Customer Reviews

Masters of Horror: Season One Box Set, Vol. 2

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4 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought the individual volumes 1 & 2. Combined, they have the exact same run time as the Complete Series set according to Amazon. However, the episode "Imprint" is not included in either volume. I wrote to Starz/Anchor Bay and they claim it IS on the big set. What a ripoff! It's bad enough they said they'd never release the full season in order to sucker people into buying the original individual releases. Now they pull this nonsense.

Volume 2 of the first season of Masters of Horror has some of the best episodes. Particularly good are Deer Woman, Jenifer, Homecoming and Pick Me Up. Sick Girl is fairly amusing with some very cool make-up effects but The Fair-Haired Child isn't all that good.

I'd rank them up as follows:

1. Deer Woman. While not a full blown horror flick it more than makes up for that with rip roaring laughter. Brian Benben excels as the detective on the case, who's handling animal attacks exclusively. The script is sharp and funny and there's also quite a bit of gore here thrown in for good measure.

2. Homecoming. Joe Dante's political outburst is well written, funny and somewhat thought provoking. Not a lot of thrills here but in the end you get a fast moving film which gives you food for thought and some grisly grue. And some zombies to boot. Nothing bad to say about this one.

3. Jenifer. Dario Argento doesn't shy away from sex and truly disgusting gore in this tale about a very unfortunate detective who harbours a mentally challenged sex maniac who's thirstly for human flesh. And her face isn't all that pretty to look at. Argento's magic touch comes through on occasion and overall this entry also gives you some food for thought.

4. Pick Me Up. The tale of two serial killers who cross paths and share an interest in one unfortunate girl. Pretty good overall with good performances and some icky moments floating around. The surprise ending caps it off well.

5. Sick Girl. Somewhat moving love story between two girls handled as a creature feature flick. Great make-up effects and some solid old fashioned suspense elevate the film. Good performances too.

6. The Fair-Haired Child. The only dud in the set. Predictable and without any real suspense this entry fails to raise interest.

I must mention that in the extras department this set is outstanding. Lengthy documentaries on each segment, commentaries, all the scripts in PDF format and more. Future sets should have so much bonus material.

Overall this set has some great episodes and knockout extras and if you're interested you shouldn't hesitate buying it.

I loved this show. Everyone complains about dud episodes, but that is the beauty of an anthology series. Everyone will like something different. I loved Deer Woman, which managed to be funny but very suspenseful. Pick Me Up features a freaking amazing performance by Michael Moriarty (from early seasons of Law and Order). Absolutely top notch going against type portraying a serial killer trucker. My wife's favorite episode was The Fair Haired Child, while we both got a kick out of the 'zombie movie for liberals': Homecoming. Some very quirky performances from the two lead actresses in Sick Girl made that episode memorable for me and the premise of Jenifer had my wife talking about that episode for days. I own both sets from season one, but like this set a little bit more overall.

Great addition to any horror collection. It has some great stories, great directions, great action, and awesome effects. I really enjoyed this series.