time he appears mildly drunk and seems annoyed by the fact that he has to do some more "acting." I don't get why this guy wasn't fired after the first day.

Nevertheless, in spite of Reedus's incompetence, this short horror segment still works, which says a lot for Mr. Carpenter, et. al. Shudder at the gore, scratch your head at the conclusion, and laugh at Norman's attempts to emote; "Cigarette Burns" may not drive you mad, but it will keep you entertained.