JJ79 Blog

Released: November 25, 2005
Director: Mick Garris

*****

One of the main components to a horror film is for it to be, well, scary or horrific or gruesome. Hell, we'd even settle for splatterific, won't we? But this entry in the so-called Masters of Horror series leaves out the horror aspect, instead focusing on what is best called "not much."

Jaime is divorced and lives alone in an apartment while his ex-wife and son stay in their home. One day, almost out of the blue, he starts to see things through the eyes of a beautiful blonde-Catherine-whom he falls in love with. When she kills her presumed boyfriend, Jamie treks to keep her safe.

Yeah, not much of a horror story, is it? I'd not really sure how this story made it into the series because it's not stomach-churning unsettling like Imprint, worst nightmares comes to life like Incident On and Off a Mountain Road or even a good old fashioned ugly creature movie like Jenifer. Chocolate boils down to very little in the end. First and foremost is the seemingly random things which trigger Jamie's flashes. At first, we think it's chocolate. But could it be sex? Eroticism? Being turned on? We never do get a final answer on this count.

And what does this story have to say about society or civilization? Nothing as far as I can tell. Is the lesson not to see through another person's eyes? Not to tell them? Not to tell the police the truth, such as it is? If there was a series called Masters of the Unexplained, Chocolate would fit right in. But it's not, which turns into the films biggest drawback. As a short it works just fine, but within the anthology series, not so much. We wait an hour for the big chill factor which never comes. Massive disappointment which can't help but take away from the whole.

(spout.com)