Masters of Horror Box Set

For two magnificent seasons, fans of horror had the crap scared out of them on a weekly basis. I’m talking, of course, about the Masters of Horror anthology series that ran on Showtime from 2005 to 2007. Sadly, it’s no longer on the air, but you can still enjoy all the gore and spiritual mayhem thanks to the Masters of Horror box sets available from Amazon.

The whole thing started in 2002 when director Mick Garris (The Stand) got a bunch of pals together for dinner. The group in attendance read like a Who’s Who of the horror genre: Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, Larry Cohen, Joe Dante, Guillermo Del Toro, Don Coscarelli, Stuart Gordon, John Landis, and Bill Malone. Everyone had a blast swapping stories and sharing experiences in the industry, and Del Toro dubbed the group “The Masters of Horror.”

Garris had such a great time that he organized additional gatherings, hosting horror luminaries including Dario Argento, Lloyd Kaufman, Eli Roth, David Cronenberg, Robert Rodriguez, and Wes Craven. Then, in 2005, he took the whole thing to another level.

The concept was simple: Get legends from the world of horror to make a series of one-hour movies. Showtime jumped at the opportunity, and Masters of Horror was born. In some foreign countries, many of these self-contained episodes were even released in theatres.

Debuting three days before Halloween in 2005, the series drew rave reviews from both critics and fans alike. Each Friday, a new episode would air, and a total of 25 tales of terror were eventually released. Actually, 26 episodes were made, but Takashi Miike’s “Imprint” was deemed too disturbing to be broadcast. Luckily, it is included as part of the Masters of Horror box set.

The series won the 2006 Satellite Award for Best Television Presentation, and in 2007 it picked up another Satellite Award for Best Television Series Released on DVD. But more importantly, Masters of Horror helped rejuvenate the careers of a number of actors and directors. This list includes such notable figures as Ron Perlman, Sean Patrick Flanery, John Carpenter, William Forsythe, and Ted Raimi.

While not available together, Amazon carries both of the Masters of Horror boxed sets. That means you can purchase Masters of Horror: The Complete First Season, then turn right around and add Masters of Horror: The Complete Second Season to your shopping cart. And thanks to their low prices, you’ll be able to save about $40 in the process. Those of you with Blu-ray players will also be thrilled to know that the first season is available in this format, and it’s exclusive to Amazon. Just click on the link to enjoy Masters of Horror on Blu-ray.

Masters of Horror: Season One Box Set

Presented on 14 discs, this Masters of Horror box set includes each episode from Season One, including the controversial and unaired “Imprint” by Takashi Miike. In addition, there’s a ton of bonus material available, including deleted scenes, a round-table discussion of horror at L.A.’s Magic Castle, and series creator Mick Garris talking about the genre with a whole host of Hollywood celebrities.

Here’s a detailed list of the episodes from Season One in the order they were aired. Since the directors were an integral part of the marketing for the show, I’ve also included their names in each entry.

• “Incident On and Off a Mountain Road” – Directed by Don Coscarelli. Trapped on a lonesome mountain, a young woman pits her survival skills against a deformed madman known as Moonface. Co-starring Angus Scrimm.
• “H. P. Lovecraft’s Dreams in the Witch-House” – Directed by Stuart Gordon. When a college student realizes that dark forces seek to kill his neighbor’s young child, he vows to stop their sinister plot.
• “Dance of the Dead” – Directed by Tobe Hooper. Based on a story by Richard Matheson, this film follows a young girl living in a post-apocalyptic future. After meeting a group of ruffians, she begins hanging out at a bar where the animated dead dance for the pleasure of the audience. Starring Robert Englund.
• “Jenifer” – Directed by Dario Argento. A dedicated cop saves the life of a grotesque young woman and lives to regret it. Starring Steven Weber.
• “Chocolate” – Directed by Mick Garris. After eating some very special chocolate, a recently divorced man begins to gain the senses of a woman he’s never met. He’s even able to sense it when she commits murder. Starring Henry Thomas.
• “Homecoming” – Directed by Joe Dante. After being killed in Iraq, an undead soldier returns to the U.S. in an attempt to influence the upcoming presidential election. Starring Robert Picardo and Jon Tenney.
• “Deer Woman” – Directed by John Landis. A mixture of horror and comedy in which a Native American creature takes the form of a beautiful woman to commit a series of brutal murders. Starring Brian Benben.
• “Cigarette Burns” – Directed by John Carpenter. A man searches for the only print of a film said to drive any audience to insanity. Starring Norman Reedus and Udo Kier.
• “Fair Haired Child” – Directed by William Malone. A teen is abducted by a deranged couple and locked in the basement with their deformed son. Starring Lori Petty.
• “Sick Girl” – Directed by Lucky McKee. While dealing with her latest lesbian relationship, an insect enthusiast begins to have a bug problem.
• “Pick Me Up” – Directed by Larry Cohen. One serial killer poses as a hitchhiker and kills anyone who picks him up. Another serial killer focuses on doing in hitchhikers. When they set their sights on the same victim, watch the sparks fly. Starring Fairuza Balk and Michael Moriarty.
• “Haeckel’s Tale” – Directed by John McNaughton. Based on a short story by Clive Barker, the film details a man’s quest to create life and a woman’s insatiable lust for the dead.
• “Imprint” – Directed by Takashi Miike. A tourist in the 19th century goes searching for the Japanese prostitute he fell in love with years before. As he learns of her fate, the story becomes increasingly harrowing. Garris referred to it as “the most disturbing film I’ve ever seen.” Starring Billy Drago.

Masters of Horror: Season Two Box Set

Eleven discs are included, and the whole thing is packaged in a cool replica of a human skull. Bonus material is available on each disc, and the entire affair can be counted on to provide 764 minutes of terrifying fun. If you buy Masters of Horror: Season Two from Amazon, you’ll save around $15 versus the list price.

The following episodes are included:

• “The Damned Thing” – Directed by Tobe Hooper. Based on a short story by Ambrose Bierce, this Masters of Horror entry details a Texas lawman and his family being terrorized by an unseen force. Starring Sean Patrick Flanery and Ted Raimi.
• “Family” – Directed by John Landis. When a young couple move into a new neighborhood, they slowly realize that their seemingly harmless neighbor has a much darker side. Starring George Wendt.
• “The V Word” – Directed by Ernest Dickerson. When they break into a mortuary, a pair of teens encounter a real-life vampire and suffer the consequences. Starring Michael Ironside.
• “Sounds Like” – A man with superhuman hearing goes to extreme lengths to silence the noise in his head.
• “Pro-Life” – Directed by John Carpenter. A pregnant teenage girl is trapped inside an abortion clinic while her crazed family tries to reach her. But there’s far more to the story, especially when it comes to the child inside her. Starring Ron Perlman.
• “Pelts” – Directed by Dario Argento. When he steals unnatural raccoon pelts to make a coat for the woman of his dream, a fur trader soon comes to regret his actions. Starring Meat Loaf and John Saxon.
• “The Screwfly Solution” – Directed by Joe Dante. A global plague drives men insane and drives them to murder any woman they encounter. Starring Elliott Gould, Jason Priestley, and Kerry O’Brien.
• “Valerie on the Stairs” – Directed by Mick Garris. While trying to finish his novel, a writer encounters a demon and a sinister woman in a flophouse.
• “Right to Die” – Directed by Rob Schmidt. After his wife is left in a coma following a car crash, a man must decide whether or not to pull the plug. Co-starring Corbin Bernsen.
• “We All Scream for Ice Cream” – Directed by Tom Holland. The ghost of an ice cream man in clown makeup returns to terrorize the grown-ups who accidentally killed him when they were children. Starring William Forsythe.
• “The Black Cat” – Directed by Stuart Gordon. Edgar Allan Poe is terrorized by the black cat of his deceased wife. Starring Jeffrey Combs.
• “The Washingtonians” – Directed by Peter Medak. A man discover a terrible secret about the nation’s founding fathers, and a secret society tries to silence him by any means necessary. Co-starring Saul Rubinek.
• “Dream Cruise” – An American lawyer in Tokyo boards a ship with his top client. The lawyer is having an affair with his client’s wife, and the unfaithful couple soon realize that the outing is all about revenge.

If you enjoy being frightened, head over to Amazon and order Masters of Horror: Season One and Masters of Horror: Season Two. We do get a small commission when you make a purchase, but it all goes right back into our site (and costs you nothing extra).

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• The Twilight Zone Box Set
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