Fear Itself (2008-TV)

Fear Itself (2008-TV)
NBC's offshoot to Showtime's Masters of Horror (MOH). Its a television series broken down into 13 separate 60-minute films from the premier horror writers and directors.

1 :01x01 - The Sacrifice (Jun/05/2008)
Director: Breck Eisner
Story: Mick Garris, Del Howison
Guest Stars: Jesse Plemons as Lemmon, Mircea Monroe as Virignia, Stephen Martines as Diego, Rachel Miner as Chelsea, Jeffrey Pierce as Point, Michelle Molineux as Tara
Stranded in an old, snow-covered fort, four criminals are seeking refuge but they discover there's more to this place than appears. They are approached by a trio of seductive sirens who reside in the fort, and their deadly intentions soon become clear.

'Pretty good start to the series, is a slightly slow story but well acted and has good production values. The tale is about a set of four gun-toting criminals who stumble onto an old clan of Romanians in a snowy outback. The clan who generations earlier while making their new life in America mistakenly brought over a vampire hiding among their ranks. So they’ve been forced to spend generation after generation keeping the vampire fed so it doesn’t break lose and spread its virus across the states. It’s all a little 30 Days of Night comic book feeling which in my opinion isn’t a bad thing. Fear Itself move from cable channel Showtime to the network NBC does mean it'll have less gore and sex than its parent show Masters of Horror had. This is backed up in this episode by having zero nudity (how can you have 3 good looking females remain clothed for 60 minutes) and had more implied gore though did have a pretty nasty lip sewing scene. This maybe will be the reason why Fear will fail, but if the scripts and production costs are kept high enough like this opening episode maybe we won't notice.'

(6½ out of 10)

2 :01x02 - Spooked (Jun/12/2008)
Director: Brad Anderson
Writer: Matt Venne
Guest Stars: Eric Roberts as Harry, Cynthia Watros as Meredith, Tom Edwards as Father, Larry Gilliard, Jr. as Unknown, Jack Noseworthy as Unknown
A private eye stakes out a haunted house and must confront the ghosts of his past.

Ex cop turned sleaze ball private eye Harry (Eric Roberts) is given what he thinks is a straight forward case to follow an husband who's cheating on his wife. Only while spying on the husband from an abandoned house facing Harry gets spooked as he's haunted by ghosts. Its all pretty obvious plot wise the lead characters suppressed guilt bringing on ghosts from his past. Story flows nice enough along and is well enough acted, again a low gore quota but glossy looking visually and some nice moments like the creepy graffiti. I found it a lot better than the 'Sounds Like' episode of 'Masters of Horror' Brad Anderson also directed.

(5½ out of 10)

3 :01x03 - The Family Man (Jun/19/2008)
Director: Ronny Yu
Writer: Daniel Knauf
Guest Stars: Colin Ferguson as Dennis, Nicole Leduc as Courtney, Gig Morton as Unknown, Josie Davis as Unknown, Clifton Collins, Jr. as Unknown, Michael St. John Smith as Sheriff Weller
After a near-death experience, a family man switches bodies with a serial killer in this psychological thriller. When he soon after finds himself behind bars and the murderer with his family, he must stop them from being the next victims.

Formulaic body switch tale helped by good acting and steady direction by Freddy Vs Jason's Ronny Yu. The plots about family man Dennis (Eurekas Colin Ferguson) and death row sentenced serial killer Richard (Clifton Collins Jr.) known as 'The Family Man Killer'. Both die after a car smash then are brought back to life in an hospital only with their personality's switched. Even with its predictable ending your carried along by seeing the once nice guy Dennis going more and more insane while the once evil Richard trying his best to save his family. Its entertaining in a light none scary way but come on how can the daughters warped school bumble bee play not give viewers a bit of a nightmare.

(6½ out of 10)

4 :01x04 - In Sickness and in Health (Jun/26/2008)
Director: John Landis
Writer: Victor Salva
Guest Stars: James Roday as Unknown, Maggie Lawson as Unknown, Sonja Bennett as Unknown, Marshall Bell as Unknown, Christie Laing as Unknown
A bride's world is turned upside down when, on her wedding day, she receives a mysterious note. Written on it is the sentence "The person you are marrying is a serial killer."

Disappointing episode from John Landis who's not helped by being given such a convoluted story by (convicted paedophile Victor Salva how's he still getting work ?) to work from. Shortly before she's due to marry a bride is given a letter telling her that her soon to be husband is really a serial killer. Only things aren't as they first seem. Landis who did two fine MOH episodes 'Deer Woman/Family' here delivers a mess, he tries hard to baffle the viewer with slow pacing and a lot of religious undertones, but it just falls apart and by the time you reach the predictable ending you'll be left thinking why did I bother. The acting doesn't help either with the slight exception of X-files Cigarette Smoking Man William B. Davis showing up as the long standing family priest to the groom.

(4 out of 10)

5 :01x05 - Eater (Jul/03/2008)
Director: Stuart Gordon
Writer: Richard Chizmar, Johnathon Schaech
Guest Stars: Elisabeth Moss as Danny Bannerman, Russell Hornsby as Unknown, Stephen Lee as Unknown, Pablo Schrieber as Unknown, Stephen Hart as Mellor
A rookie cop is assigned to watch over an imprisoned serial killer, The Eater. However, soon her fellow cops start acting strangely, leaving her with no one to turn to.

First really meaty episode of Fear is delivered by Stuart Gordon. On a dark night a rookie female police officer Bannerman (Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss) is left to guard a decaying police department with two other male duty cops. Only tonight they've also got a new criminal in the cells to keep an eye on. A local black magic cannibal Cajun serial killer known as The Eater. Gordon like always does a sterling job pleasing the horror fans slowly building the creepy tension in a story that's kind of like 'Assualt on precint 13' meets 'Serpent and the Rainbow'. The acting is a treat with the characters moods swinging from normal to evil as The Eater possesses/shape shifts into them. Only let down is it leaves you wanting more of The Eater something which I guess isn't really a flaw. Its the first story since John Carpenter's MOH episode Cigarette Burns that I think should of been turned into a 90 or so minute feature.

(7½ out of 10)

6 :01x06 - New Year's Day (Jul/17/2008)
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Writer: Steve Niles
Guest Stars: Briana Evigan as Helen
When a young woman wakes up surrounded by zombies in a post-apocalyptic nightmare, she has to quickly come to terms with this new horrifying world.

(Not Yet Rated)

7 :01x07 - Community (Jul/24/2008)
Director: Mary Harron
Writer: Kelly Kennemer
Guest Stars: Bonita Friedericy as Unknown, John Billingsley as Unknown, Shiri Appleby as Unknown, Brandon Routh as Unknown
The lives of a young married couple seems perfect. They live in a beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood. But things become dark and twisted when the couple realizes that their neighbors will do anything to make them comply with their idea of conformity, even if it involves murder.

(Not Yet Rated)

8 :01x08 - Skin & Bones (Jul/31/2008)
Director: Larry Fessenden
Writer: Scott Swan, Drew McWeeny
Guest Stars: Doug Jones
After being lost in the woods for days, a cattle herder returns home to his family. It doesn't take long for them to realize something is wrong. Now a mortal struggle between the man and the terrifying monster possessing him begins.

Larry Fessenden returns to the Wendigo myth (he did a feature based around it in 2001 though it was a totally different story) for this episode. The plots about a father Grady Edlund (scene stealingly played by Silver Surfer & Pan's Labyrinth/Hellboy actor Doug Jones) who goes missing for days, on returning he's become taken over with a strange sickness. Turns out he's not just sick but as been taken over by an old Indian myth of the Wendigo that preys on men when they're at their most weak and hungry state. Not only that but it seems that while away his brother Randy as made a move on his wife Elena much against the will of his disapproving sons. From his weak bed ridden state Grady starts to get more and more energy and becomes much more aggressive to the point of violence and killing. Its now down to the family to stop him but can they bring it into their hearts to do so ? Doug Jones is so great in this with minimal make up leaving him to act the role of the man/creature down to his own bodily frame. Fessenden adds a lot of heart to the tale with his natural eye for local scenery and outback charm.

(7 out of 10)

9 :01x09 - Something With Bite (2008)
Director: Ernest Dickerson
Writer: Max Landis
Guest Stars: Wendell Pierce as Wilbur Orwell, Paula Jai Parker as Unknown
A man must deal with the consequences of his transformation into a werewolf.

After taking a long mid-season break with the rumour that it possibly wouldn't even air the final five stories in the states, the episodes have thankfully surfaced on Polish television. Shame then that we've all been waiting so long for one of the weakest entries of the series to date. Its unique selling point is that its a werewolf story penned by Max Landis son of An American Werewolf In London's John Landis. Sadly unlike that classic this as nothing to recommend it for, the cast are dull as are the sets. Story is predictable nonsense about a midlife crises hit vet who takes in an odd dying animal only to be clawed by it. Not long after he turns wolf giving his tired life a little bit more excitement. One of the big problems is it as such a dated feel, it comes across more like one of the more comic 80's episodes of Tales From The Darkside or Monsters than the modern feel of Fear Itself or it's earlier incarnation Masters Of Horror. As well as the lame camera angles the actual content of the story is dated and offers nothing new. I'm not even going to blame the actors as they've been given so little no wonder they turn in half hearted performances. So hope things pick up fast or even a fan like me will agree NBC was right to pull the series mid-season.

(3½ out of 10)

10 :01x10 - Chance (2008)
Director: John Dahl
Writer: Lem Dobbs
"Chance" is the classic tale of a man that is confronted by his evil doppelganger side, written in the vein of such stories as Jekyll & Hyde.

(Not Yet Rated)

11 :01x11 - The Spirit Box (2008)
Director: Rupert Wainwright
Writer: Joe Gangemi
A dead schoolgirl, believed to have committed suicide, contacts her friends from beyond the grave and asks their help to bring her murderer to justice.

(Not Yet Rated)

12 :01x12 - Echoes (2008)
Director: Rob Bowman
Writer: Sean Hood
A mild-mannered man must deal with a murderous previous reincarnation who plans to usurp his host's present life.

(Not Yet Rated)

13 :01x13 - The Circle (2008)
Director: ?
Story: Lewis Shiner, Richard Chizmar, Johnathon Schaech
A group of friends who get together each Halloween to tell horror stories find themselves trapped in one of their own tales.

(Not Yet Rated)