Customer Reviews

Masters of Horror: Season Two Box Set

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I hardly ever write reviews, but I am writing in hopes that someone in power at Anchor Bay might read this. I have bought many, many Anchor Bay/Starz products over the years and have always been a big fan. But with Masters of Horror Season 2, a nearly $70 box set on Amazon, I feel completely ripped off.

Ok, unlike the other reviewers I have no asthetic gripes with this packaging. I always take the DVDs out of wierd packaging and put them in something that fits the shelf anyway. However, I received this set yesterday, and it just made me sad. The DVDs are floating around completely unprotected inside the "skull" which means every single one of them is scratched. A few of them are badly scratched all over, while ALL of them have circular scratches (typically the worst kind of scratches) around the the entire outer half-inch or so of the disc. Additionally, instead of including all of the individual episode discs like the last box set, some of the discs are double sided with an episode on each side! Why? So the manufacturer could cut some more corners on an already horribly put together set?

I foolishly assumed that, as with the season one set, this box would contain someting extra that was not available in the individual episode DVDs. It does not. So, if you have the individual episode DVDs, I would recommend sticking with those. However, if you don't mind spending way too much money for a pile of pre-scratched, dual-sided DVDs then this box set is the way to go. Not only do you not get anything extra, you get something far, far less for your money this time around. Shame on you Anchor Bay. I hope everyone returns these as I plan to do.

the skull is made of cheap plastic. item came totally TOOTHLESS because all the teeth fell out during the shipping. packaging is horrid. NOT WORTH THE MONEY

Regardless of previous gripes of packaging, the skull is pretty dam cool. Its a sturdy hard plastic, and as long as the discs are seated properly in the grooves, they are fine. This is probably the only DVD box set I would display, the skull also has some nice details and paint. I don't get some of the nick picky reviews on here anyway, people just find and look for things to complain about.

Anyway, this is the long awaited boxed set of the second season of Showtime's phenomenal horror series. Done in the style of Tales from the crypt, but with much better stories and less cheese. Some of the stories were downright gory and some had great horror style twists. A must own for any horror fan.

Well, thanks to Anchor Bay for this beautiful looking special edition (it`s on display on a bookshelf in my studie). It`s also great that the movies are presented in their unrated form, because I saw some on rental DVD which were cut of all the good and red stuff. Filmwise it`s a whole different story. While there are some great (Screwfly Solution) or hilarious episodes (The Washingtonians) there are also weak ones among them. But that`s a problem you have to face when you buy a box set. So I think we have to life with the stinkers and watch the good ones.

I had actually been avoiding buying Masters of Horror season 2 in hopes it would be released with normal packaging, rather than the collector's edition skull, but after several years, I finally caved and recently ordered it from Amazon.

Unfortunately, due to the odd shape of the Masters of Horror season 2 box set casing, it was not properly protected during shipping. As a result, the "teeth" fell out/broke and several of the discs were scratched. I recommend anyone looking to purchase this set in the future either buy it on site somewhere, buy it used and give specific packing instructions for the discs to be removed from the skull before shipping and for the skull to be securely wrapped, or download the episodes rather than purchasing a hard copy. But do not purchase it new and expect it to arrive in new condition. This is not necessarily Amazon's fault, so much as whatever fool designed the case.

I gave this 5 stars not because every movie was worthy of an Oscar, but because the set as a whole was very entertaining. It was clear that there were freedoms given to the film makers that weren't available to mainstream big-screen high budget directors, producers and writers. Some movies were only OK, but none were bad. This season had a few gems in it... Valerie Under the Stairs, Family, and The Washingtonians come to mind immediately. Check it out! You'll like it!

Two things should be taken into account when you look at this. first is the season of Masters of Horror and secondly is the packaging. For the first part, the movies were a great thing. i know a lot of them had a cheesy little factor to them, but nothing like this has really ever been accomplish. That was why I found myself buying into it and buying into it with so much love. honestly, it is an amazing feat. Since this is the first part here, i will list the movies so there is something cataloging all the stuff here:

Episode #: 1
Title: "The Damned Thing"
Director: Tobe Hooper
Stars: Sean Patrick Flanery, Marisa Coughlan, Ted Raimi, Brendan Fletcher
Summary: A mysterious force sends a town into a murderous rage, and only the sheriff, whose parents were killed by the same force years ago, can stop it. Based on an Ambrose Bierce story.

Episode #: 2
Title: "Family"
Director: John Landis
Stars: George Wendt, Meredith Monroe, Matt Keeslar
Summary: A young couple moves into their idyllic suburban home, but their seemingly normal next door neighbor turns out to be a serial killer who takes a liking to the wife.

Episode #: 3
Title: "The V Word"
Director: Ernest Dickerson (Demon Knight, Bones)
Stars: Branden Nadon, Arjay Smith, Michael Ironside
Summary: A couple of video game geeks discover that a vampire is haunting the local funeral home.

Episode #: 4
Title: "Sounds Like"
Director: Brad Anderson (Session 9, The Machinist)
Stars: Chris Bauer, Laura Margolis, Richard Kahan, Michael Daingerfield
Summary: A man's hearing mysteriously begins to intensify until even the smallest sound becomes painful, so he must take extreme measures to ease his torment.

Episode #: 5
Title: "Pro-Life"
Director: John Carpenter
Stars: Ron Perlman, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Mark Feuerstein, Bill Dow, Caitlin Wachs
Summary: Abortion clinic workers protect a pregnant 15-year-old girl from her anti-abortion father, who is determined to force her to have the baby, not realizing the horrible secret that lies inside her.

Episode #: 6
Title: "Pelts"
Director: Dario Argento
Stars: Meat Loaf, Link Baker, John Saxon, Ellen Ewusie, Emilio Salituro, Elise Lew
Summary: A fur trader discovers that the raccoon hides he's using to make coats come with a violent curse.

Episode #: 7
Title: "The Screwfly Solution"
Director: Joe Dante
Stars: Jason Priestley, Elliott Gould, Kerry Norton, Linda Darlow, Brenna O'Brien
Summary: After a mysterious disease sends the world's population of men into a homicidal rage aimed at women, a male scientist struggles to find a cure while maintaining his own sanity.

Episode #: 8
Title: "Valerie on the Stairs"
Director: Mick Garris
Stars: Tyron Leitso, Christopher Lloyd, Clare Grant, Tony Todd, Suki Kaiser, Johnathan Watton
Summary: A young writer takes residence in a boarding house for unpublished writers but soon discovers that it's haunted by a ghostly woman with ties to a demonic beast.

Episode #: 9
Title: "Right to Die"
Director: Rob Schmidt (Wrong Turn)
Stars: Martin Donovan, Julia Anderson, Robin Sydney, Anna Galvin, Corbin Bernsen
Summary: A man is tormented by the vengeful spirit of his comatose wife.

Episode #: 10
Title: "We All Scream for Ice Cream"
Director: Tom Holland (Child's Play, Fright Night, Thinner)
Stars: William Forsythe, Colin Cunningham, Tim Henry, Ingrid Tesch
Summary: An ice cream man returns from the grave to take revenge on those who killed him in a childhood prank.

Episode #: 11
Title: "The Black Cat"
Director: Stuart Gordon
Stars: Jeffrey Combs, Elyse Levesque, Aron Tager, Eric Keenleyside
Summary: The details behind Edgar Allen Poe's classic story are envisioned in this dark episode.

Episode #: 12
Title: "The Washingtonians"
Director: Peter Medak (The Changeling, Species II)
Stars: Johnathon Schaech, Venus Terzo, Myron Natwick, Julia Tortolano
Summary: A group of cannibalistic zealots will go to any lengths to keep a dark secret about the father of our country.

Episode #: 13
Title: "Dream Cruise"
Director: Norio Tsuruta (Premonition)
Stars: Daniel Gillies, Ethan Amis, Yoshino Kimura, Ryo Ishibashi, Miho Ninagawa
Summary: An American lawyer in Japan who's terrified of the water nonetheless agrees to board a client's boat in order to be near his client's wife, with whom he's fallen in love. However, a supernatural force from the lawyer's past awaits them just below the surface.


Secondly, there is the packaging. When I first saw this picture and picked it up, i have to say I was happy. I loved the design and I loved the idea thta I could work this into my collection. I had gotten plenty of things that did not fit exactly rigth and, to be honest, I was not worried. I loved the way it looked adn i loved the way it seemd to be a centerpiece. The problem was that it was nothing like what i envisioned.

When I got the set, there was an issue of sliding DVDs that really made life a mess. Considering the investment there was not turning back, and that meant that I was stuck with something that didn't work out. I always take my DVDs out of the packaging when they are weirdly designed, too, trying to keep them from harm. Still, this is not one of those things you could do. The packaging already did a number of some of the DVDs and, sadly, I was left picking up the scratches. I'm glad they have new sets to get rid of those but, beyond that, there is the idea of getting what you pay for. I paid for a set, a pretty set, and i got a marred notion of what pretty can become. considering the complaints I have seen around, i would say this is a universal trend.

In conclusion, buy the set but not the box. It will make life better for you.

Masters of Horror Season Two box set; it's MoH so of course you want it. And yes, the packaging is stunningly bad. Don't get me wrong - I love a random marketing skull ploy as much as the next horror chick - but the problem is the dvds are essentially loose inside the skull. It's difficult to find the dvd you want to watch because they're all jammed together, and the terror that overcomes you as you attempt to put a dvd back without scratching it (coincidence? Perhaps not!) is significant. So my opinion is just go ahead and buy it, and when it arrives give yourself 5 minutes to complain about the packaging, then put the dvds in their own sleeves. Then you have yourself another round of MoH, and a new gnarly candy dish!

I told my wife that she was getting this for her birthday and she went absolutely over the moon. She's already made space for it on the shelf -- next to her Hellraiser puzzle box DVD set and the other Masters of Horror set in the crypt. It will look great next to the Blade Runner briefcase set and the other fun and unique DVD releases that we've managed to collect and enjoy.

Packaging can be ho-hum and boring, or it can be half the fun of the DVD release. This falls into the latter category. Great work, Anchor Bay!

The 2nd season of "Masters of Horror" is full of surprises... horrific and good ones! The design of the Box Set is great, very well done, and the extras are really nice. I've watched half of the episodes, all very creative, except for one: "Dream Cruise". This episode has a very powerful beginning, but the end... it's too long and predictable.
Anyway, this exception is not sufficient to make me take off even one star... this is really a great purchase! Thanks, Amazon, for the product and for the quick delivery (less than 10 days!!!)!!!