I had a little Masters of Horror marathon with the Roku. It's a really amazing show. Genre directors do an hour long "episode," and it's on Showtime, so there's no holds barred scares, disturbing images and gore.It may seem weird to do reviews for episodes of a television series, but they felt like films. And I'm treating them as such. Except they're getting pretty short reviews.
The first of my viewings was Fair Haired Child from director William Malone ("FeardotCom"). A girl is kidnapped and wakes trapped in a basement with a teenage boy. The two try to escape while discovering cryptic warnings carved into their prison. Tense and interesting with a good twist at the end.
Sick Girl, from director Lucky McKee ("The Woods"), follows an entomologist as she finds true love and investigates a new species of insect. It's humorous and disgusting, much like McKee's films. I loved it.
Cigarette Burns, from John Carpenter ("Ghosts of Mars"), is more about disturbing imagery and ideas than scares. And it delivers. A young man whose business is finding hard-to-find films is tasked with locating a print that makes viewers insane. Totally awesome.
Pro-Life, also from Carpenter, features Ron Perlman ("Hellboy II: The Golden Army") as an extremist trying to break into an abortion clinic after his daughter checks in. But that's not the poor girl's only problem, her child is growing at an alarming rate. This one is bloody and very disturbing. Still well done.
Despite a ridiculously long name, Incident On and Off a Mountain Road from director Don Coscarelli ("Bubba Ho-Tep"), starts off tense and then doesn't let up. A woman almost wrecks on a windy mountain road and then finds herself being terrorized by a monster. Another really excellent entry.