Masters of Horror: 3 reviews from Season 2

Here's 3 episode reviews from showtime's Masters of Horror (season 2)

Episode 202: Family

Directed by John Landis

With Season 2 kicking off October 27th, Tobe Hooper's episode aired first (I'm not reviewing it but IMO it was good) and now John Landis' episode is now airing second. I really dug his last season episode "Deer Woman" and was looking forward to his latest episode "Family". Did I like it as much as "Deer Woman"? Truthfully no, but I did buy what it was selling.

"Family" was an interesting character study and I was engaged throughout. George Wendt totally sold me as the psycho neighbor with a sick and twisted hobby. Occasionally the word "Norm" would pop in my head but the sight of him washing down a corpse with acid made that go away, quickly. Meredith Monroe and Matt Keeslar also sold me as the couple on the block. I bought them all from the beginning. John Landis' trademark humor is presented here and like usual I was busting a gut. But in my opinion I wanted to see more of it, it would have made the episode more "fun". John Landis' directing is great like always.

The music score is forgettable with some 50's or 60's tunes booming in. Not much gore here besides melted corpses and CGI bashed in nose. My favorite part of the episode is the twist at the end. I'm not going to spoil it for you but I didn't see it coming and loved what it brought to the table.

Although I'll give it the same rating, I prefer Deer Woman. But trust me I'm not hating on "Family". Its engaging story and excellent twist make it a must see. So far, Season 2 is looking good.

8/10

Episode 205: Pro-life

Directed by John Carpenter

I'm a big John Carpenter fan and thought "Cigarette Burns" was the best episode of the last season. I high hopes for "Pro-Life" Carpenter's latest episode and was hoping it was as good or even better then "Cigarette Burns". Well "Pro-Life" wasn't better but still pretty damn good.

Pro-Life's story is what got me into episode right away. I find the subject of abortion to very interesting and I like the idea of a young teen girl giving birth to something not human due to be being raped by a demon from hell. I loved seeing Carpenter tackle this subject. Ron Pearlman plays the role of Dwayne, the abortion hater, extremely well. I wanted to see him die horribly in the end, too bad I didn't get to see it, but more on that later. Caitlin Wachs plays the role of Angelique, the pregnant teen, also very well. A great cast all around. The gore is plentiful with some really gory bullet hits. Heads are blown off and more. I'm a happy camper, you know why? Cause the main monster in the episode isn't a CGI creation but a practical creation and looks great. I mucho dug it. The baby monster reminded me of the "head crab" creature from The Thing and I thought it was a great throwback to his classic film.

John Carpenter's directing is top notch as usual, Nuff said. His son Cody does a good score here that's memorable enough. Not as good as his "Cigarette Burns" score, though. I did have a minor problem and it's the finale. It's not horrible but it did disappoint me. The one thing I wanted to see throughout the whole episode is Ron Pearlman get torn apart by the monster. Didn't get to see it. Actually all the deaths committed by the monster were offscreen. Come on Carpenter, give me something! Also like "Cigarette Burns" I wanted this to be a full 90 minute movie, it would have worked!

In the end, "Pro-Life" is my favorite episode of Season 2 so far. Highly Recommended.

9/10

Episode 206: Pelts

Directed by Dario Argento

I'm a fan of Dario Argento's films. Not a big fan, but a fan otherwise. Last Season's Jenifer was one of the better episodes of the season and I was looking forward to "Pelts". I'm happy to say (for me anyways) that argento has delivered another solid episode cause "Pelts" was an engaging and sick ride!

I know I had said this in previous reviews but I found "Pelts" story to be extremely engaging and it kept me glued to the screen for it's entire length. I dug where Argento was going with the story. The actors do a fine job. Meat Loaf does a good job as Jake and the other actors also do a good job. Argento's directing is great as usual. Yeah I know I also said this with Carpenter on Pro-Life but its true! The music is hauntingly beautiful. Great score.

This has to be the goriest Masters of Horror yet. Things get nasty and quite sick. I'm not going to spoil things like I usually do but trust me, things get messy. Gorehounds will love it. There's also plenty of TnA for the kiddies. Anything negative? Well (IMO) this, like other episodes of Masters of Horror could have worked as a 90 minute movie. I wish things could of went on longer and shown more madness in the finale. In the end, "Pelts" was one sick but engaging ride.

Right next to "Pro-Life" this is the best episode yet. Season 2 is looking great so far!

8/10