 |
| From https://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_small/7/ 72819/2151218-masters_of_horror_04___00___fc.jpg |
Dreams in the Witch-House
Director: Stuart Gordon
Screenplay: Stuart Gordon and Dennis
Paoli
Based on the short story by H.P.
Lovecraft
Cast: Ezra Godden as Walter
Gilman; Jay Brazeau as Mr. Dombrowski; Campbell Lane as Masurewicz; Chelah
Horsdal as Frances Elwood
A Night of a Thousand Horror (Shows) #6
After the immense disappointment
of Cigarette Burns, Stuart Gordon's entry was a safe way for
me to get my confidence back with the series. Based on H.P. Lovecraft, it was a
welcome change of pace purely for telling a story which was interesting and, in
spite of likely being the middle of all of them in rank, succeeding with said
story. Its particularly successful as well as my knowledge of Stuart Gordon's career is an odd, patchy
affair considering how fascinating his filmography is on paper. (Also I'll admit
I haven't been a huge fan of Re-Animator (1985); I might change my mind on a
revisit, but for a while I openly admit to having preferred Brian Yuzna's sequel Bride of Re-Animator (1989) instead.) Gordon's career in general upon
reflection deserves a deeper investigation, as few could attest to having gone between
experimental stage plays to Charles Band
productions, adapting Lovecraft to
adapting David Mamet. Gordon's entry for Masters of Horrors also emphasises how there's a sub current of the
series deserving to be called "Masters of (Literary) Horror" as well
as most of the material is adaptations from various sources, from HP Lovecraft to EC Comics, Clive Barker
to even Mick Garris adapting one of
his own stories for his entry. It's a nice reminder of the dept horror cinema
has to the printed page as much as a visual-audio medium, these short horror
stories finding the right idea on paper of adapting small scale, personal
horror stories.
The actual episode of Dreams in the Witch-House is pretty
conventional, in which a protagonist (Ezra
Godden) stays at a dilapidated rental apartment only to suffer from dreams
of a witch and her familiar, a human faced rat, that may be more real than he
thought, having evil machinations for the baby of the female resident (Chelah Horsdal) next door to his room he's
becoming smitten for. But that's not something to complain about in this case
as Gordon makes sure to make a solid
adaptation of the material which provides the idiosyncratic twist itself,
rationalising witchcraft through arcane and hidden science. This provides one
of Lovecraft's most curious and inspired ideas, influenced from learning of the
concept in his private life from study, of non geometrical space in theory
allowing reality to bend and transport people in environment. As a result, the
witch tropes within the film have a strange, distinct edge that stands out
especially as most of the story stays within the home, peppered with the creepy
details from Lovecraftian lore including a cameo by the Necronomicon. Adding to
this is also the bleak ending, possibly stretch to absurd gory lengths with multiple
conclusions, but befits an episode that was a suitable pick-me-up after the disappointment
with the previous one.
 |
| From http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/10000000/Dreams-in-the-Witch- House-masters-of-horror-10067972-500-300.jpg |
=========
 |
| From http://bloodsexcult.org/uploads/horror/ incident-on-and-off-a-mountain-road01.jpg |
Incident In and Off a Mountain Road (2005)
Director: Don Coscarelli
Screenplay: Don Coscarelli, Joe
R. Lansdale and Stephen Romano
Based on a short story by Joe R.
Lansdale
Cast: Bree Turner as Ellen; Angus
Scrimm as Buddy; John DeSantis as Moonface; Ethan Embry as Bruce
A Night of a Thousand Horror
(Shows) #7
In vast contrast to Stuart Gordon and John Carpenter in these viewings, the director of the actual first episode of Masters of Horror, (in terms of what was broadcast on television
first), Don Coscarelli is someone I
have no ideas upon. I have vague memories of watching the (then four) films of
the Phantasm series when I was just
getting into cult cinema but that's a century to myself now and the only clear
image I have is a literal object, that I created one of the spiked floating
spears from out of moulding putty and pieces from Warhammer 4000 sets that still sits on my window years after now. For a long time it's only
been Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) that gave
me an image of Coscarelli as a
director, but that was still a long while ago
as well. Aside from this, Coscarelli
is an entire mystery for me, the time appropriate to correct that now Phantasm is a five film franchise currently
and had all the bells and whistles thrown at it within 2017.
Incident On and Off a Mountain Road is a twist on a stereotypical
horror trope seen many times before especially in modern straight-to-video
chillers - a woman driving on an isolated midnight road finds herself the
target of a deformed serial killer - the catch that, due to her previously
having dated a survivalist, the relationship of a mirroring narrative, her
ability to protect herself is something the killer nicknamed
"Moonface" has never had to deal with. The result plays out as two separate
stories connected by the protagonist Ellen (Bree
Turner) having to deal with two male figures, one which is immediately
dangerous as the stereotypical inbred rural sociopath, the other more insidious
played by actor Ethan Embry, starting
off as a charming man who just happens to have provocative opinions on the
world burning around him but slowly is revealed to be more problematic, a
paradox in how Ellen is both indebted to him for learning how to try to survive
Moonface but with his back-story with her also leading to a breaking point for
her as a human being. It's a less high concept premise from
screenwriter/original author of the tale Joe
R. Lansdale than his story for Bubba
Ho-Tep - elderly Elvis and Ossie Davis
as JFK fighting a mummy in a retirement home - but his taste for twisting
conventions onto their head is the episode's best aspect, as is the fact the
late Angus Scrimm completely goes
against his cinematic image as the scene stealing figure Buddy, bouncing off
his wheelchair like a hyper acting child wanting to engage in sing-along's with
captive prisoners. He's a character you could easily find in one of the better Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, the
first of many side characters in the first season of Masters of Horror who steal their stories outright whenever they're
onscreen.
The one issue that decides
whether a viewing will love Incident On
and Off a Mountain Road is your reaction to the final plot twist, built up
through the film but taken to a greater extreme than even the violence
beforehand. The look and tone of the film viscerally fits the growing
post-9/11, torture porn era of glossy scuzziness, a giant drill the killer's
main weapon of choice and dead bodies more set decoration than objects of fear.
The issue is more that, from a premise no matter how gristly it is thatfirmly
stays within the entertaining for 90 percent of its length, the end twist does
take on a greater severity including sexual violence which might come as an
abrupt change of tone particularly with such content. Its less the use of such
a scene, whilst itself a potential concern, but more the suddenness of it and
intention, especially as this twist is like so many you usually find in horror
story telling to create a jolt in a viewer for the end, but in this case uses
something that levels the fantasy of the horror to rubble for something real
and uncomfortable. It's a drastic twist, especially as its used at the end as a
wraparound of the whole narrative, so your view on Incident On and Off a Mountain Road will change depending on one's
reaction. For me personally, I'm on the fence as even without the provoking
nature of how the twist's done, the sudden shift with how we should view the
heroine is one I've still chewing on even if the potential trigger warning
wasn't there. It's a rewarding episode, probably with the exception of Angus Scrimm however one which won't be
at the top of the list when I think of the best of just this season of Masters of Horror.
 |
| From https://wildinthestreetsblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/1225_19.jpg |
No comments:
Post a Comment