Starring Fairuza Balk, Warren Kole, Michael Moriarty, Directed by Larry Cohen
Review by Louis Fowler | Anchor Bay Entertainment | Buy from Amazon.com
Starring Derek Cecil, Jon Polito, Leela Savasta, Directed by John McNaughton
Review by Louis Fowler | Anchor Bay Entertainment | Buy from Amazon.com
If you were to ask me to name my top five most underrated directors, at the top of that list would be Larry Cohen. A director like him is a real rarity in Hollywood; he'll come up with the most ludicrous ideas for a film, and, with a low budget, manage to not only pull it off, but also make a classic out of it. Look at the list: IT'S ALIVE (a mutant killer baby goes on a rampage), Q (a giant Aztec serpent makes it's home in the Chrysler building), GOD TOLD ME TO (an alien Jesus Christ forces people to commit murder), THE STUFF (alien goop is made into yogurt and possess the masses) – you get the idea. There's no way you can walk out of a Larry Cohen film and feel like you didn’t get your money’s worth. That's why it's so awesome that with his inclusion in the Masters of Horror, he's finally getting his due. Sure, it’s only cable TV due, but hell, I’ll take when I can get it!
On a lonely stretch of road in the Pacific Northwest, two serial killers – a truck driving one named Wheeler and a hitchhiking one named Walker – cross paths and get into the world's deadliest pissing contests as both compete for the chance to kill the remaining survivor from a bus breakdown, played by the scary-hot Fairuza Balk. Wheeler (a great Michael Moriarty) entertains with his Archie Bunker-esque demeanor, while Walker (Warren Kole) is more of a Matthew McConaughey type, calmly utilizing his Texas-drawl in an effectively creepy manner. And when they get together – whoo boy, look out! You can’t leave these jokers alone for five minutes without them getting into some sort of hijinks.
More comical than scary, Cohen's episode is the darkest of black humor, with each serial killer trying to one-up another, until they finally receive the most brutally ironic comeuppance. A real testament to Cohen’s overlooked genius that plays out like it could have been a classic episode of The Twilight Zone.
Speaking of underrated directors, John McNaughton is pretty much the wild card choice to direct an episode of Masters of Horror – his only real forays into horror have been the hyper-realistic classic HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER and the never-seen THE BORROWER – but believe me, that’s enough. Sadly though, as of late, he's best known as the director of the goofy murderous threesome mystery WILD THINGS, but, since I’m a forgiving guy, I'm willing to cut him some slack – and damned if he doesn't need it. McNaughton has crafted one of the creepiest episodes of the series.
Based on a short story by Clive Barker, HAECKEL'S TALE is the story of a young, magic-damning doctor seeking to create life after death, literally! Duhn-duhn-duhnnnnn! But when that dastardly science fails him, he consults a charlatan in a covered wagon who may be more powerful than the doctor suspects, as he may have the power to resurrect the departed, specifically a mangy dog with a rather grouchy attitude. He becomes entranced by the secret behind the man’s power, but, while investigating, he receives word that his father is ill and needs him. This journey leads him to spend the night at the house of a bizarre couple where the wife's fancy for her dead husband may be more carnal than expected – talk about you awkward moments! As the wife goes out to the graveyard, the cuckolded husband and young Haeckel follow, only to have find themselves in a scene from CEMETERY MAN – hot zombie humpin’ ahead! Kudos for the erotically tinged, morally defaced twist ending that's as shocking as it is darkly comical.
McNaughton's take on the tale is brilliant, utilizing a real 1960s Roger Corman/Dan Curtis Gothic melodrama feel to Barker's already Ambrose Bierce-type characters and setting. The sexual perversion of the story is radically surprising, and the gut munching was great to see.
HAECKEL'S TALE is a very effective horror yarn and an honestly entertaining surprise that, while maybe not a standout episode, is by no means a slouch. A zombie-fucking slouch.
