For whatever reason, I seem to be watching more bad horror flicks on cable recently. Probably because the plots are universal and they don't require alot of thought. I was a bit surprised when Showtime broke out of its mold of the "gay and women's cable movie channel" just a little bit with their new series "Masters of Horror". 13 one-hour mini-movies are slated to appear, all from notable directors of the horror genre.
Tonight (Oct 28) was the debut episode, "Incident on and off a Mountain Road" directed by Don Coscarelli-- famous for "Phantasm". It tells the story of obligatory Cute Chic in Distress, Ellen (Bree Turner) and her backwoods run-in with a hideous killer named "Moonface". Well, he's not incredibly hideous...he has a pasty white, wrinkly face, bad teeth, beady eyes and a bald head. In fact, he could be mistaken for ....Glen Jacobs! MY GAWD, KING!
As Ellen is chased through the woods she proves more resourceful than your average Cute Chic in Distress. She concocts a few traps for Moony, even using the elastic band from her panties to create a slingshot/crossbow. But, she also steps in the cliche horror elements of crying, tripping while running, and even wearing a ridiculous prom dress and white top (relax, campers...her clothes stay on). She even makes the typical dumb mistake of running deeper into the woods and deciding to enter Moonface's home. Gee, there's a broken down old shack with dead bodies outside it...I think I'll go in!
Moonface obviously shows up to demonstrate his serial killing technique-- a grisly scene involving a drill press. There's a random crazy old man suddenly added to the story, which makes little sense. He provides a bit of a narration to Moonface's techniques, but overall he isn't too essential to anything.
The present-tense of the film is interwoven with flashbacks to Ellen's recent past. An effect similar to every episode of "Lost". We're shown Ellen's turbulent relationship with her survivalist husband. On the surface, the flashbacks explain Ellen's determination and skills, but eventually they reveal a somewhat unexpected twist. It's not a gimmicky bullshit M. Night Shamalamadingdong twist, either, as it adds to the overall story.
While the lighting and camerawork is decent, a few holes exist in the production. A goofy CGI shot of a corpse scarecrow silhouetted by the moon looks like something right out of "Scooby Doo on Monster Island". A few waterfall scenes also display the same plastic look and feel.
Has some elements of "Wrong Turn", with the backwoods Kane and the cute brunette in white. But I'd rank it slightly higher than "Wrong Turn", since the flashback scenes work well. Checking in at roughly 50 minutes, it's a perfect size for a quick horror flick. Better than some of the crappers I've sat through recently. Rate it at 1/4 numb butt.
Here's the movie's info page from Showtime:
http://www.sho.com/site/mastersofhorror/mo...ontent=incidentBest viewed with a high-speed connection, but it has clips of the drill press and KANE, errr...Moonface.