Masters of Horror

I've always felt that horror movies don't get the respect that they rightfully deserve. Often times horror movies are the most disrespected films with critics. The majority of critics find them to be cheap garbage. I completely disagree. I think that some of the best motion pictures ever made have been horror movies and the makers of MASTERS OF HORROR seem to think the same. For any horror fan, MASTERS OF HORROR is as close to perfect as a horror documentary can get. It examines the history of horror movies and the geniuses behind them. We learn the geneses of some of the best horror movies and get interviews with the directors (or the masters of horror) including Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and John Landis. Each one of the directors share interesting stories and are quite enjoyable to listen to. Most of them are obviously very smart men and great filmmakers. The best part of the documentary is the fact that it is hosted by Bruce Campbell who is without a doubt one of the coolest actors that has ever lived. There couldn't have been a better host for the documentary. My only complaint about MASTERS OF HORROR is that for whatever reason, Guillermo del Toro is included as one of the masters of horror. I'm sure that Guillermo del Toro has his fans, but he is not by any stretch of the imagination a master of horror. He isn't even close to being in the same league as the other directors included here.

My rating: 9/10

Boogeymen II: Masters of Horror (2002)

*** (out of 4)

Bruce Campbell hosts this documentary that takes a look at the films of some of the biggest horror filmmakers in the world. John Carpenter, Guillermo del Toro, Wes Craven, George Romero, Tobe Hooper, Rick Baker, Stuart Gordon, Robert Englund, Dario Argento and John Landis are just a few of the people interviewed about what influenced their movies. The horror genre has given us so many different documentaries with the greats of it that it's hard to find one that offers up something you haven't already seen. BOOGEYMEN II is a pretty good film but at the same time it really doesn't offer too much that a die-hard fan isn't already going to know or have seen somewhere else. What we basically have is each filmmaker talking about one or two of his movies and then we hear what influenced them. I'm sure most people have heard Craven talk about A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET but the highlight here is when he discusses THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW and the various issues that happened with that movie. Landis and Baker talk about their working relationship and how it led to AN American WEREWOLF IN London. Argento talks about his dark dreams and discovering the work of Poe as a child. Overall these stories are good but I think the real highlight here is when the artists talk about the other's work. This is especially true when Carpenter talks about his love of Argento's work. I thought the film would have been much better had it followed this instead of giving us the same old stories but if you're new to the genre and don't know about these men, then this here will certainly be of good use.