Plot: What’s it about?
Story- As a devoted horror movie fan, I was thrilled when Masters of Horror was announced. A series that would bring in some of horror’s best & brightest, give them an hour, and see what happens. The names involved were impressive, John Landis, Tobe Hooper, Lucky McKee, Stuart Gordon, Dario Argento, Takashi Miike, and others all directed episodes. Thanks to being broadcast on Showtime, the series could be liberal with blood and nudity, which is always good news. This first volume of the first season has three complete episodes, but the ones included are a mixed bag. Cigarette Burns has a good story and some good gore, but Dreams in the Witch-House is one of the season’s weaker installments. Even at under an hour, I was bored at times with this episode, thought it does have some eerie moments. The Fair-Haired Child falls in the middle, as it isn’t bad, but its not that great, either. As a whole, this first volume is inconsistent, but horror fans will still find enough chills to warrant a rental.
1. Cigarette Burns- Kirby Sweetman (Norman Reedus) lost his girlfriend, but before she died, she had her father loan Kirby the money to open his own movie theater. Now that she is gone, her father is determined to get his money back, but Kirby isn’t making much thanks to his obscure tastes in cinema. To keep the doors open, he works on the side as a film hunter of sorts, tracking down rare movies for independent parties. His latest hire wants him to find a movie that was only shown one and according to rumor, dooms anyone who watches it to madness. As Kirby gets closer and closer to the truth, he discovers the rumors might be true and if so, will he dare to watch the cursed film?
2. Dreams in the Witch-House- Walter (Ezra Godden) just wants some peace and quiet, so he can work on his studies without distractions. He finds a cheap room in an old, old house and settles in to complete his tasks. The peace is short lived however, as he is woken up by screams from his neighbor’s room. He goes to the source and finds a woman and her son troubled by a large rat, so he lends a hand and chases it off. Soon after, Walter and the woman talk more and hit it off, but his mind remains on the rat, especially when another neighbor tells him of a rat with a human face. He is soon visited by the rat in his own room and it does have a human face. Walter begins to have vivid, violent dreams about a witch and a dark ritual, but are these just dreams or is there a darker power inside this eerie old house?
3. The Fair-Haired Child- As Tara (Lindsay Pulsipher) rides her bike home from school, her mind is more focused on her artwork than her studies. At least until a van crosses her path and leaves her lying in the road, then the driver picks her up and puts her into the back on the van. She isn’t headed for the hospital however and when she wakes up, Lindsay is thrown into a basement and the door is locked behind her. The basement turns out to be a subterranean world, where she meets a boy named Johnny and the two see eerie warnings carved into the walls, about a fair-haired child. As the two navigate the dusty corridors, will they find out what the warnings mean and if so, will either survive?
Video: How does it look?
All three episodes are presented in 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen. I was impressed with these transfers, as they’re an improvement over both the DVDs and Showtime’s HD broadcasts. At the same time however, they aren’t the kind of eye popping visual delights some might expect. The main improvement is overall clarity, as the image in each episode is much clearer and displays enhanced detail levels. Not as razor sharp as some transfers, but good detail and in close ups, the smallest details seem to be crystal clear, so that is great news. I found colors to be bright and vivid, while contrast is spot on, flawless in almost every scene. So these episodes do look much better here, but don’t expect flawless detail from start to finish.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio here is supplied via uncompressed PCM 5.1 options, which is about as good as it gets, folks. I’ve seen all three episodes on DVD and high definition cable, but the improvement here is beyond compare. All three movies have plenty of audio potential, from the sound of a head being lopped off to the eerie atmosphere of an underground world to the piercing screams of a witch. I wouldn’t say the audio competes with high end action movie material, but for these episodes, the audio is fantastic. All the screams, slashes, cat hisses, and what not come across in great fashion, not to mention clear, crisp dialogue. Each episode also offers a Dolby Digital 5.1 option.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Cigarette Burns has two audio commentary tracks, an insightful solo session with John Carpenter and an enthusiastic track with writers Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan. Of course, Carpenter’s track is superior and as usual, he has a lot of wisdom to share as he recalls the production. The other two episodes have one commentary each, as Stuart Gordon & Ezra Godden discuss Dreams in the Witch-House, while William Malone & Matt Greenberg talk about The Fair-Haired Child. In Dreams, Gordon gets most of the airtime and has some good insights, while on Fair-Haired Child, both commentators provide good information and a lot of topics are covered. None of the featurettes or interviews from the standard releases have been included.
