review: MASTERS OF HORROR: SEASON ONE BOX SET

Starz/Anchor Bay  //  Buy from Amazon.com Just like the series itself, the Masters of Horror Season One Box Set breaks all the rules again! Housed in a specially designed "mausoleum," the box set contains all 13 DVDs from MOH Season One -- each disc boasting 2 -3 hours of bonus features -- as well as a "14th disc" of all-new, never-before-seen footage including an insider's glimpse at the gatherings that inspired the series: a specially assembled MOH dinner with the Season One directors, taped at Hollywood's famed Magic Castle! "We really wanted to give the fans something special for the Season One box set, as a thank you for their unwavering support of the series," said Mick Garris, series creator and executive producer. "We've always strived to make Masters of Horror something truly unique within the genre, far from the remakes and sequels synonymous with modern horror, and now fans can enjoy Season One in its entirety and as a single experience." I've been hooked on the "Masters of Horror" franchise ever since I sat down and watched my first one, John Carpenter's "Cigarette Burns," and found myself mesmerized (in fact, I now count that film as one of my all-time favorites!) Subsequent installments kept me switching from being scared to laughing my ass off to genuinely creeped out... and always, through every single one, I was entertained, and that is something given that we're basically talking about 13 hours of horror movies. In addition to the aforementioned "Cigarette Burns" (which is just simply perfect), I really enjoyed "Deer Woman" (hilarious), "Jenifer" (creepy), and "Pick Me Up" (thrill-tastic.) I didn't actively DISlike any, save for Miike's "Imprint" which I found to be disgusting and shocking just for the sake of being shocking (as an aside, I really feel this guy is overrated and is just riding the coattails of being so controversial and bizarre, but doesn't have a whole lot of talent to back up his reputation... but I digress...) The fact that Anchor Bay (now Starz) is offering all 13 episodes of Season One in a box set for barely more than $60 is awesome - this is a great series of films and you absolutely can not beat the price. Even if you only like half of them, at this price, you can't go wrong! Video Every episode gets a gorgeous 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer, and I could literally find fault with none of them. Every single one is clean, crisp and sharp and really does deliver a cinematic experience on the small screen! Audio Very immersive, subversive and chilling Dolby 5.1 surround mixes accompany each one of these 13 films and, just as with the video portions, the audio goodies are top-notch across the board. Extras A truly spectacular collection of extras is included for each of the installments, with some variation between each disc. Each one includes, at a bare minimum, a still gallery, text biography of each directory, trailers, screenplays, and 1 making-of featurette for each. From there, we get a variety of additional extras unique to each installment, from interviews to commentaries to storyboards to special fx featurettes - Anchor Bay really delivers a buttload of extras for each! Closing Thoughts Truly entertaining collection of short films + loads of extras for each one = excellent collector's box set, at a price that makes this a must-own!