Masters of Horror Season Two Part One

THE DAMNED THING
(2006)
Dir - Tobe Hooper
Overall: MEH

The second season of Masters of Horror kicks off to a similarly lackluster extent with Tobe Hooper's The Damned Thing.  Once again working with Richard Christian Matheson, (this time adapting the Ambrose Bierce short story of the same name), it is graciously miles and miles away from the heavy metal schlock stupidity of their abysmal Dance of the Dead collaboration the previous season at least.  Though Hooper shows more restraint than usual, it still becomes a bit clumsy as it goes on with some loud, hammy performances, lazy plotting, bad CGI, and dizzying editing.  It is not insulting or obnoxious, but that is also probably the best thing one can say about it.

FAMILY
(2006)
Dir - John Landis
Overall: GOOD

 

For his follow-up to the routinely silly Deer Woman from season one, John Landis takes a certainly quirky yet less overtly comedic, Tales from the Crypt-esque route with Family.  The cast is solid, with George Wendt making a convincingly unhinged suburbanite neighbor whose grasp on reality is both humorous and concerning.  While the premise is plenty ridiculous on paper and goes to some macabre places, Landis maintains the right balance throughout as it never goes too far in either direction.  The twist makes a few plot holes readily apparent and there is one or two lousy digital effects moments that represent about the only complaints one can throw at it. 

THE V WORD
(2006)
Dir - Ernest Dickerson
Overall: MEH

Written by series creator Mick Garris and directed by Ernest Dickerson, (Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Night, Bones), The V Word has some tensely creepy set pieces in its first act as well as some convincing gore which carries it through some of the more egregious cliches that it fails to bypass.  These would include a couple foreseeable psyche-outs and 911 responders failing to do their job because the script tells them to.  Said script by Garris also relies on some lame dialog choices and Dickerson loves his Dutch angles a bit too much.  Michael Ironside makes for an effective if hammy villain and it all does go in a rather schlocky direction by the end.  While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it is too inconsistent overall to bring everything together.

SOUNDS LIKE
(2006)
Dir - Brad Anderson
Overall: MEH

For his one Masters of Horror installment, Brad Anderson, (Session 9, The Machinist), chose to adapt Mike O'Driscoll's short story Sounds Like and the result is somewhat subpar.  As a stuffy, quality control supervisor who is suffering from a bizarre condition after going through an extreme tragedy, Chris Bauer seems hopelessly unhinged, making his multiple breakdowns rather inevitable.  While the performances are adequate and the tone is appropriate for the material, it gets extremely repetitive and ultimately not that compelling because of this.  It is more sad and uncomfortable than creepy, representing one of the more mediocre entries in the series.