super marauder I bought Cigarette Burns and Pro-Life because I'm a huge John Carpenter fan. What I wouldn't give to spend a day with him. My daughter got me the first season for Christmas and I love it! The idea is great: It's one hour movies and it's the directors who are the stars. There is some great stuff here! Shock, suspense, camp, comedy, heartbreak, political satire, J-horror, it's all here! I will review all the episodes one at a time because I feel I can't lump them together. Some got me more then others but they are all entertaining. Isn't that what a horror movie is supposed to do?However I must point out there no good looking teenagers getting slaughtered by a guy in a mask. Good! I'm sick of that!

moviemania-64 That said, all the episodes I've seen are really worth watching and much above average television. You've already been able to see Hooper's disturbing "Dance of the Dead" segment, Coscarelli's fast-paced "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" and Argento's sickeningly sexy "Jenifer", of course. Be sure not to miss Landis', Garris' and especially Dante's episodes when they air.John Landis's "Deer Woman" is a radical development of the whole premise behind such a classic as "An American Werewolf in London". The idea on that film was giving the werewolf myth a realistic, almost everyday spin to make it scary again in spite of tons of bad werewolf movies. "Deer Woman" does the same, only the premise is even more outrageous, because the monster is something you're unlikely to having heard about before: a creature half woman and half deer which seduces men and then kicks and tramples them to death. With such a ridiculous premise, you'd never believe a filmmaker could produce the smallest shiver in any average viewer. The fact that "Deer Woman" does, without relying on any established movie myth, is a tribute to Landis' (John, but also his son Max, who wrote the screenplay) deep knowledge of how horror movies work. Without even the slightest hint of parody, this film is funny *and* scary and a triumph of what is called suspension of disbelief. Great performances by former "Dream On" star Brian Benben and heart-stopping newcomer Cinthia Moura.Mick Garris's "Chocolate" is based on a "Twilight Zone" like premise: a guy suddenly starts sharing a stranger woman's senses - it all starts with sounds, and then it becomes images and event tactile feelings. This lures him into an obsession which is very similar to love but also has a strong potential for tragedy. Kind of an ultimate "amour fou", this is quite a bizarre, yet moving, love story that you'll find both involving and desperate.Joe Dante's segment was acclaimed by thunderous applause at the festival, and it is the most overtly political. I wish someone would dare doing a similar film on our (Italian) administration: "Homecoming" deals openly with how Iraqi war was based on the blatant lie of Mass Destruction Weapons that were found not to exist, and has dead marines coming back from their graves as zombies to let the Bush administration know what they think of its lies. The President is actually never mentioned in person: but the clues are so crystal-clear one couldn't miss even if he tried hard. Witty and bitterly cynical, this is a film a Billy Wilder might have made if he was interested in horror. It should be a must-see for anyone who's voted for the current administration - and also for anyone who thinks horror cannot deal with important issues.

MJWalker Horror fans (I'm speaking to the over 12's, although if you're under 12 I apologise for what you might deem an insult): In short, if you appreciate having your imagination disturbed by well written, original storytelling, punctuated by unpredictable well planted scares, and delivered via convincing performances, then I can heartily recommend - AVOIDING THESE STEAMERS - made by directors who have apparently long since past their sell by date. It's no accident that almost every episode feels as if it were made in the 1980's. Not to put blame squarely on the shoulders of some of these old boys (or indeed the 80's) because where would we be without certain movies from the likes of Argento, Carpenter, Landis, Dante and Barker (Actually Clive, WTF are you doing in there?! Glad to see Romero had the good sense to give it a miss as I'm sure he was asked to partake...). More perhaps we should point the finger at creator Mick Garris whose credentials include the logic defying and depressingly ill-advised TV remake of Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece 'The Shining'.Perhaps it is an indication of the state of television today. Are we so starved of good TV horror that we applaud any old sloppy schlock that the networks excrete onto our sets? Sadly, maybe so.Normally I wouldn't see the point of adding a comment that doesn't argue the faults and merits of a production, I'd just rate it accordingly. However, as this series is woefully lacking in any merit (with perhaps the sole exception of the theme tune) I write this as more of a warning than a review: DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY. If you disagree with me then it's more than likely that you haven't seen enough decent horror. Perhaps the earlier films of some of these directors would be a much better place to start, but if these 'Masters' of Horror were being assessed on these works alone, they'd never have been allowed to graduate with even their Bachelor's degree. Unless of course they were studying for a degree from the University Of S**t.

poe426 John Carpenter's PRO LIFE only serves to further cement his rightful place in the pantheon of film's frightmeisters. As per usual, he manages to make even a middle-of-the-road story watchable by sheer dint of talent. (His previous entry in this series was much better, but the selfsame writers- young and full of themselves, it seems- opted for what they thought was a "hot topic" this time around and the master moviemaker makes do.) The ending could've been much stronger, but it's not really the ending that one walks away with when this one is done: it's... well, check it out for yourself and see. It would be interesting to see what a filmmaker of Carpenter's caliber could do with the controversial Xlibris book THE NIGHT RIDERS by M. Kelley.