Plot: What’s it about?
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. In this third Blu-ray volume of the first season, we have an inconsistent lot of episodes. I found Incident On and Off a Mountain Road to be solid, while Dance of the Dead and Pick Me Up were two of the first season’s weaker installments. All three have moments of spark of course, Pick Me Up had a lot of potential in specific, but none of these three prove to be “can’t miss” episodes. Even so, if you’re a horror fan or follow the series, Masters of Horror: Season I, Volume III is worth a look.
1. Incident On and Off a Mountain Road- Ellen (Bree Turner) finds herself injured and alone on a remote, isolated stretch of road, with no help to be found for miles and miles. As she drove around a sharp curve, she couldn’t miss a stopped car in her lane and smashed head on. She smacked her head hard in the accident, but is able to walk and have her wits about her, which is crucial in this situation. Unable to get a signal on her cellular phone, she walks back to the other car and notices a trail of blood. As she follows it, she soon hears cries for help and sees a young woman being dragged by a hideous looking man with a very sharp knife…
2. Dance of the Dead- Peggy (Jessica Lowndes) lives a sheltered life, working at her mother’s diner and never going outside her small Midwestern town. Since the death of her sister, Peggy has been watched over by her mother with a keen eye, as she doesn’t want to lose both daughters. While she only wants to protect her, her actions make Peggy want to explore the world even more. So when Jak (Jonathan Tucker) shows up and the two hit it off, she quickly hops into his ride and she plans to see what the world holds. They wind up at a club called the Doom Room, where an eerie announcer parades various freaks in front the audience. Meanwhile, her mother is en route to pick her up, but will she arrive in time to save Peggy from a terrible fate?
3. Pick Me Up- Stacia (Fairuza Balk) has just gotten a divorce and now she’s headed to Spokane, but her trip has been delayed thanks to bus troubles. The bus broke down in the mountains and the driver and five passengers are now stranded, but Stacia decides to walk ahead. So she treks on foot toward a hotel up the road, but two of the other passengers, who accepted a ride from a trucker, have reached the entire of their journey. While the trucker only killed one of the two, when the trucker returned to the bus, those left behind were slaughtered by a hitcher. Now with a murderous trucker and a homicidal hitcher in the area, can Stacia manage to survive the stretch of road from hell?
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?
As with the previous Masters of Horror Blu-ray volumes, all of the extras have been dropped, save the audio commentaries. Incident gets not one, but two sessions. Director Don Coscarelli leads both sessions, joined by writer Stephen Romano on the first and author Joe R. Lansdale on the second. Both tracks are talkative and filled with information, focused mainly on the story and how it was developed. You can tell that Coscarelli has a lot of respect for Lansdale’s work and bringing it to life on screen made this a very personal project, which is quite cool. Also with two is Dance of the Dead, with director Tobe Hooper and writer Richard Christian Matheson each with a solo track. Both have decent tidbits, but not enough to warrant solo tracks, these could have been much better if combined. Pick Me Up has only one, as director Larry Cohen shares his thoughts on the installment. This is probably one of the best Masters of Horror tracks, as Cohen is open and humorous in his comments. Even if you didn’t love the episode itself, you might get some entertainment out of this track.
