Masters of Horror: Series 02 (2006)

Masters of Horror: Series 02 (2006) [Complete]

Dirs: Various (See Below) | Episodes: 13 (Total), 55 minutes each, approx.

More of the same kind of hit and miss anthology stories from many of the same people that were involved in Series One. This first half contains the first seven episodes. There may be a difference in running order between the Region 1 and Region 2 editions. I'm using the UK Region 2 editions. As with Series One, NA also got a full series box (Vols 01 + 02).

Masters of Horror: Series 01 (2006)

Masters of Horror: Series 01 (2006) [Complete]

Dirs: Various (See Below) | Episodes: 13 (Total), 55 minutes each, approx.

Mick Garris, filmmaker, friend and critic of horror cinema assembled thirteen of the genre's most celebrated directors together for the first series of Masters of Horror. Each director was given one episode. The results aren't always what you'd probably expect, given each person's previous filmic history, but there's an occasional gem to be found amongst the mostly uneven murkiness.

You can find some very brief thoughts below the cut. The listed order reflects the UK Region 2 DVD editions. The US Region 1 running order is different. The UK versions were split into two parts per series, which is four box sets in total. NA also got a full series box (Vols 01 + 02).

Big Trouble in Little China: Volume 3 (2016)

Jack Burton in the Hell of No Return (2016)

Authors: John Carpenter / Eric Powell  |  Illustrator: Brian Churilla  |  Page Count: 112

"It's all trouble from here."

Volume 3 is functional and purposeful, but not what I'd class as memorable and a lot of the time it even felt like the BTiLC spark of fun was missing from it.

With regards what I mean by the functional side of things, it's constructed precisely so that it takes four issues, (i.e. the TPB page count) for Jack to advance to the next part of his adventure, like a successful step in an ongoing narrative ought to do. In that respect it's kind of like a self-contained short story, but it also feels like a stop gap for the series, slowing it down too much.

With regards the purposeful side, the most successful aspect is in how it subverts expectations for comedic effect. much like it does with the hero genre, having Jack be a hapless fool but remain unaware of it. The Chinese Hells are at times the direct opposite of what most readers will be accustomed to from other media.

Big Trouble in Little China: Volume 2 (2016)

The Return of Lo Pan and How Jack Burton Became King of the Lords of Death (2016)

Authors: John Carpenter / Eric Powell  |  Illustrator: Brian Churilla  |  Page Count: 112

"It's like I always say, you can never really go home! Especially when there's a restraining order involved!"

NOTE: the following text contains spoilers for the Big Trouble in Little China (1986) movie AND for Volume 1 of its comic book sequel. Proceed at your discretion.

If you've read Volume 1 of the series, then you'll know that Jack Burton's antics while travelling the Midnight Road weren't without consequence - he pissed off some powerful individuals, some of whom want payback.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the recently resurrected supernatural entity Lo Pan, butt-hurt and angry due to his marriage plans going tits-up and subsequently being sent by Jack to The Hell of Those Killed by Idiots, is itching for some mystical-style vengeance. Jack's best option is to go on the run with his friend Wang.

John Carpenter: Films: Part II (1980-84)

The Fog (1980)

Dir. John Carpenter

The fictional Antonio Bay is the setting for what's basically a traditional ghost story that's been granted a John Carpenter twist.

The plot is pretty simple: as the townspeople prepare to celebrate the centenary of the Bay, a scary fog with an accompanying green light rolls slowly but menacingly in from the sea, bringing with it something aged and angry. It's the atmosphere, the suspense and the overall eerie vibe that raise it above its B-Movie origins.

Trivia fans might like to know that two of the stars, Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis, are real life mother and daughter, both of whom starred in classic horror/suspense films previously. Janet was in Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). Jamie Lee was in Carpenter's Halloween (1978).

Escape from New York: Volume 1 (2015)

Escape from Florida (2015)

Author: Christopher Sebela  |  Illustrator: Diego Barreto  |  Page Count: 112

Comics publisher BOOM! Studios are doing good work carving a niche in the market for people who enjoy seeing cult movies from yesteryear get more love.

They have at least half a dozen collected editions currently available that I'm interested in, but the money-tree the pikey sold me failed to grow and the golden goose turned out to be male, so I need to be selective with purchases. However, Escape from New York was one that I definitely couldn't pass up.

Like the continuation of their other Carpenter and Russell pairing, Big Trouble in Little China (2015), it picks up the story just after the film ends. It's not as good as Big Trouble, but it's still better than Carpenter's own sequel to his cult classic, namely the Escape from L.A. (1996) movie, and for that I'm at least thankful.

Big Trouble in Little China: Volume 1 (2015)

The Hell of a Midnight Road

and The Ghosts of Storms (2015)

Authors: John Carpenter / Eric Powell  |  Illustrator: Brian Churilla  |  Page Count: 128

I always wanted more Jack Burton adventures but never actually expected it to happen. Okay, it's not a film, obviously, but it's unmistakably Big Trouble to its very core. If you know the film well you'll be able to fit each character's personality to their respective hand-drawn counterpart. The illustrations are somewhere between caricature and likeness, but everything about the things they say and do feels authentic, even down to the individual rhythms used. Thank the gods of faithful continuations for an adherence to the source.

It picks up the story mere minutes after the 1986 film ends. If you remember, Jack and his more competent pals kicked some ass and shook the Pillars of Heaven from somewhere underneath San Francisco's Chinatown. Jack may have left Chinatown behind, but the denizens that gather there aren't finished with him yet.

Halloween: Films (1978-2002)

Halloween (1978)
Dir. John Carpenter

Halloween is more than just another cheap, independent slasher flick. It's a master class on how to create, pace and sustain tension when working with a limited budget.

The unease and sense of foreboding that permeates every crucial scene is in large part due to Carpenter's use of music. Like Hermann's score on Psycho (1960) it has a stabbing, piercing, onomatopoeic quality that keeps your nerves on a knife edge.

The faceless, unstoppable force that is Michael Myers taps into a very human, deep-rooted fear of what's hidden behind the mask we all wear, but Michael's inner evil is so powerful that even blankness can't hide it.

John Carpenter: Films: Part I (1974-79)

Dark Star (1974)
Dir. John Carpenter

Unless you're a hopelessly dedicated John Carpenter fan, then you'll likely want to stay far away from Dark Star. It's his low budget student film expanded to feature-length.

It's pretty terrible, really, but it's also interesting for a number of reasons. Most notably the script was co-written with Dan O'Bannon and plays like a prototype of his later success, Ridley Scott's Alien (1979).

Also, the music has that cheap and creepy Carpenter vibe. I love Carpenter's music.