Masters of Horror: #1

Incident On and Off a Mountain Road. The first episode of the Mick Garris produced TV series Masters of Horror aired a couple of nights ago. For those that don't know, Masters of Horror showcases the work on one great horror director each week. Upcoming episodes feature new stories from such greats as John Carpenter, Dario Argento, Stuart Gordon and Joe Dante, among others. Incident On and Off a Mountain Road is Don Coscarelli's (Bubba Ho-Tep, Phantasm) offering, and opens the series veeery nicely. Based on the short story by Joe R. Lansdale, IOOMR spins the grisly tale of "Moonface", a serial killer who preys on those drivers who take that last fateful wrong turn. Whilst it might sound cliched, IOOMR isn't as formulaic as you might expect. For a start, the whole episode is intercut with Lost style flashbacks to the heroine's life with her husband, Bruce. Add to that the fact that Bruce is a survival expert, and has schooled his wife in techniques which might, one day, save her life – resulting in many a trap being set for Moonface as he stalks his victim through the beautifully shot, and moodily lit forest. Stir in a small helping of Texas Chainsaw, and add a dash of Jeepers Creepers, and you arrive somewhere near IOOMR. Thank god for cable TV! There's certainly no way anything this grisly could be made for any other network. There's a plentiful amount of swearing, some nice gore effects, and even a couple of moments of extreme squirm. It's certainly the most horrific (in a good way) 60 minutes of television I've seen in a while. Given that this is Mr. Coscarelli, it's not surprising to find that Angus Scrimm makes a nice appearance in a slightly more sympathetic form than his Tall Man incarnation. No Bruce Campbell or Reggie Bannister, but you can't have everything. If future episodes are half as good as the opener, Masters of Horror should be a real treat for horror fans. Upcoming episodes will feature: Joe Dante's political satire cum zombie episode, Stuart Gordon's take on Lovecraft's Dreams In the Witch-House, John Carpenter's Ring-esque Cigarette Burns, and Tobe Hooper's post-apocalyptic Dance of the Dead. I can't wait!