FEAR ITSELF
Season 1 Episode 6
“New Year’s Day”
Story by Steve Niles; teleplay by Steve Niles and Ben Sokolowski
Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman

Written by Steve Niles (responsible for the 30 Days of Night comic upon which the film of the same title was based) and helmed by Darren Lynn Bousman (who brought the second through fourth installments of the Saw franchise to the screen), this episode follows Helen (Step Up 2: The Streets’ Briana Evigan, soon to be seen in S. Darko, the Richard Kelly-less sequel to Donnie Darko), who awakens early morning New Year’s Day, to the sounds of sirens and a disaster quickly unfolding outside her apartment.
What we then get is a zombie outbreak (no further explanation required), as the narrative switches back and forth between Helen’s predicament as she makes her way to the man she believes she loves, James (Kyle XY ’s Cory Monteith), and the New Year’s Eve party she was at the night before.


Now, while “Family Man” was a Fear Itself episode that we probably wouldn’t have seen on Masters of Horror, “New Year’s Day” is a FI installment that might very well have been more effective on MoH.
Network television just doesn’t support zombies very well, considering the gore and bloodshed will naturally be kept to a bare minimum. And nobody wants neutered zombies, do they?


Sadly, Bousman’s direction doesn’t really mine the material for all its inherent tension.
Admittedly, it doesn’t help that since the zombie film is the horror sub-genre du jour, there are examples aplenty of genuine white-knuckle, edge-of-your-seat deadhead thrill rides all over the place. (Not to mention that those examples will also undoubtedly sport fountains of fake blood and guts, which makes for a large portion of what we love about the sub-genre…)
And while Niles’ teleplay (co-written with Ben Sokolowski) does make a narrative attempt at something more than your average zombie movie, it’s a twist that you could see coming, thus blunting the over-all impact.
The zombies here aren’t terribly scary, either, so that’s another big con for the episode.


Ultimately, “New Year’s Day” doesn’t really amount to much, and if you’re jonesing for a good deadhead fix, you’d perhaps be better served taking in another viewing of Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake (if you don’t mind the running zombies), or Edgar Wright’s zom-rom-com Shaun of the Dead (if you don’t mind the comedy), or the 28 films (Danny Boyle’s Days Later and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s Weeks Later; if you don’t mind the fact that, technically, they’re not actually zombies).
Or, you could go completely old school and dig up George Romero’s classic Dead trilogy—Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and Day of the Dead. Land of the Dead is passable, but I’d steer clear of Diary of the Dead.
The Day of the Dead remake is also best avoided, though Tom Savini’s colour redux of Night of the Living Dead is a pretty good watch.


Parting shot: Reviews of a number of the zombie films I mention above are contained in the Archive.

(Images courtesy of nbc.com.)

FEAR ITSELF
Season 1 Episode 5
“Eater”
Written by Richard Chizmar & Jonathon Schaech
Directed by Stuart Gordon

Now, this one was also an episode I looked forward to, primarily because Richard Chizmar and Jonathon Schaech were also responsible for the script to Masters of Horrors entry, “The Washingtonians,” one of Season 2’s best episodes.
And yeah, Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, From Beyond) ain’t too shabby neither.


Danni Bannerman (Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss) is both a horror geek and a rookie, still-on-probation cop, neither of which endears her to her fellow police officers. Constantly ridiculed and insulted by her male co-workers, Danni (along with two other cops) winds up on the graveyard shift, on the night when Cajun Dwayne Miller (Stephen R. Hart) is being held at the station, the FBI set to take him into custody the next morning.
Miller’s the eponymous “eater,” a serial killer who’s killed 32 people over the past two years. And not only does he murder his victims, but as his designation indicates, he eats them as well.
Females get the worst of Miller’s attentions, kept alive as he gradually consumes them over a protracted period of time.
With that sordid set-up, “Eater” seemed like it could have been a crackling hour of Fear Itself.
Sadly, what it ends up being is a partial success.


In the pros column, most definitely, Gordon’s directing, which, for the most part keeps the tension palpable, utilizing a multitude of Dutch angles and successfully exploiting the single setting (the largely deserted police station). In this, Gordon succeeds where John Landis failed with “In Sickness and In Health.”
The script itself though, is passable without being distinguished. It also doesn’t come close to “The Washingtonians.”


While the narrative being pretty much transparent is hardly desirable, it’s still preferable over the two cheats that take place over the course of the episode (the first involving the Sarge—played by Lincoln Heights' Russell Hornsby—and the second taking place in the climax).
This is the kind of annoying tactic that blatantly defies logic in an attempt to keep the audience in the dark. The episode would have probably played that much better if these cheats could have somehow been avoided. (And if we could have skipped the silly remix version of Miller’s chant, things would’ve looked all the brighter…)


Ultimately, though “Eater” may hold the distinction of being the most suspenseful FI entry thus far, it’s still not as solid an episode as “Family Man.”

Parting shot: A review of the Masters of Horror episode, “The Washingtonians,” can be found in the Archive.

(Images courtesy of nbc.com.)

FEAR ITSELF
Season 1 Episode 4
“In Sickness and In Health”
Written by Victor Salva
Directed by John Landis

The person you are marrying is a serial killer.


That’s what a typewritten note received by Samantha (Psych’s Maggie Lawson) reads, on her wedding day.
And though the premise does sound like some cheesy thriller by way of Lifetime, this was an episode brought to us by the tag team of Victor Salva (Jeepers Creepers) and John Landis (An American Werewolf In London).
With that sort of pedigree alone, this was high on my radar, and ultimately, I can appreciate the attempt, but am nonetheless disappointed with this particular union.


To begin with, though not as pronounced as it was in American Werewolf, that brand of Landis humour can still be detected in “In Sickness…”, and it’s an element that doesn’t quite benefit the episode’s set-up and action, much of which occurs in a dark, creaky church.
The thrills aren’t really there as well, and the overkill with the religious iconography—statuary and stained glass windows seem ubiquitous in this one—frankly gets annoying, as if Landis had nothing else to train his camera on. (Though they may perhaps be meant to foreshadow some gruesome climactic imagery, their repetitiveness just seems lazy and uninspired.)
The casting of Lawson’s co-star on Psych (and the USA Network show’s lead) James Roday as Samantha’s husband-to-be, Carlos, also serves to distract, as his portrayal of over-the-top fake psychic detective Shawn Spencer is a difficult shadow to shake; I don’t think I’d ever mentally equate the actor who plays Shawn Spencer with a groom and possible serial killer named “Carlos.”


And as far as Salva’s script goes, though I did note the narrative eventuality as soon as it was mentioned early on in the proceedings, I will nonetheless commend the script for the passably effective climactic twist.
The red herrings though, seem, in retrospect, to be desperate stabs at keeping the audience guessing.


There are some pluses, mind.
The stunt casting of Cancer Man himself, William B. Davis, as the hard-of-hearing Fr. Chris, is amusing, and the Hitchcock echo is also neatly slotted in.
And this is better than Landis’ earlier Masters of Horror entry, “Deer Woman,” so that’s something.
If however, you’re hard-pressed to see some truly worthwhile stuff from either Salva or Landis, you’d be better served by watching either Jeepers Creepers (just the first; you can skip the sequel) or An American Werewolf In London (not to be confused with the terrible sorta-sequel, Anthony Waller’s An American Werewolf In Paris).

(Images courtesy of nbc.com.)

FEAR ITSELF
Season 1 Episode 3
“Family Man”
Written by Daniel Knauf
Directed by Ronny Yu

Now this is more like it. I guess it is true, that the third time’s the charm.


“Family Man” follows the travails of Dennis Mahoney (Eureka’s Colin Ferguson), a church-going, successful bank VP, with everything going for him, including a loving, doting family, who, after a near-fatal accident, finds that he’s switched bodies with Richard Brodigan (Capote’s Clifton Collins, Jr.), the infamous serial killer known as “the Family Man.”


What I feel is the strongest aspect of “Family Man” is the fact that this is a well-written, excellently-acted entry that I don’t think I would have seen on Masters of Horror.
“Family Man” is a psychological thriller that, while admittedly being disturbing and having spots of violence, also succeeds in delving into areas of the genre that don’t rely on on-screen gore or bizarre creature effects to elicit audience reactions.
If Fear Itself means to carve out its own identity removed from MoH, this is definitely a step in the right direction.


And while the body switch is another tried-and-tested notion, what makes “Family Man” work like gangbusters is the noteworthy acting by Collins and Ferguson.
Since I had already been impressed by Collins’ amazing work on Bennett Miller’s Capote, I expected much from him, and wasn’t disappointed.
The pleasant surprise here was Ferguson, as I wasn’t quite sure if he’d be up to the task. Eureka, after all (and no offense meant), isn’t a vehicle that particularly asks much of its actors.
In “Family Man,” Ferguson plays Brodigan-in-Mahoney’s body as the unstable, potentially abusive spouse, the dinner scene a decidedly unsettling sequence.
I’d perhaps first need to watch all 26 MoH episodes again before making a definitive pronouncement, but I think it’s safe to say “Family Man” boasts some of the best acting in the history of the show (“the show” being Masters of Horror/Fear Itself).


Written by Daniel Knauf (who’s written for Carnivale and Supernatural) and directed by Ronny Yu (whose Bride of Chucky was a thoroughly enjoyable entry in the Child’s Play franchise), “Family Man” is the Fear Itself installment I’ve been waiting for, the one that says this is a show worth your time, a series capable of showcasing horror effectively on the small screen.
And if the show continues on this winning trajectory, it may just serve the cause of horror more potently than MoH’s spotty record did.

(Images courtesy of nbc.com.)

FEAR ITSELF
Season 1 Episode 2
“Spooked”
Written by Matthew Venne
Directed by Brad Anderson

Ever since I came across Brad Anderson, courtesy of the psychological thriller, Session 9, I’ve been keeping tabs on his work, waiting for him to completely kick my a$$.
Session 9 didn’t quite do it, and neither did El Maquinista (The Machinist), and neither did his contribution to Season 2 of Masters of Horror, “Sounds Like.”
However, what all three did share was a strong visual style, that, as far as I was concerned, just needed an equally strong and solid script, to give Anderson the masterpiece I know is in him.
Sadly, though “Spooked” does have some strong psychological underpinnings (which has proven to be Anderson’s fascination), this proves to be the director’s blandest work, stylistically.
In fact, if I hadn’t seen the episode’s opening credits, I would not have immediately pegged “Spooked” as having been helmed by Anderson.


The episode follows Harry Seigal (Eric Roberts), a sleazy private eye with tons of bad karma from his past as a cop just waiting to bite him in the a$$.
Enter Meredith Kane (Cynthia Watros), who hires Harry to prove her husband is having an affair, a job that will open the floodgates to the multitude of sins in Harry’s past, and the traumatic event that lies at the very core of his tragic figure.


Now, as I alluded to above, Matthew Venne’s script takes pains in filling out Harry’s psyche, so much so that by episode’s end, we know exactly why Harry finds himself in the predicament he’s in. We can also fully appreciate the bitter irony of “Spooked”’s climax.
But, in focusing on the psychological aspect of the narrative, the supernatural element—which serves as the catalyst for Harry’s ordeal—is a tad glossed over. (And the set-up is rather transparent.)
Additionally, as I mentioned above, Anderson’s direction here is strangely a rather straight-forward affair, with none of the visual flair that made his past work engaging despite their shortcomings.


What does serve to make “Spooked” a nonetheless agreeable experience are the main performances. Roberts submits a flawed protagonist who manages to keep our attention, and, when it counts the most, elicit our sympathy. And while Watros has precious little screen time (three scenes, if I recall correctly), I still miss her over on Lost, so seeing her here was a neat little plus.

All in all, like “The Sacrifice” before it, “Spooked” has much more going for it in the pros column than it does in the cons.
It, however, is still not the hour that attests to Fear Itself being a television force to be reckoned with.

Parting shot: Reviews of El Maquinista and “Sounds Like” can be found in the Archive.

(Images courtesy of nbc.com.)

FEAR ITSELF
Season 1 Episode 1
“The Sacrifice”
Written by Mick Garris; based on the short story “The Lost Herd” by Del Howison
Directed by Breck Eisner

First off, the fact that it reads “Season 1” up there is a tad misleading.
Technically speaking, this series began its developmental life as the third season of Masters of Horror, before finding itself a new home away from Showtime.
With its move to NBC, the show has understandably had its gore quotient ratcheted down, and its nudity dispelled completely.
NBC has also proven to be more hands-on than Showtime ever was; as MoH—and thus, Fear Itself—creator Mick Garris, recounts, “… [NBC’s] notes weren’t always just suggestions, as ours were on Masters of Horror; they often were edicts.” (Though Garris is still credited as creator of Fear Itself, he is not actively involved in it.)
Given this baggage, I’ll do my best to review the show and its episodes on their own merits, though I imagine some comparisons to its former MoH incarnation may pop up every now and then.
And with that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks…


Fear Itself opens with an installment whose script was written by Garris himself.
Based on the short story “The Lost Herd” by Del Howison (originally published in Strange Bedfellows, the twelfth entry in the erotic horror anthology series, Hot Blood), “The Sacrifice” follows four criminals—among them Friday Night Lights’ Jesse Plemons and The Nine‘s Jeffrey Pierce—who become stranded in a remote fort, where something sinister—and hungry—awaits.

The first thing that strikes me about “The Sacrifice” is that it actually looks like a slick television production, as opposed to the look MoH sported, which was invariably that of a low-budget horror feature.
The slicker look is, in this case, a potentially good thing. If the budgets on FI are about the same as those on MoH, it certainly doesn’t look that way.
But just because a show looks good, doesn’t mean it is, so let’s get deeper, shall we?


As far as Garris’ script goes, it’s serviceable, if not exactly distinguished. It utilizes a tried-and-tested horror convention, and attempts its own spin on it, resulting in a passably engaging hour.
Though not exactly riveting, I believe this is probably the best script Garris has written for the show, in either of its incarnations. (On MoH, Garris was responsible for writing and directing “Chocolate,” penning the worst Season 2 entry, “The V Word,” and for adapting Clive Barker in “Haeckel’s Tale” and “Valerie on the Stairs.”)
Considering his vacating of the premises, this isn’t too shabby a stamp to leave on his baby.
Like Garris’ script, Breck (Sahara) Eisner’s direction also does the job, though perhaps a tad unremarkably.
Eisner does, however, earn points for getting some good performances from Plemons, and Drive’s Mircea Monroe, who plays Chelsea, one of the fort’s inhabitants.


Having never read Howison’s original short story (I abandoned Hot Blood around its sixth volume, Stranger By Night, when the quality of the anthology had declined to an abysmal level),* I can’t really say if “The Lost Herd” was a stand-out Hot Blood entry.
As a Fear Itself/Masters of Horror installment though, “The Sacrifice” is a fairly effective piece, better than the more dreadful MoH entries (and there were a number of those; I’m lookin’ at you, “V Word”…), though with certainly a ways to go before reaching the laudable levels MoH achieved on a number of occasions.
Ultimately, as an opening salvo, it does its job, and I can only hope this show gets better as it goes along.

* Two excellent stories—Graham Masterton’s “The Jajouka Penis-Beetle” and Brian Hodge’s “Godflesh”—out of a field of 18 (most of the others being just plain terrible) blares “abysmal” in my book.

Parting shot: Reviews of “The V Word” and “Valerie on the Stairs” can be found in the Archive.

(Images courtesy of nbc.com.)

MASTERS OF HORROR
Season 2 Episode 13
“Dream Cruise”
Teleplay by Naoya Takayama and Norio Tsuruta; based on the short story by Koji Suzuki; directed by Norio Tsuruta

As with Season 1, which had the Japanese contribution as its 13th episode (Takashi Miike’s “Imprint”), this season culminates in Norio Tsuruta’s “Dream Cruise,” based on Koji Suzuki’s short story.
Contained in the Dark Water collection (where the basis for Hideo Nakata’s Honogurai mizu no soko kara, “Floating Water,” can likewise be found), “Dream Cruise” has water as its central image. Not only that, but the story is actually set on the high seas.

Utilizing the set up of films like Philip Noyce’s Dead Calm and Roman Polanski’s Knife in the Water (both of which Tsuruta studied before filming began), “Dream Cruise” also follows the often-seen premise of many an entry in past horror anthologies, the cuckolded husband (Ryo Ishibashi, from Miike’s Odishon and the English-language Grudge films) exacting his revenge on his cheating wife (Yoshino Kimura) and her lover (Daniel Gillies).
Sadly though, “Dream Cruise” is nowhere near as effective as MoH’s previous Japanese entry, Miike’s “Imprint,” nor Nakata’s adaptations of Suzuki source material.
Most of the fault, I feel, lies in Tsuruta’s hands.

I’ve never really warmed to Tsuruta, who directed the Ringu prequel, Ringu 0: Basudei, and whose Kakashi left me feeling dissatisfied. In “Dream Cruise,” Tsuruta doesn’t show us anything we haven’t seen before in any number of Asian horror films of the past, and he isn’t helped any by performances that range from mediocre to poor.
The threadbare budget is also painfully obvious, and there is much here that is either dreadfully wince-worthy, or downright laughable.
And perhaps most telling of all is the fact that the claustrophobia of the situation—trapped on a boat in the middle of the ocean—never really registers in any tangible manner. Tsuruta and his actors never seem to be able to mine the material for all its potential, apparently unable to convey the tension and suspense that by all rights should be there, given the premise. One would perhaps be better served by watching Dead Calm again. (I myself haven’t seen it in a long time, but I do recall thinking it a tense and effective thriller, with Nicole Kidman bringing to mind a young Sigourney Weaver.)

All in all, “Dream Cruise” is a sad—and ultimately predictable—note on which to end the second (and final) season of Showtime’s Masters of Horror.

Parting shot: It’s interesting to note though that there were plans to release an extended cut of “Dream Cruise” as a feature film in Japan, a move also done with Fruit Chan’s “Dumplings,” from Three… Extremes. (I’ve lost track of that bit of news though, so I’m unaware at the moment what came of that curious decision.)

Parting shot 2: Apparently, Masters of Horror is kaput, though will be resurrected next year by NBC as Fear Itself. The MoH crew is pretty much intact, and team up with Lionsgate on Fear Itself.
Now, how being on a regular network (as opposed to cable) will affect Fear Itself remains to be seen. How de-fanged and de-clawed will it get?
As early as now, an announcement has already been made that the eventual DVD releases of Fear Itself episodes will basically be extended, unrated versions of the broadcasts, presumably with all the gore that network television will be hesitant to air.

(Dream Cruise DVD cover art courtesy of cduniverse.com.)